As the Houston Astros’ eight-year streak of making the playoffs came to an end, Alex Bregman’s lived on.
Perhaps that’s the most germane – or at least marketable – data point Bregman can flaunt as he hits the market for a second consecutive winter. This time, unattached to a qualifying offer and the draft pick compensation that comes with it, Bregman shouldn’t have to worry about doing this again for many, many years.
That’s because Bregman’s one season with the Boston Red Sox was a relative smash: He predictably dominated at Fenway Park, posted an .821 OPS and lifted the Red Sox to the playoffs for just the second time in the past seven seasons.
Bregman? This was his ninth straight autumn featuring playoff baseball, and as such, he exercised an out clause in the three-year, $120 million deal he signed with Boston on the eve of spring training in February.
Oh, it wasn’t perfect: Injuries limited Bregman to 114 games, and his 18 home runs were his fewest since playing just 91 games in 2021. But know this: Bregman more than maintained his value, and will easily clear the $80 million he had coming to him had he opted into his final two years in Boston.
USA TODAY Sports examines the best landing spots for Bregman’s permanent home:
Boston Red Sox
Hey, the glove still fits. It was Bregman’s arrival that induced the strange dance between Boston and Rafael Devers that resulted in the trade of their franchise third baseman to San Francisco in June.
Now, should Bregman depart, there’d be a massive hole at third base and in the lineup.
Sure, the club could pencil top prospect Marcelo Mayer in there alongside shortstop Trevor Story. Yet staying healthy over the course of a season has proven difficult for Mayer in both the major and minor leagues.
Additionally, the lineup hollows out significantly behind burgeoning star Roman Anthony, who figures to bat leadoff next season. Boston signed Anthony to what figures to be a team-friendly eight-year, $130 million contract, gifting the lefty slugger lifetime security while keeping the club’s payroll healthy for years to come.
And the team saved nearly $250 million offloading Devers. Reinvesting that back into Bregman is simply good business – bringing Bregman’s career gravitas and potent bat to back up Anthony’s emerging greatness.
Detroit Tigers
So, we’re gonna do this again, huh?
The Tigers landed on the podium in the Bregman sweepstakes last winter, offering him a six-year deal for $171.5 million, yet he could not be swayed by the promise of hitting in Fenway and hitting the market again.
So, time to push that boulder back up the hill?
Not much has changed since a year ago: The Tigers claimed another wild-card berth, advanced to the American League Division Series and still have a hole to fill at third base.
They did all right in the aggregate last year, shuffling around fungible pieces like Colt Keith and Zack McKinstry and Andy Ibanez and Javy Baez, winning 87 games behind Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
There’s little they can do to avoid losing Skubal after next year, unless they’re interested in tying up a significant percentage of payroll in his left arm. So in a sense, signing Bregman would likely seal Skubal’s departure.
The upside: They’d get one year to go all-in with the two-time reigning Cy Young winner and Bregman galvanizing the lineup. Worry about 2027 when it gets here.
Comerica Park would be a tough adjustment for Bregman after years of hitting in Fenway and Minute Maid p
arks. But if his ego can take the drop in OPS, his mentality could be just what the Tigers need to push past the ALDS for the first time since 2013.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks aren’t exactly made of money and already toted a franchise-high $186 million payroll last year. Yet if the club truly believes the ship has sailed on Ketel Marte in the desert, moving him would create both financial flexibility and a spot on the infield.
Even if Marte stays in Arizona – he’s due $91 million over the next five seasons – there’s stil an immediate opening at third base. For the moment, that’s penciled in for prospect Jordan Lawlar, but he’s played in just 114 games the past two seasons and struggled in limited big league stints in 2023 and ’25.
Bregman, paired with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who finished fourth in NL MVP voting, would give the Diamondbacks one of the greatest left sides in the infield. And Bregman’s elite 14% strikeout percentage would give Arizona, already a great contact-hitting team, one of the toughest lineups to attack.
His price tag will probably exceed owner Ken Kendrick’s comfort zone. But the fit is actually really nice.
Seattle Mariners
In 2025, the Mariners discovered just how wonderful a go-for-it mentality can be: Their deadline deals for corner infielders Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez paved the way for their first appearance in the American League Championship Series since 2001.
Naylor was such a good fit, they re-upped the first baseman to a four-year, $92 million deal. They still haven’t replaced Suarez.
Interesting fit, here.
On one hand, the Mariners are loaded with top infield prospects. Cole Young reached Seattle last year. Colt Emerson lurks at Class AAA. Ben Williamson played a capable third base for half of 2025.
On the other hand, shortstop J.P. Crawford is eligible for free agency after 2026. It may take a year or two for the kids to pan out. And the club saw fit to trade for Suarez and send Williamson back to Class AAA for the final two months of the season.
Taking on Bregman’s massive salary – he’d almost assuredly make more per annum than even Cal Raleigh – might seem like a solution looking for a problem. Yet this is a club that fell just eight outs shy of a World Series berth.
Essentially, these are the good old days. Moving aggressively to fill an obvious need could help the Mariners maintain a firm grip on an AL West they final conquered after so many decades of mediocrity.