‘Awesome’: Newest member of Red Sox arrives at spring training

Alex Bregman, the free agent star who was reportedly signed by the Boston Red Sox this week, was seen arriving Friday at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, Florida. The $120 million, 3-year contract reported by ESPN and the Associated Press brings a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion to the club.His contract, as far as we know, is still not official but Bregman was seen on the campus Friday, speaking with Manager Alex Cora and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow. “How’s it feel to be in Boston,” SportsCenter 5’s Duke Castiglione asked.”Awesome,” Bregman replied, with a thumbs-up. Video below: Bregman arrives at spring trainingBregman’s signing also gives a signal that the Red Sox are back. Players said this shows that ownership believes they can go deep this season and make a World Series run.Bregman’s longtime friend, pitcher Walker Buehler, said he couldn’t be more pleased. The two own a racehorse together.”Any time you bring in a guy that has the kind of experience and success that he’s had. I think it’s huge for an organization,” said Buehler, who signed with the Red Sox in December. “I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about him, just about him being an absolute baseball rat. A guy who loves the game, works hard and, obviously, his pedigree speaks for itself. He’s won a couple of World Series and the Gold Glove last year shows that he’s still at the top of his game, ” said another new Red Sox pitcher, Garrett Crochet. Bregman is an elite defender with a lifetime career average of .375 at Fenway Park.He’s a righthanded bat that was desperately needed in the Boston lineup, and will likely remind fans of Dustin Pedroia.Bregman has 19 postseason home runs, tied for sixth in major league history. He 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 had four homers and 10 RBIs in the postseason as the Astros won their first World Series title, a championship marred when a Major League Baseball investigation revealed the team used banned electronics to steal opponents’ signs.Bregman had RBIs in his first five World Series games, homering off Clayton Kershaw in the opener and Kenley Jansen in Game 4 and hitting a walk-off 10th-inning single against Jansen in Game 5.Bregman was fifth in AL MVP voting in 2018 and second to Mike Trout in 2019, Bregman’s two most productive years at the plate. He batted .286 with 31 homers, 103 RBIs and a major league-leading 51 doubles in 2018, then set career highs the following season with a .296 average, 41 homers, 112 RBIs and a major league-leading 119 walks.He walked just 44 times this year with a 23.6% chase rate, his highest since 2017.Bregman has a .272 average with 191 homers and 663 RBIs in nine big league seasons.Because he 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.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Alex Bregman, the free agent star who was reportedly signed by the Boston Red Sox this week, was seen arriving Friday at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, Florida.

The $120 million, 3-year contract reported by ESPN and the Associated Press brings a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion to the club.

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His contract, as far as we know, is still not official but Bregman was seen on the campus Friday, speaking with Manager Alex Cora and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.

“How’s it feel to be in Boston,” SportsCenter 5’s Duke Castiglione asked.

“Awesome,” Bregman replied, with a thumbs-up.

Video below: Bregman arrives at spring training

Bregman’s signing also gives a signal that the Red Sox are back. Players said this shows that ownership believes they can go deep this season and make a World Series run.

Bregman’s longtime friend, pitcher Walker Buehler, said he couldn’t be more pleased. The two own a racehorse together.

“Any time you bring in a guy that has the kind of experience and success that he’s had. I think it’s huge for an organization,” said Buehler, who signed with the Red Sox in December.

“I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about him, just about him being an absolute baseball rat. A guy who loves the game, works hard and, obviously, his pedigree speaks for itself. He’s won a couple of World Series and the Gold Glove last year shows that he’s still at the top of his game, ” said another new Red Sox pitcher, Garrett Crochet.

Bregman is an elite defender with a lifetime career average of .375 at Fenway Park.

He’s a righthanded bat that was desperately needed in the Boston lineup, and will likely remind fans of Dustin Pedroia.

Bregman has 19 postseason home runs, tied for sixth in major league history. He 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 had four homers and 10 RBIs in the postseason as the Astros won their first World Series title, a championship marred when a Major League Baseball investigation revealed the team used banned electronics to steal opponents’ signs.

Bregman had RBIs in his first five World Series games, homering off Clayton Kershaw in the opener and Kenley Jansen in Game 4 and hitting a walk-off 10th-inning single against Jansen in Game 5.

Bregman was fifth in AL MVP voting in 2018 and second to Mike Trout in 2019, Bregman’s two most productive years at the plate. He batted .286 with 31 homers, 103 RBIs and a major league-leading 51 doubles in 2018, then set career highs the following season with a .296 average, 41 homers, 112 RBIs and a major league-leading 119 walks.

He walked just 44 times this year with a 23.6% chase rate, his highest since 2017.

Bregman has a .272 average with 191 homers and 663 RBIs in nine big league seasons.

Because he 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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