In an intriguing either-or situation, it all comes down to whether the Red Sox will fold in their veteran star, Alex Bregman, and continue clawing their way into playoff contention or trade him away and make the most of his worth to invest in their future. Spoiler Alert: The decision won’t come easy with Scott Boras in the picture.

Given Bregman’s production, the Sox would go to great lengths to extend him. After all, despite missing a whole month and a half with a quad strain, he has delivered well. Across 51 games, Bregman has recorded a .299 batting average, 11 home runs, and 35 RBIs with a .938 OPS. Beyond his impressive set of numbers, he also offers veteran leadership that proves to be an asset for the Red Sox’s young roster.

But despite Sox’s willingness to extend Bregman, it’s tough to do so with Boras as his agent. It’s not a walk in the park negotiating with Boras. He has established a reputation across the league for hard bargains.

For the same reason, the Red Sox have decided that they won’t press much to extend Bregman. Per the senior columnist Sean McAdam, “Red Sox extension talks with Alex Bregman have been casual to this point, as the team is more focused on the draft and trade deadline.”

Eventually, if the Red Sox end up not extending Bregman, they are likely to trade him to Milwaukee, Seattle, or Detroit. The next few weeks will determine whether Bregman’s time in Boston will be cut short or he sticks around.

He signed a massive 3-year, $120 million contract last offseason with an opt-out clause after this year. If the Sox can trade Rafael Devers off, it would hardly be surprising if they trade Bregman too. After they shipped off Devers, the team called up many prospects from their farm system.

Clearly, more than veterans, the Red Sox are inclined to offer opportunities to young talent. There are no concerns on that front; that’s how they have rolled so far.

Meanwhile, Bregman gets all set for his return and that will give us more input on his future in Boston.

Alex Bregman inches closer to his return

Well, yes, Bregman is close to his much-awaited return. However, the catch is that the Red Sox have scheduled one more game for him before he is activated.

Before the Colorado Rockies dominated the Red Sox with a 10-2 win, Alex Cora dropped in a crucial update. Before the game, he said Bregman is “likely” to be back this weekend. After the game, however, he contradicted the update by revealing that the veteran third baseman would not be returning before the Red Sox series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Bregman has been in rehab, and throughout this week, he has taken grounders and actively run bases at Fenway Park. He also opted out of flying to Atlanta for his third career All-Star game. “For me, with the timing of everything, what I need to do is hopefully be back playing by the end of this week. And use the All-Star break to continue to build up and work on my leg,” he said.

For now, Bregman plans on helping the lineup for the remainder of the season. He will continue to contribute until both parties come to a decision.

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