Cubs free agent target: Alex Bregman

Let’s address the proverbial elephant in the room.

I don’t usually do these sorts of articles this late in the offseason, but since there have been (totally unconfirmed) rumors out there about Bregman supposedly getting some sort of offer from the Cubs, let’s talk about it.

One MLB reporter thinks Bregman could be coming to the Cubs:

Bregman was the second overall pick in the 2015 draft — chosen seven picks before the Cubs chose Ian Happ — and debuted for the Astros the following year. By 2018 he was an All-Star, leading MLB with 51 doubles, and the following year he led all MLB position players with 8.9 bWAR. He’s been a solid third baseman, winning a Gold Glove in 2024.

But.

Bregman’s numbers, while good, have declined since his peak around 2018-19, when he was an 8 WAR player. Now he’s a 4 WAR player — and he’s also going to be 31 at the end of March. He got off to a terrible start in 2024. As late as June 16 he was batting .237/.300/.399 with just nine home runs in 68 games. The rest of his year was better: .279/.328/.498 with 17 home runs in 77 games. Still, that’s nothing close to the player he was before 2020.

Some of the rumors have the deal being four years, $100 million, with multiple opt-outs. Others have the Cubs getting “creative,” whatever that means. I assume that if the Cubs did sign Bregman, they’d then trade Nico Hoerner for pitching help and pencil in Matt Shaw at second base.

I wouldn’t do this. You don’t trade a Gold Glove second baseman, even if a Gold Glove third baseman is coming to your team. Also, at least from this video taken yesterday, it appears Nico is pretty close to being 100 percent:

I’d rather see Hoerner and Swanson continue their Gold Glove work in the middle infield and put Matt Shaw at third base, and spend the money potentially earmarked for Bregman on pitching.

Some here, no doubt, will mention Bregman’s association with the Astros’ cheating team that won the World Series in 2017. No doubt, he was part of that, and also he gave a half-hearted “apology” when all of that was over. It’s just something I’d rather not have associated with the Chicago Cubs.

One last reason to steer clear of Bregman: He’s a qualifying offer free agent, meaning the Cubs would lose a draft pick by signing him.

If the Cubs do wind up signing Bregman, that would give them four players from that 2015 first round of the Draft on their roster: Bregman, Happ, Swanson and Kyle Tucker. In fact, those players were four of the first nine taken. (And the Cubs will have another 2015 first-rounder, Phil Bickford, in spring camp as a non-roster guy. He was the 18th overall pick.)

And I also wonder: With the news late Wednesday that Pete Alonso was returning to the Mets, does this mean Bregman might be heading back to Houston?

Just thought I’d throw this out there for discussion. I’m a hard no on this. What about you?