Postseason breakout star Bauers agrees to 4-year deal with Red Sox (source)
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Fresh off his star turn for the World Series champion Brewers, slugger Jake Bauers agreed to a four-year, $58 million contract with the Red Sox, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Friday. The team has not confirmed the deal, which was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
An MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospect prior to the 2017-18 seasons, Bauers truly lived up to that promise during a breakout 2026 with the Brewers. The lefty slugger posted a .266/.389/.484 slash line with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs, putting up career-best numbers across the board.
Prior to 2026, Bauers, who made his debut for Tampa Bay in 2018, had a career .211 average and .672 OPS with the Rays, Guardians, Mariners, Yankees and Brewers.
The 31-year-old became a star in 2026, earning NLCS MVP honors with a homer and six RBIs in a sweep of the Dodgers before Milwaukee went on to beat Tampa Bay, Bauers’ former club, in five games in the World Series. During the regular season, Bauers hit the ball harder than ever, increasing his barrel rate to 14% and reaching career highs in his average exit velocity (92.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (51.9%). According to Statcast, he ranked above the 90th percentile among qualifying hitters in all three of those categories as well as expected wOBA, average bat speed and chase rate.
Bauers’ refusal to expand the zone explains his career-best 16.3% walk rate, which ranked in the 98th percentile, although he still whiffed a lot and had a high strikeout rate (27%, 16th percentile). While a majority of his home runs came to the pull side, Bauers still showed the ability to go up the middle or the opposite way for singles and doubles.
Although Bauers played primarily first base in 2026, he can also man either corner outfield spot: He made 16 appearances in left field and 32 in right for Milwaukee.
A seventh-round pick of the Padres in the 2013 Draft out of Marina High School in Southern California, Bauers was dealt to Tampa Bay in a three-team trade in December 2014. After making his debut in June 2018, the Rays shipped him to Cleveland that December in yet another three-team deal -- the second of five total trades in which Bauers has been involved during his career.
But Bauers found stability and success after signing a Minor League deal with Milwaukee in January 2025, putting up a .235/.353/.399 slash line in 85 big league games that season before his breakout ’26.