How Seriously Will Cubs Pursue Alex Bregman—and If They Sign Him, What's Next?

[Matthew Trueblood]

The juicy rumor du jour came from Bruce Levine Tuesday evening. The Cubs are in touch with Scott Boras, and whenever that happens, things have a chance to get weird.

Image courtesy of © Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

It is, on one level, incredibly simple. Don't overthink this. One of these potential lineups is much better than the other.

Current Lineup	#	Lineup w/ Bregman
Ian Happ	1	Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki	2	Seiya Suzuki
Kyle Tucker	3	Kyle Tucker
Dansby Swanson	4	Alex Bregman
Michael Busch	5	Michael Busch
Nico Hoerner	6	Dansby Swanson
Matt Shaw	7	Matt Shaw
Pete Crow-Armstrong	8	Pete Crow-Armstrong
Miguel Amaya	9	Miguel Amaya

If the Cubs were to sign Alex Bregman to a short-term, high-dollar deal, they'd achieve the formidable top half of the lineup they've been chasing for years, and they'd still have youth, athleticism, and defense throughout the team. Whatever concerns some might have about his tough first half in 2024, Bregman remains one of the most balanced hitters in baseball, capable of controlling the strike zone as well as anyone while still producing average-plus power. Even a fully healthy and functional Nico Hoerner is not as good a player as Bregman, and we don't know to what extent we can expect to see the fully healthy and functional Hoerner in 2025. 

Notably, though, this move would mean getting rid of Hoerner, which is a complication in and of itself. We've already discussed at length where the Cubs stand financially and why they might need to be careful as they go about spending the rest of their budget, so you already know the drill: if they sign Bregman, they're likely to trade Hoerner to make financial room for him. That wouldn't be because they can't afford both players, but rather, because they still fully intend to upgrade their pitching staff, and they can't afford Bregman, Hoerner and that missing, high-end arm on the budget the Ricketts family has imposed upon them.

Even that is a slight oversimplification. Because of the positional fit, trading Hoerner is the most immediately obvious option, but the Cubs do have enough pitching depth to consider trading Jameson Taillon instead, then replacing him with a higher-octane arm using the money they free up. That's a lot of moving parts in a system that doesn't demand the changes, though. What about the possibility of trading Seiya Suzuki, after all?

I'm not necessarily advocating this. Suzuki is almost as good a hitter as Bregman, and losing him would diminish the team's lineup, even after adding Kyle Tucker and Bregman. It's theoretically viable, though, if they can find the right trade partner. Moving Suzuki would resolve whatever tension exists over the fact that he's penciled in as the DH this year, and it would let the team rotate Bregman, Ian Happ, Tucker, and others through that DH spot, maintaining fluidity and positional flexibility. Hoerner and his defensive and baserunning value could stick around, and they would have much more functional infield depth. The paths to eventual playing time for Kevin Alcántara, James Triantos, Moises Ballesteros or Owen Caissie would open.

Trading Suzuki to make room for Bregman would be a risky move. I'm reasonably confident that it would mark an upgrade, though, because of the options it would open up for the team. A lot of things have to fall right to make it make sense—Bregman actually being interested in joining the Cubs, on a palatable deal; a good destination being found for Suzuki; a right-priced pitcher being available to spend the budget space created by the Suzuki trade on—but it might be the way the team balances their desire to make way for their top position-player prospects with their desire to be a very good or great team in 2025, rather than a merely good one.

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