The Chicago Cubs signing Alex Bregman?
The idea has captured headlines, as well as the imagination of Cubs fans, since it first got tossed out to the public as a possibility a few weeks ago. The Bregman-to-the-Cubs buzz died down for a bit, but it’s recently picked up steam again— even as the team seemed to have wrapped up their offseason acquisitions.
The Cubs, by most accounts, have had a very good offseason. By all accounts, though, they’ve certainly had a meaningful offseason.
A Busy Offseason For The Chicago Cubs
The biggest move from the Cubs front office, of course, was trading for Houston Astros multi-tool, all-star right fielder Kyle Tucker, who some say could be one of the ten best ball players in all the major leagues.
The team also just acquired Tucker’s former Astros teammate, Ryan Pressly, who was Houston’s closer before being displaced by Josh Hader last season. Before that, they picked up rehabbed lefty Matthew Boyd for the starting rotation, along with Caleb Thielbar, Eli Morgan, Colin Rea, and Cody Poteet for the bullpen. Other additions include co-starting catcher Carson Kelly and top utility man Jon Berti.
And all of this came within a span of less than two months.
Alex Bregman Talk
However, as spring training approaches and there still appears to be a question mark at third base, the Bregman talk becomes all the more intriguing.
Currently penciled in at third is top prospect Matt Shaw, who is not ideally a third baseman, but seems to be working his way into becoming one. But a team with postseason aspirations would be crazy to pass up a sure thing like Bregman for an asset like Shaw, who could eventually be switched over to his more natural position at second base.
Phil Rogers of Forbes feels the same and he also poses the same question many people have regarding Cubs ownership– will they pay the price to bring the veteran aboard?
Per Rogers:
“It’s a fool’s errand to choose between a top prospect and a 30-year-old who has been worth an average of 5.2 WAR every full season of his career. But fortunately for the Cubs, they don’t have to choose between Matt Shaw and Alex Bregman.
They have room for both their 2023 first-round pick and the free agent who has hit six World Series home runs for the Astros. As an added feature, they even have the payroll flexibility after trading Cody Bellinger to the Yankees and parting ways with Kyle Hendricks.
But will Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer make a deal with Bregman, who reportedly turned down a six-year, $156-million deal from the Astros before filing for free agency?”
Enough Money To Invest
In his article, Rogers points out that the Cubs, currently working with a $180 million payroll, still have money to spend.
With Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd set to become free agents at the end of the 2026 season, there will be about $85 million coming off the books. Bregman and his surely prodigious salary could be worked into the mix.
And it could easily be worked into the mix if Bregman is a cornerstone player in a sustained championship run featuring a young team, anchored by some veteran leadership.
It doesn’t take much imagination to envision that scenario, where the always-steady third baseman becomes a leader in the new era Cubs. The question is whether Ricketts and Hoyer have that same vision.
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