FORT MYERS, Fla. — The absence that has lingered over the Boston Red Sox world for the last five weeks was especially prominent Sunday as the team held its first full-squad workout of 2026.
The Red Sox are projected favorably by certain systems, less so by others. Most agree they have an intriguing roster and a starting rotation that projects to be at the top of the game this season.
What they no longer have is Alex Bregman. And there’s really no way around that, no matter what the Red Sox say.
Bregman, 31, was integral to the team’s success last season as an All-Star third baseman and righty bat in the lineup, but even more so because of his leadership and mentorship in the clubhouse. Everyone from pitchers to hitters to coaches raved about Bregman the “baseball rat” and how he made his teammates better.
Though Bregman opted out of his three-year, $120 million contract at the end of the season, he still hoped to re-sign with the Red Sox and was willing to make certain concessions to do so, multiple sources said.
Pressed for details on the failed reunion during his 25-minute media session Sunday morning, Red Sox CEO and President Sam Kennedy intimated it was Bregman’s camp that soured the offseason negotiations.
“We’re so grateful to Alex Bregman and what he meant to us,” Kennedy said, “but when you have choices the way he did — you work really hard to be in a position to become a free agent and perform at that level. He chose a different path, and we wish him well.”
The main sticking point in the negotiations was a no-trade clause. The veteran third baseman wanted that security for his family, in part because of how Rafael Devers’ Red Sox tenure ended last spring. Multiple sources and reports said the Red Sox refused, citing organizational policy.
Kennedy was asked twice if it’s Red Sox policy not to give out no-trade clauses.
“If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately, he’d be here,” Kennedy said.
When the question was immediately posed again, Kennedy said: “We try not to talk about organizational policies and the finer points of negotiations because it just doesn’t serve you well if you do that.”
Then asked if Bregman would have received a no-trade clause if he had asked for one, Kennedy responded: “It’s theoretical, right? It’s hard to know. There’s many different parts of a contract negotiation, so obviously he’s a Chicago Cub and wish him well until the end of the year.”
A final attempt to gain confirmation that Bregman had asked for the no-trade clause yielded more of the same.
“I don’t want to go back and look at finer points of negotiation,” Kennedy said. “Just want to look forward and think about the group that we have in here now.”
After signing Bregman, shoving Devers aside and later out the door and failing to keep Bregman in Boston, the Red Sox enter a new season on low-power mode. FanGraphs’ ZiPS projections estimate no player on their roster will reach 20 home runs. It’s an especially bleak assessment after an offseason full of Red Sox leadership’s repeated declarations about the need to add power.
“You can’t replace someone like Raffy as an individual, an exceptional hitter,” Kennedy said. “It’s an opportunity for guys to step up and generate offense. I think you know what we’re capable of with this outfield, but we’ll have to go out and do that.”
Even so, the team president said he believes “there’s no ceiling on the 2026 Boston Red Sox.”
No ceiling? Maybe. No Bregman? Definitely.
