Alex Bregman would be a great fit for the Chicago Cubs both on and off the field, and manager Craig Counsell knows it.
For the second straight offseason, the Chicago Cubs find themselves circling Alex Bregman. The veteran third baseman hit the market again after opting out of his deal with the Boston Red Sox, and — just like last winter — the Cubs immediately recognized the value he could bring to their clubhouse.
Chicago pushed hard for Bregman a year ago, engaging in deep negotiations before he ultimately signed a three-year, $120 million contract with opt-outs after 2025 and 2026. The Detroit Tigers went six years and $171.5 million. The Cubs reportedly offered four years and $120 million. It still wasn’t enough.
Now the slate is clean. Bregman is a free agent again, and after a strong rebound season in Boston — 114 games, an .821 OPS (his best since 2019), and an All-Star nod — he’s positioned to command another significant deal.
He checks a lot of boxes for Chicago. Bregman would bring consistent offensive production to a lineup that just lost Kyle Tucker's bat. He’d stabilize third base — even if it complicates Matt Shaw’s immediate future — and raise the Cubs’ World Series ceiling for 2026. And truthfully, that should be the only goal for Jed Hoyer and this front office.
But Bregman brings more than numbers. He brings an identity.
From the Winter Meetings in Orlando, manager Craig Counsell explained exactly why Bregman is the type of player the Cubs keep coming back to:
“One of the things that our group was really great at this year is that they’re just kind of like baseball rats. Really just enjoying all of the little things — the little plays and the fun ways to try and get an advantage. And when you talk about Bregman, I think that’s a player that loves that stuff too.”
And that’s where the fit becomes undeniable.
For a young team, clubhouse chemistry matters. Daily energy matters. The Cubs walk a tightrope every time they add a veteran: talent is important, but personality — especially in October — might matter just as much.
Bregman checks both boxes. He’s appeared in 102 postseason games and hit 19 playoff home runs. He knows how to win, he knows what a championship environment feels like, and he shows up every day with that edge.
Most of the Cubs’ core shares that same trait. Pete Crow-Armstrong is basically the Energizer Bunny in center field. Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, and Nico Hoerner play like guys who love every detail of the sport. Bregman fits that mold — and would amplify it.
Yes, the contract will be expensive. And yes, it might be an overpay on the back end as Bregman ages into his mid-30s. But for the next couple of years? He brings a World Series attitude to Wrigley Field every single day. That rubs off on an entire clubhouse.
That alone is plenty of reason for Chicago to pursue him — and Counsell’s comments make it clear the Cubs know exactly what they’d be getting.
Chicago has already met with Bregman over Zoom ahead of the Winter Meetings. Plenty of teams will be interested. But few can offer the fit — or the stage — that the Cubs can.