Alex Bregman stays unsigned with lower than a month till pitchers and catchers report back to Spring Coaching. Bregman gained’t be returning to the Astros after rejecting a reported six-year, $156MM provide that led Houston to pivot to an Isaac Paredes/Christian Walker nook infield tandem.
Early within the offseason, it appeared Bregman and his illustration on the Boras Company had been searching for to eclipse the $200MM mark. Whether or not that’s nonetheless the objective isn’t clear, although it stands to cause that some groups are hopeful he may transfer off a lofty ask as he lingers on the open market.
To that finish, Bruce Levine of 670 The Rating writes that the Cubs just lately had “informal” conversations with Boras about Bregman. Levine means that the Cubs aren’t curious about providing a long-term deal. It appears they’re on the periphery of the market in case the two-time All-Star considers a shorter time period with opt-out clauses. There’s nothing to recommend Bregman is at present keen to take action, nevertheless.
Chicago traded Paredes because the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker blockbuster. Prime prospect Matt Shaw is the favourite for the third base job. Shaw mixed for an enormous .284/.379/.488 slash with 21 homers and 31 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A final season. Giving him the beginning job can be justifiable, however there’s no assure that even a prospect of Shaw’s caliber hits the bottom operating in opposition to large league pitching. The Cubs don’t actually have a succesful fallback in case Shaw falters. Vidal Bruján, Luis Vázquez and Rule 5 choose Gage Workman are the backup infielders on the 40-man roster.
Bregman would offer a a lot increased flooring. He popped 26 homers with a .260/.315/.453 line in his last season in Houston. Bregman remained an All-Star caliber participant regardless of taking dramatically fewer walks than he had in his earlier six seasons. He’s getting into his age-31 season, so whereas it’s comprehensible if groups are reluctant to commit six or seven years, Bregman shouldn’t be in peril of any form of rapid drop-off.
The Cubs have sat out the highest of the marketplace for consecutive offseasons. They haven’t made a nine-figure funding since committing $177MM to Dansby Swanson over the 2022-23 winter. Chicago was by no means an element on Juan Soto, nor did they seemingly have any curiosity in taking part in on the prime of the beginning pitching market. They’ve been loosely linked to Jack Flaherty, although it seems they’re equally ready on the perimeter of the market in case a buy-low alternative presents itself. The Cubs have roughly $198MM in luxurious tax commitments, in accordance with the RosterResource calculations, placing them greater than $40MM shy of the bottom threshold.
