Cubs sign 3B Alex Bregman

After trading for right-hander Edward Cabrera earlier this week, many observers said it was time for the Cubs to open up their wallet and sign an impact bat. Many of you have been screaming for owner Tom Ricketts to open up his wallet. That’s exactly what the Cubs did tonight.

The Cubs have pursued Bregman for two off-seasons now, but last year Bregman signed a heavily-deferred contract with the Red Sox with an opt-out after one year. Now that he’s back on the market this winter, the Cubs have landed him on a five-year, $175 million deal. Jesse Rogers reports that the deal includes a full-no trade clause. Because he received one when he left the Astros last year, Bregman was ineligible for a qualifying offer this year. So the Cubs will not lose a draft pick for signing him.

It’s the third-biggest contract in Cubs history behind Jason Heyward’s eight-year, $184 million deal and Dansby Swanson’s seven-year, $177 million. But Bregman’s average annual value of $35 million is easily higher than either of those deals

Bregman, 31, was the second pick of the 2015 MLB draft by the Astros, right after the Diamondbacks took current Cub shortstop Dansby Swanson. He made his major league debut in 2016 and was a key player on the Astros World Championship teams in 2017 and 2022. Bregman is a three-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove in 2024. He finished second in American League MVP voting in 2019.

Last year with the Red Sox, Bregman hit .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs over 114 games. He missed about six weeks in the middle of the season with a quad injury.

Bregman was the third-ranked free agent on the market this winter according to The Athletic and the second-ranked free agent according to Fangraphs.

Although his age is a bit of a downside compared to other free agents, Bregman has a lot of qualities that the Cubs rank highly. First, he’s considered a superior defensive third baseman and adding his glove to an infield that already has Swanson and Nico Hoerner give the Cubs an elite defensive infield. At the plate, Bregman combines top contact skills with above-average power. Bregman’s career strikeout percentage is 13.4 percent and last year it was only up slightly at 14.1.

Signing Bregman moves second-year player Matt Shaw to a utility role, at least for now. The Cubs could trade Shaw or, more likely, keep him in reserve to take over second base should Hoerner leave as a free agent after the upcoming season. Many people think that Shaw is better suited for second base than third anyways.

So let’s all welcome Alex Bregman to the Cubs family. He was someone the Cubs have liked for a long time and now he’s going to be playing the hot corner at Wrigley for at least the next five seasons.

We will have more on Bregman over the next few days. Weeks, months and years, even.