bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Tucker has the opt outs, I’m sure.
Chicago Cubs 2026
I don’t know, man. Bregman is only 31. I’m struggling to find a season in his career where he wasn’t a good player.
Bo is younger, but as recently as 2024 he had a worse season than Bregman has ever had.
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
The Cubs gave $175mm to a guy who will be 32 on opening day. .799 OPS over his last 3,000 plate appearances. *crosses fingers*
I like Bichette better than Bregman at this point in their careers with Bo being 4 years younger, but they had essentially the same WAR this past year. And Bregman is a much better fit positionally at this point.
I’m not so sure if Bo’s contract is better than Bregman’s. Yes, it is shorter, but with the opt outs, you could well be back at the same point next year (or whenever baseball starts up if halted). And the $70M deferred (none of Bo’s is deferred) of Bregman’s salary gives the Cubs payroll flexibility. In the first 3 years of his contract, only $70M would count against annual payroll. compared to $126M if Bo doesn’t opt out. We know the Cubs don’t want to be into the luxury tax for more than a year if at all, so that financial flexibility is big.
I’m also not sure how one can say Bregman is way over the hill. I think some of that kind of talk stems from him not putting up 2018 and 2019 numbers. But those were complete outliers. In 2024, Bregman had 79 runs, 151 hits, 30 doubles, 26 home runs, 75 RBIs and .260 BA. If we adjust for the ABs he lost to injury in 2025, his numbers would have been
86 runs, 158 hits, 38 doubles, 24 home runs, 83 RBIs .273 BA this past season. Kind of tough to say he’s in decline. His OBP of .360 was in line with his career numbers outside of the outlier years. His .462 slugging was the highest it has been since 2019 as was his OPS.
Even adjusting for his injury (which is very imprecise, to say the least--see Tucker's first half numbers v. 2nd half numbers), considering that Fenway is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks, especially compared to Wrigley, his 2025 numbers are pretty pedestrian, and that does not bode well for someone who is turning 32 when he takes the field in April, and will be 37 by the last year of the contract. I hope he proves me wrong, but I think the Cubs and their fans will come quickly to regret this signing, and will perceive this contract as another albatross contract (despite the deferred money). Again, I hope he proves me wrong.
I don’t understand the Tucker reference at all. Tucker’s number differences are because he was playing hurt. Bregman was on DL and prorating stats like I did is pretty normal. Sure, it isn’t precise but it does show that Bregman isn’t over the hill let alone “way over the hill” as you asserted in your original post. And before you play the home park is a hitter’s paradise card, you might want to check the home/away splits.
Home: 203 ABs, 31 runs, 16 2B, 6 HR, 29 RBI, .246/.347/.414
Away: 230 ABs, 33 runs, 12 2B, 12 HR, 33 RBI, .296/.371/.504
Bregman isn’t a superstar, but he is a very good player. Do I expect people to be as happy with him in year 4 as most are now? No. But he fits what the Cubs need. And as much as people want to pay up like the Dodgers and Mets, it isn’t going to happen. So looking at things through that lens are futile. And if the did sign Bichette to the contract he got, much more likely they would have traded Nico (not that we’re out of the woods yet in that regards). That they found a way to add a player like Bregman who meets needs on a contract that still gives them flexibility makes me happy. They’re built to win now. I’ll worry about year 4 later.
I think people’s idea of what a good offensive players numbers look like in this day and age is a bit skewed. His .360 OB% would have been top 20 in MLB. His .821 OPS was better than Tatis Jr, Bellinger, Lindor, JRod, etc.
Bregman is also supposed to be a great clubhouse guy which can make a big difference for the young guys. While Jason Hayward’s comtract didn’t pan out great, he was a great clubhouse guy. “Jason Heyward is widely credited with delivering the "speech of a lifetime" during a brief 17-minute rain delay in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series” Hopefully Bregman brings both!
Cubs sign RP Trent Thornton to minor league deal. Could be a sneaky good add. Coming back from Achilles injury.
I like the Brewers Peralta trade — for the Cubs.
On paper, which sometimes does not translate to the field, we are better. On offense, we are about the same except for having a better utility guy in Shaw and a better backstop rotation. On defense, we are about the same on the infield but slightly less in RF. Pitching is where we have made the biggest jump. Horton, Cabrera, Taillon, Imanaga and Boyd are better than an unproven Horton, Imamaga, Taillon, Boyd and Rea. Hard to compare bullpens but let’s call it a wash for now. We have a huge intangible in Bregman. He is a clubhouse guy, a Jefferey and mostly, a winner. We have not had a glue guy like this since Hayward. He will be a teacher to Shaw. The division now will be a battle between us and Cincy. But as we know, Milwaukee gets the best frogmen their players. I think 95 wins can easily be attained if we play like we should and stay healthy.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I mean the big question really is whether PCA turning into Mickey Mantle for two months last year was just a mirage or whether that's something he can be on a regular basis going forward. The offense totally changes with access to that player.
KBLEE
- Montgomery, IL
FYI - Justin Steele has thrown off a mound twice now. Rumors are that he "may" be ahead of schedule. Who knows when he'll be back and what he may be able to contribute. But there is definitely potential for him to make a return to the rotation that is already improved.
so a decent chance by mid-late april ?
Damn typos in the iPad LOL
Sign me up for the next Sal Perez
These stats don’t really mean much, just kind of interesting. But if this guy is healthy again, would be a nice depth add.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
If he makes the team, that will most likely mean that Alcantara would be out of the picture. I'd like to see what Alcantara can do with more than 21 ABs over two years.
Should we be worried about his long neck? He's only 5'11 without it....
Or is that only in basketball? ;-)
Or is that only in basketball? ;-)
For me it depends on what the rest of the roster looks like. If they truly expect to use Shaw in the OF as part of his utility role and the pathway for ABs dead ends into 5 ABs a week for that final spot, I’d much rather KA be seeing regular time in minors and a guy like McCormick fill that spot.
I am going with an over/under for wins this year at 93 1/2. What does everyone think?
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
He may be out of options. Seems like there is some confusion about that.