Entering his 10th season in the majors, two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman understands a bit about building chemistry on a team. When the Boston Red Sox landed the longtime Astros infielder on a three-year, $120 million contract this offseason, they were getting more than just Bregman’s on-field abilities.
Breaking with the longstanding baseball tradition of veterans skipping road games early on in spring training, Bregman joined his less established teammates in Sarasota for an away game against the Orioles, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
“Marcelo [Mayer] and Roman [Anthony] were giving me a hard time and asking me if I even had any gray pants in my locker,” explained Bregman, per MLB.com. The goading succeeded in convincing the soon-to-be 31-year-old Gold Glover to take the bus with the youngsters and DH for the Red Sox in a meaningless Grapefruit League game.
But is it meaningless? Bregman, apparently, doesn’t think so. Anthony (20) and Mayer (22) are the Red Sox’s first and third-ranked prospects. The team’s number two prospect, Kristian Campbell (22) was also present. And Bregman has gone out of his way to cultivate a relationship with the talented, young players.
Alex Bregman hit the ground running with the Red Sox
“The veterans don’t normally come out to road games a lot, so we were giving him a little bit of crap. And he’s like, ‘Dude, I’ll go to the next one. Like, let’s go hang out on the bus.’ Next thing you know he’s on the bus with us,” Mayer said, via MLB.com
The impromptu road trip isn’t the only interaction Bregman has had with the Red Sox’s players of the future. The group regularly chats at games and over meals.
Anthony, Mayer and Campbell are not just Boston’s best prospects, they’re among the top prospects in all of baseball. Anthony, who’s expected to make the Red Sox’s Opening Day roster, is ranked second overall, Campbell seventh and Mayer 12th.
“It’s important. He understands what comes with the contract,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the relationship between Bregman and the prospects, per MLB.com. “He understands that they’re a big part of not only what we’re trying to accomplish this year, but in the future.”
Bregman got right to work winning over his new team. He hit a home run in his spring training debut, firing up fans. And he’s putting his time in with the next generation of Red Sox players. One long bus trip at a time.
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