Sure sounds like Alex Bregman is hurting chances of signing with Cubs at last minute

The Chicago Cubs are just the latest so-called favorite to sign Alex Bregman. Whether that is actually true or more Scott Boras voodoo to scare another organization into inking his client remains to be seen.

At this point in his career, Bregman is on a slight decline. He remains a capable defensive second or third baseman, and had an OPS of .768 in 2024. That was also his worst season in awhile offensively, so asking for a long-term contract from the Astros or Chicago is a bold move to say the least, and fully based on his pedigree rather than his reality.

Perhaps Bregman just had a down year by his standards. Again, that would convince most players to take a prove-it deal in hopes of rebuilding their value for next winter. Bregman is not most players. He spent his entire career to this point on one team in Houston. He's not one to jump around, and signing a short-term deal sets him up to do just that.

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Alex Bregman won't drop his asking price for the Cubs

So, Bregman remains in search of that long-term partnership. Maybe that team is the Cubs, though comments by Jed Hoyer and the Ricketts family earlier this winter don't seem to suggest they're in the market for a player who would cost as much as Bregman wants.

"They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn't true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that's about it," Tom Ricketts said on 670 The Score.

That's not what the fans want to hear. While that comment was a few weeks prior to this writing, it doesn't change the fact that Bregman will cost a lot of money the Cubs prefer not to spend. That makes the rumblings of a Cubs-Bregman pairing all the more confusing, especially as Bob Nightengale reports Bregman still isn't open to a short-term agreement.

Apparently, Pete Alonso dropping his asking price and signing a two-year deal with an opt out didn't change Bregman's mind at all. I'm unsure what the breaking point will be for Bregman, or if he's willing to wait well into spring training like Boras clients before him.

I wouldn't recommend that strategy, however.