How Cubs Lineup Could Look with Alex Bregman in Fold

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Alex Bregman will be the straw that stirs the drink for the Cubs over the balance of this decade. He joins the team as a dynamic offensive force designed to make up for the team's otherwise left-leaning core pieces, and as a forceful personality who fits perfectly into their clubhouse. Craig Counsell's daily duty of filling out the lineup card just got a lot easier.

Let's project a few ways the team's batting order could take shape each day, based on matchups and the talent they've collected over the last handful of years. First, when they face a right-handed starter, things seem likely to shake out in pretty straightforward fashion:

1. Michael Busch - 1b
2. Alex Bregman - 3b
3. Ian Happ - lf
4. Seiya Suzuki - rf
5. Moisés Ballesteros - dh
6. Nico Hoerner - 2b
7. Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf
8. Miguel Amaya - c
9. Dansby Swanson - ss

This (effectively) has the Cubs alternating left- and right-handed batters all the way down to the bottom of the order, where righties Miguel Amaya and Dansby Swanson double up. It gives them four extremely well-established on-base standouts at the top of the order, each with 20-homer power, and it leaves lots of upside clustered into the remaining spots. Bregman's arrival takes considerable pressure off Moisés Ballesteros, pushing him down to fifth in this configuration of the lineup.

Speaking of which, against lefties, Ballesteros might not need to start at all. Here's one way the team could set up against southpaw starters.

1. Nico Hoerner - 2b
2. Ian Happ - lf
3. Alex Bregman - 3b
4. Seiya Suzuki - dh
5. Tyler Austin - 1b
6. Dansby Swanson - ss
7. Carson Kelly - c
8. Kevin Alcántara - rf
9. Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf

Swapping out Michael Busch and Ballesteros for Tyler Austin and Kevin Alcántara makes the team very stout against lefties. Bregman's .280/.372/.489 career line against lefties comes with more walks (196) than strikeouts (181); he's the lefty-masher the lineup needed in its upper half. Subbing Busch in for Austin as soon as the opponent goes to a righty would still leave him protected by righty sluggers Suzuki and Swanson, so the opposing manager would be in a tough spot if they sought to bring in another lefty to face Busch the next time around.

One notable name doesn't appear in either of the formulations above. Thus, let's consider a third setup, most likely to be deployed against lefties but designed to maximize different strengths, and perhaps platoon-neutral.

1. Nico Hoerner - 2b
2. Alex Bregman - dh
3. Ian Happ - lf
4. Seiya Suzuki - rf
5. Michael Busch - 1b
6. Dansby Swanson - ss
7. Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf
8. Miguel Amaya - c
9. Matt Shaw - 3b

Bregman is a good enough hitter to add value even when he doesn't play the field. Sliding him to the DH spot occasionally makes room in the lineup for Matt Shaw, whose opportunities will otherwise be limited for a team now loaded with infield options. Shaw had an uneven rookie season, but he's developed into a plus defender at the hot corner, and when going well, he can be a boost at the bottom of the batting order, too. This is probably the best defensive alignment the team can muster, though to truly maximize that, they could swap Alcántara in for Suzuki in right field.

Without Bregman, lots of these potential setups left Ballesteros or Austin batting cleanup, or Busch in a key lineup spot against lefties. They were likely to be reliant on getting the good things they've seen from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Miguel Amaya and Shaw over the last two years, without the bad. That's a lot to hope for, and they no longer need to pray on those dice rolls with the same fervor. Bregman ties the lineup together, and even if the group lacks an elite power hitter, they've achieved depth they had lacked ever since they traded away the core of their championship team. 

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[Development DL]

Peace be with you and thanks for the wonderful work 

[Banks-Williams]

Quote

Alex Bregman will be the straw that stirs the drink for the Cubs over the balance of this decade. He joins the team as a dynamic offensive force designed to make up for the team's otherwise left-leaning core pieces, and as a forceful personality who fits perfectly into their clubhouse.

Fits perfectly into their clubhouse???  

Since when do cheaters fit in perfect with the Cubs team?  Bregman was on the Astros 2017-18 team, which got caught stealing signs.  The sign stealing scandal did not break until late 2019 — so they were likely doing it that year as well.  The MLB investigated the cheating, determined it was indeed being done but didn’t issue a report until January 2020.  

Cody Bellinger said the Dodgers suspected the cheating then since the Astros batted so much better in Houston during the 2017 World Series.  Not only did Bregman et al. steal the World Seties ftom the Dodgers 4-3, but they also which stole the ALCS from the Yankees 4-3.  Bellinger also accused Altuve of stealing Judges MVP.

Take a look at Bergman’s stats.  He had his best performances during those years by far.  Never to be repeated post cheating revelation.

In 2017-19, Bregman batted 284, 286, and 296, respectively (but not respefully).  Those numbers were never repeated.  Following the cheating revelation, he only batted 242-273.  Further, in 2018-19 he hit 31 and 41 homers, but never came close to such numbers again.

The Cubs have made a huge blunder by signing this cheater.  He doesn’t deserve to be on any major league team, especially the Cubs whose fans are top notch.  We do not want to be associated with cheating EVER!!! 

I will heckle Bregman at every chance at 3rd until he leaves the Northside.

[Connor McConnor]

FFS with the virtue signaling morality police on this board.   

[Banks-Williams]

16 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

FFS with the virtue signaling morality police on this board.   

I don’t give two hoots about your morals. But I don’t want to take my kids to Wrigley to see cheaters. I raise them otherwise. 

[Chinmusic3000]

Why does every lineup vs. LHP include Ian Happ?  He has a lifetime OPS+ of 80 batting RH.  He should never start vs a LHP.  Start el Jaguar in RF and move Suzuki to LF.  Lose nothing defensively and have switch hitting asset to PH later in the game

[Arlen]

Why in the world are people so excited about him?

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Connor McConnor said:

FFS with the virtue signaling morality police on this board.   

Your mother loves when I play morality police with her. 

[Jason Ross]

6 minutes ago, Arlen said:

Why in the world are people so excited about him?

Bregman represents a lot:

1. The Cubs picked a player and outbid another for him

2. The Cubs used deferred money, something they havent been as willing to do lately. 

3. He's a very good player; 19th most fWAR of any position player since 2022. 

[Connor McConnor]

48 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Your mother loves when I play morality police with her. 

 Pull your pants up fats, your chair is getting soggy.     

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Connor McConnor said:

 Pull your pants up fats, your chair is getting soggy.     

That’s what she used to tell me too.