The Alex Bregman sweepstakes finally came to a conclusion on Wednesday night and the Boston Red Sox found themselves the winner. After months of rumors connecting the two sides, reports emerged that Bregman had agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal to play at Fenway Park. It's a natural match as far as what Bregman was looking for financially and what the Red Sox needed as they enter spring training.
Those reports also revealed Bregman's contract would include deferred money, which is all the rage in MLB nowadays after the Los Angeles Dodgers deferred an enormous amount of money on Shohei Ohtani's contract to ensure they could keep a championship roster around him. On Thursday, ESPN's Buster Olney revealed what Bregman's deferred money will be.
Per the longtime MLB insider, a third of Bregman's deal is expected to be deferred— $40 million in deferred money. Which means, in the eyes of Boston's book-keeping operation, Bregman's deal is actually worth $90 million over three years.
The Red Sox appear unlikely at this juncture to immediately take advantage of whatever financial wiggle room gained by giving Bregman deferred money.
But clearly it was part of what finally got the deal over the finish line, so Boston fans should be pleased regardless. Bregman is a great fit and gives the lineup an extra shot of talent that it would've dearly missed otherwise.
