Alex Bregman was officially introduced by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday at the team’s spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
Some details of the three-year, $120 million contract he signed were confirmed, including opt-outs after each of the first two seasons, and $20 million of his $40 million annual salary will be deferred each year.
However, perhaps the biggest question regarding Bregman’s fit with the Red Sox has yet to be determined or officially announced: Which position will he play in Boston’s infield? Manager Alex Cora said that decision will be made later in spring training, when the lineup has to be set.
“We’ll talk about that later on,” Cora said. “Right now, there’s a lot of stuff going on as far as where we’re going to be roster-wise, and we’ll make the decision when we have to make it.”
Initial speculation after Bregman signed with Boston was that he would move to second base. Rafael Deversis entrenched at third, where he has played for all of his eight MLB seasons. Moving him to first base or DH could be disruptive to the team’s most impactful hitter. Yet Devers is a subpar defensive third baseman, providing nowhere near the glove that Bregman brings at the position.
Bregman won his first American League Gold Glovelast season. He has competed against other outstanding third-base defenders, including Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria and Matt Chapman, during his career.
Going into his 10th MLB season, Bregman rates highly per defensive metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average. Devers, to be kind, doesn’t. By those same metrics, he’s the worst third baseman among those who played at least 900 innings at the position.
