Two Star Free Agents Are Willing to Play Second Base, and Cubs Should Be First in Line

In separate reports coming from the General Managers Meetings in San Antonio this week, both Willy Adames and Alex Bregman expressed a willingness to move off the positions that have defined their careers to this point. In a piece at The Athletic by Katie Woo and Will Sammon:

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Free agent Willy Adames wants to stay at shortstop but would be willing to play a different position if he gets a strong offer from a team in position to win, league sources said.

And directly from Bregman's agent, Scott Boras, in a piece by USA Today's Bob Nightengale:

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Also that Bregman can play second base, third base, his leadership, it’s a market certainly that the Astros are very aware is very healthy to him.

Obviously, each of these comes with a caveat for the Cubs. In Adames's case, it's that preference to stay at short, and the obvious follow-up questions, given the wording Sammon and Woo chose:

1. What counts as a strong offer?
2. Does Adames consider the Cubs to be in a position to win?

It's hard to imagine that Adames will get anything short of $150 million over six years, and his market could go even higher than Dansby Swanson's, depending on how the winter unfolds. He probably wouldn't relish playing alongside Swanson for both less money per year and fewer years, given his track record, so the Cubs would probably have to either pay him $26 million per season or go to seven years to bring him in as a second baseman. The latter feels a bit too desperate, but giving Adames $160 million over six years isn't unthinkable, by any means. It's pretty much the deal Javier Báez got, and although Adames had a backslide as a defender in 2024 and doesn't profile at short for long the way Báez did, he's a much more well-rounded hitter, likely to age considerably better.

As to the second question, I don't think the Cubs would have an especially tough sell job. Drop Adames's 25-homer power into the heart of their lineup, probably batting between Cody Bellinger and Michael Busch, and the team would be pretty potent. Adames would also be a superb defender at the keystone, maintaining the team's stout infield phalanx. Crucially, too, he loved Craig Counsell during their time together in Milwaukee, and Counsell knows the value Adames would bring as a leader with the perfect mix of a fierce desire to win and a friendly, consistent disposition. Swanson gets a lot of plaudits for his off-field value, and perhaps they're deserved. One thing is for sure: Adames blows even Swanson out of the water when it comes to uplifting teammates and engaging in the day-to-day work of winning.

For Bregman, the caveat is that all the talk around him seems to lead back to the Astros. As I wrote earlier this week, the Astros face a slight crunch, and their GM is on the record saying they "might need to get creative" with payroll; that doesn't sound like a man ready to drop $130 million into the lap of a 31-year-old. Maybe Dana Brown meant only that he's so focused on bringing back Bregman that he knows he'll have to make creative, even painful cuts elsewhere. At any rate, though, Bregman and the Astros continue to consider a reunion.

If one doesn't happen, though, Bregman should be a Cub. He finished sixth in voting for the distinguished Fielding Bible Award at third base this year, and continues to get better at defending the line there. In profile and person, though, he's not really built for the position. His arm strength is far below average for the hot corner, though it would be more than adequate at second.

The reason he can't throw as hard as many other third basemen is pretty simple: he's smaller than they are. His strongest throws on record nearly all involve a sharply hit ball and a careful buildup of momentum into a full-body throw across the diamond, too. He would benefit hugely from getting to use his feet and his quick hands a bit more and his raw arm strength a bit less. Were it not for José Altuve, he almost certainly would have stayed at second when he came up to the majors. If he's no longer teammates with a Hall of Famer at that spot, he should claim it.

In that piece from early this week, I proposed trading Isaac Paredes to Houston to make way for Bregman. If that's not even necessary, though, bringing in the All-Star makes even more sense. Nor is it obviously necessary that the team trade Nico Hoerner to facilitate bringing in either Bregman or Adames. Having Hoerner as a backup and rotational piece in support of all three of Paredes, Swanson and the newcomer could be especially valuable. It would be a better way to utilize his too-light bat, his speed, and his glove than playing him every day at second base and batting him high in the order, as the team has so often done over the last few seasons. Hoerner might balk at that, of course, and if he did, the team could simply trade him, but Bregman and Adames are each so much better—as players, in a vacuum, but especially as fits for the Cubs' needs—that if either is open to playing second base for Chicago, they need to be willing to deprioritize Hoerner to make it happen, even at substantial financial cost.