Boston Red Sox make $160 million offer to Toronto Blue Jays top free agent target

Bregman opted out after one season in Boston, and MLB.com reported he'd hit the open market without a qualifying offer attached this time.

Now the rumor mill is tossing around a clean headline, that the Red Sox offered five years and $160 million, with talk of options and incentives to keep it «smart.»

That gap matters, because the difference between «a competitive offer exists» and «it's exactly 5/$160» is the whole story in a bidding war.

On the field, the case is easy to understand. Bregman hit .273 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 114 games last season, and he made the AL All-Star team again.

He's also at the age where front offices start sweating the back half of a deal. Reuters pegged him at 31 at the opt-out point, and MLB.com noted he's looking for five years or more of security.

The money he left behind is real, though. The opt-out meant walking away from the remaining two seasons on that three-year, $120 million pact, which had been structured with big annual values and deferrals.

Fit-wise, Boston knows what the right-handed bat looks like at Fenway now. The bigger chess move is the fallback plan, since MLB.com floated Marcelo Mayer as an internal third-base option, but also pointed out his early big-league OPS sat at .674.

The only issue is that that this offer could create some issue for the Blue Jays who are apparently aggressively pursuing Bregman.

Whether the offer is truly 5/$160 or just a number fans are clinging to, the next milestone is simple: does Bregman pick the most years, the most dollars, or the place that felt like home for one loud season?

The Blue Jays were said to be around the same number but there has yet to be an offer made from their end.