In what was surely one of the least surprising developments of this offseason, Alex Bregman earlier this week officially opted out of his contract with the Red Sox to again pursue free agency.

The decision had seemed to be a fait accompli for what seemed like months. Bregman felt he deserved a longer contract last winter, but didn’t get one, in part because he had draft pick compensation attached to him thanks to a qualifying offer his former team, the Houston Astros.