FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox’ shocking late-night agreement with Alex Bregman on a three-year, $120 million contract (with opt-outs after 2026 and 2027) will shake up Boston’s crowded position player mix significantly. The Red Sox targeted Bregman to add pop from the right side, improve its infield defense and add a leader with a championship pedigree. He’ll check all those boxes but take over at a familiar position — second base — where he he has logged just 32 innings in his MLB career.
A year after winning his first career Gold Glove at third base, Bregman is expected to be Boston’s Opening Day second baseman. Entering camp, that was the most unsettled on the diamond for the Red Sox, who have never found a true replacement since the end of Dustin Pedroia’s career. That Bregman will now be taking over there will have a ripple effect on plenty of his teammates:
Here’s who will be impacted by the move:
Rafael Devers
Devers is likely relieved that the Red Sox went with Bregman over Nolan Arenado because an Arenado trade would have almost certainly meant Devers was moving off third base. For now, he’ll stay at the position he loves playing after a winter filled with talk of him moving off of it.
That doesn’t mean he’ll stay there forever, though. Bregman is fewer than five months removed from winning his first-ever Gold Glove at the position and is still plenty capable of manning third. Before Wednesday, the Red Sox didn’t really have anyone internally who would threaten Devers’ long-term status at the hot corner as a main position. That has changed. It’s easy to envision a top prospect like Kristian Campbell or Marcelo Mayer taking over in the middle infield early in the season and the Red Sox wanting to be a better all-around team by moving Bregman to third base and Devers to designated hitter. If Bregman returns for 2026 and beyond, that possibility is even more likely.
Kristian Campbell
Campbell’s chances of making the Opening Day roster seemed good when he arrived in Fort Myers earlier this month. They lessened significantly Wednesday, quite obviously. Campbell’s versatility (he played four different positions in 2024) still makes it possible he’s with the Red Sox in late March. But the Bregman addition will allow them to proceed with caution when it comes to Campbell, who while checking every box in the minors so far, has just 601 plate appearances as a professional.
Expect Campbell — who was expected to compete at second base throughout camp before the Bregman addition — to get reps in different spots in spring training. There’s a real path to playing time in left field if Ceddanne Rafaela struggles and Jarren Duran plays center, though Roman Anthony’s existence further complicates things. Bregman’s deal is further proof of Boston’s organizational desire to not have its top prospects feel like they have to carry the 2025 team. And the structure of it, on what could very well be a high-dollar one-year deal — doesn’t block Campbell in the long-term.
Vaughn Grissom
Grissom is perhaps the player who lost out the most Wednesday. After a lost debut season in Boston in 2024, he came into camp heavier and more motivated to prove himself to the Red Sox. That audition might be over before it truly started.
Grissom, at 24 and with major league success in his past, isn’t a lost cause. But with the Red Sox making him focus on second base, it’s clear he’s not in a good spot on the organizational depth chart. One year (or less) of Bregman before the presumed Campbell takeover does not bode well for Grissom. He’s another player who could see time at other positions, both now and at Triple-A to start the season, in an effort to increase his value.
David Hamilton
Hamilton, who impressed the Sox with solid defense at second base in 2024, was also expected to compete for the Opening Day job. While that won’t be the case, his speed and defense put him in play for a bench role to open things up. Hamilton has value and like Romy Gonzalez, is versatile. That he’s left-handed, like many others on the roster, hurts him.
Masataka Yoshida
Yoshida was likely to be the odd man out if the Red Sox acquired Arenado and shifted Devers to DH and a similar situation could play out on a longer timeline with Bregman in tow. Again, it’s pretty easy to envision a Red Sox lineup with Bregman at third, Campbell at second and Devers at DH being the best version available by the time spring turns to summer. Yoshida doesn’t do enough things well to stand out in that mix and it’s expected that the Sox will continue to look to trade him.
Ceddanne Rafaela
Rafaela’s spot on the Opening Day roster seems safe but he’s on much shakier ground than he was in 2024, when he played 152 big league games. Rafaela’s chase-heavy approach may not play in a contending lineup and one could easily see talents like Anthony and Campbell beating him out for playing time in the outfield by the end of 2025. The Red Sox are trying to keep Rafaela in center field for now, but he likely projects as a super-utility/defensive replacement type down the road. The Bregman move further closes off his path to playing time in the middle infield, too.
Rafaela is one year into an eight-year, $50 million contract that was more about upside than anything. His $6.25 million average annual value represents pennies in contrast to a deal like Bregman’s, which is more than six times larger on an AAV scale. The Red Sox wouldn’t fret the possibility of someone making that money playing at Triple-A.
Trevor Story
The Red Sox can no longer count on Story for any certainty after injuries have limited him to just 163 innings over the first three years of his deal. But he’s the starting shortstop for now and part of the middle infield mix until he’s not.
Manager Alex Cora is a Story believer who thinks the veteran can provide stability, stellar defense and leadership now and in the future. The reality, is, though, that he hasn’t done enough in a Red Sox uniform to ward off rising prospects like Campbell and Marcelo Mayer or keep Boston from earnestly looking for big upgrades like Bregman. He’ll get a long leash in 2025 but it’s fair to wonder if he’s running out of chances. That Bregman is taking over at second base — a fallback position Story played admirably in 2022 — is no small thing.
There is a complicating factor, however, that is flying a little under the radar. Story’s contract includes an opt-out clause after this season. He’ll have the choice between hitting free agency or returning for two years and $50 million. If Story does opt out, the Red Sox can void his decision by picking up a 2028 club option… or they can buy him out for $5 million. There’s almost no chance that club option would be picked up.
If Story has another year like his last couple, the call to opt in, take $25 million in each of the next two years and see what happens will be a no-brainer. But it’s not completely unrealistic to think he could have a good, healthy year and potentially exceed that value (a three-year deal?) on the open market at age 33. The Red Sox would probably love that to happen. It’s quite interesting that Bregman and Story will both make their opt-out decisions at the exact same time. A trade, at some point, can’t be ruled out, either.
Marcelo Mayer
Mayer, who didn’t get a chance to play for the WooSox after being promoted to Triple-A late in the season, was already a lock to start the season at the minors’ highest level. The path to real playing time in 2025 just got harder to see, allowing the Red Sox to proceed a little bit slower with Mayer, who is still just 22. It seems his future could be largely determined by the Story and Bregman opt-out decisions of next winter.
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