Alex Cora on Alex Bregman, Red Sox: ‘The ball is in his court’

BOSTON — Since the end of last season, the Red Sox have largely played things close to the vest when it comes to their pursuit of a reunion with Alex Bregman. On Saturday at Fenway Fest, however, manager Alex Cora spoke in no uncertain terms.

“You’ve got to ask him,” Cora said about where things stand with Bregman. “The ball is in his court.”

After trades for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo to fortify the rotation and first baseman Willson Contreras to strengthen the lineup, the Red Sox are known to be in the market for one major offensive addition between now and Opening Day. The club has been heavily linked to Bregman, who would return to third base, as well as longtime Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who remains unsigned and would likely shift to second base in Boston. Bregman enjoyed his season in Boston in 2025 and has expressed interest in returning, but so far the sides have been unable to come to terms with the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Cubs, Tigers and potentially others pursuing him as well. Reports of an “aggressive offer” from the Red Sox to Bregman have surfaced in recent days and Cora’s comments Saturday seem to suggest the Red Sox feel like they’ve done their part in an attempt to re-sign him.

“We’ve been working together to see what happens but obviously, it’s a different offseason for Alex,” Cora said. “You guys know how I feel about him. Last year, he checked all the boxes I knew he was gonna check and he checked some boxes people didn’t know he was going to check.”

Cora and Bregman have enjoyed a close relationship dating back to 2017, when Cora served as Houston’s bench coach during Bregman’s first full big league season. Cora helped recruit Bregman to Boston a year ago, when the 31-year-old signed a three-year, $120 million contract with an opt-out after 2025 but has taken more of a hands-off approach this year. While the Red Sox have had numerous meetings with prospective free agent additions both in person and via Zoom this winter, Cora said he has made a point to keep conversations with Bregman focused on things other than business. The last conversation between the two SEC alums was about Cora’s alma mater, Miami, making a run to the College Football Playoff national championship game.

“I just let him work last year,” Cora said. “Obviously, I cannot talk about free agents very straightforward or black and white, but I love the player, we love the player. We’ll see what happens.”

The Red Sox would likely have to give Bregman a long-term deal of five years or longer to retain him but might also benefit from recent shifts in the market. Toronto seems less likely to aggressively pursue Bregman after signing Kazuma Okamoto as a third base option and Arizona appears less likely to make a free agent expenditure after signaling that second baseman Ketel Marte will not be traded. Still, the fact Bregman remains unsigned shows that he has been unable to agree with the Red Sox on his value, and the fact he waited until mid-February to sign a year ago shows he isn’t someone who will rush to sign.

“We’re still in January,” said team president and CEO Sam Kennedy. “The rules of the road are that there’s no deadline here to sign free agents. I know there’s been a lot of discussion of free agent signings or lack thereof, but obviously there’s two ways to build a roster in the offseason, free agency or trades. So far, we’ve made a number of trades that we think will help the team.”

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