Alex Bregman opts out

"Were you by any chance looking for something to endlessly talk about until the last week of February? Jon Heyman, full-time New York Post baseball writer and part-time Scott Boras ventriloquist dummy, reported tonight that Alex Bregman is opting out of the two remaining years on his Red Sox contract, which was set to pay him an additional $80 million. A mere eight months after Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow finally put an end to last offseason's most protracted free agency saga by offering Bregman a short-term/high-AAV deal - and a tremendous amount of bargaining power in the form of those opt-outs - we now get to do it all over again."

"Will the sequel be any different than the original? Last year, it was only the Tigers and Red Sox who were in on Bregman at anywhere near his preferred terms. And while the Tigers offered a larger overall package with more years, Bregman sure seemed to be waiting out the Red Sox as long as he could. They blinked eventually, finally pulling the trigger on a shorter deal with a higher annual salary that gave him the opportunity to pursue free agency again a year later."

Alex Bregman opted out of the remaining two years of his Red Sox contract, foregoing $80 million to re-enter free agency. He had signed a short-term, high-AAV deal eight months earlier that included opt-outs, giving him leverage to test the market again. Only the Tigers and Red Sox were competitive at his preferred terms last offseason, with Detroit initially offering more years. Detroit then found a stopgap at third base in Zach McKinstry but could re-engage given uncertainty. Several teams, including the Mariners, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees, have third-base considerations heading into the offseason. Bregman provided defensive stability and earned an All-Star nod while in Boston.

Read at Over the Monster