Jewish slugger Bregman signs $120 million deal with Red Sox
Contract marks highest-ever annual salary for a Jewish MLB player as 3rd baseman — who sported Star of David on hat after Oct. 7 attack — leaves Astros for Boston
Power slugging third baseman Alex Bregman agreed to a $120 million, three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday night, making him among the highest-ever paid Jewish players in professional baseball history.
A two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion during nine years with Houston, Bregman entered free agency coming off one of his poorest offensive seasons. He hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs in the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract with the Astros, also winning his first Gold Glove.
The 30-year-old has spoken proudly about his Jewish upbringing and maintained connections with Houston’s Jewish community. Following the October 7, 2023, attack, Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat for an American League Division Series matchup against the Minnesota Twins, and proceeded to blast a homerun in the game’s fifth inning, helping lead the team to a 9-1 win.
Bregman has 19 postseason home runs, tied for sixth in major league history, and the most ever by a third baseman.
He had four homers and 10 RBIs in the 2017 postseason as the Astros won their first World Series title, a championship marred when an investigation revealed the team used banned signals to steal opponents’ signs.
Bregman’s three-year deal allows him to opt out after the 2026 and 2027 seasons to become a free agent again, according to the person familiar with the details, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
In the 2021 World Series, Bregman was part of a play dubbed the Jewiest in MLB history in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, when he hit a fly ball to Atlanta Braves right fielder Joc Pederson on a pitch from ace Max Fried, both of whom are Jewish.
He told a Canadian podcast in March that all of them could end up playing for Team Israel in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Only Pederson has previously played for the Israeli team, which only requires that players be eligible for citizenship.
A month after the 2021 World Series, Bregman, who grew up with a dog named after Jewish pitching legend Sandy Koufax, appeared at a Houston-area synagogue to light Hanukkah candles and speak about his Jewish upbringing, including reading out his bar mitzvah speech, which focused on using his love of baseball to make a difference in the world.
“In this position, you have a platform and you’re able to reach a lot of people,” Bregman said at the time. “I want Jewish kids who dream about playing baseball to believe that they can play in the big leagues and live out their dream, too.”
While Bregman’s contract makes him the highest-ever paid Jewish baseball player in annual terms, his contract falls short of Fried’s record-setting $218 million 8-year deal signed with the Yankees in December.
Bregman was selected by Houston with the second overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, made his big league debut a year later and hit .284 with 19 homers, 71 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 2017.
He finished fifth in AL MVP voting in 2018 and was second to Mike Trout in 2019. Over his nine-year career he sports a .272 average with 191 homers and 663 RBIs.
Because Bregman turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Astros, they will receive an extra pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in July. Houston forfeited its second- and fifth-highest selections for signing Christian Walker. Boston will lose its second-highest pick for signing Bregman and forfeit $500,000 of international signing bonus pool allocation.
JTA contributed to this report.
