Jake Bauers, the National League Championship Series MVP who contemplated retirement after the 2024 season, agreed Friday to a four-year, $58 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news of the agreement on X.

BREAKING: First baseman Jake Bauers and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a four-year, $58 million contract, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 13, 2026

Boston has yet to announce the deal, which depends on a physical. The Boston Globe and CBS Sports called it MLB's first major free-agent signing this offseason. Bauers arrives after Boston placed 26th in home runs and 20th in slugging percentage among major league offenses.

Bauers ended up holding the ball from a groundout that sealed the Brewers' first World Series championship, a five-game victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. During the celebration, he handed it to manager Pat Murphy.

In comments captured on camera during the 2026 celebration, Murphy told Bauers to remember the Brewers' way when he played for a big-market club. "Just remember when you’re on that [expletive] Yankees team and you guys are all playing for yourself," Murphy said.

Boston earned the second wild card with an 87-75 record, but the New York Yankees swept the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, holding them to two runs across two games. Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow said in recent days that the club would have to be open-minded, flexible and opportunistic in seeking improvements.

Bauers' new deal averages $14.5 million annually, less than the $23.15 million available to him next season under the Brewers' qualifying offer. ESPN reported that multiple executives had anticipated he would accept the one-year offer before Boston gave him his first long-term contract.

The Globe reported that Bauers is due for his physical next week. His salary is due to be $16 million for 2027 and again for 2028, followed by $15 million for 2029 and $11 million for 2030.

Retirement had crossed Bauers' mind after Milwaukee non-tendered him following a .199 season in 2024. With his wife, Lauren, pregnant with their second child and health insurance a need, he signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee and earned a roster place after spring training in 2025.

Bauers, 31, posted a .266/.389/.484 batting line this past season and led Milwaukee with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs, all career highs. Only Yordan Alvarez and TJ Rumfield had higher on-base percentages in the majors.

Bauers helped Milwaukee sweep the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, hitting a 412-foot, go-ahead two-run homer off Blake Snell in Game 3. The seventh-inning drive came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat.

Analyses from the Globe, MLB.com and NBC Sports project Bauers primarily as Boston's designated hitter, with occasional starts at first base in place of Willson Contreras.

Contreras has one season left on his contract, while Masataka Yoshida, previously projected as the primary DH, enters the last year of his five-year, $90 million deal. Analysts at NBC Sports and CBS Sports said Bauers' arrival leaves outfielder Jarren Duran without a full-time spot and increases the likelihood of a trade.

Current collective bargaining rules, which could change, require Boston to give up its second- and fifth-highest draft picks next year and $1 million in international bonus pool money. Because Milwaukee receives revenue sharing and the contract exceeds $50 million, the Brewers will get a compensatory pick after the first round.

The labor agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1. The Globe reported that owners plan a lockout then, giving teams 18 more days to make moves before a transaction freeze.