Even Jeff Passan is damn tired of the Blue Jays excuses with Alex Bregman

With Spring Training right around the corner, most of the high-end free agents are off the board with the exception of Alex Bregman. The two-time All-Star is by far the best free agent left, and despite the fact that Spring Training is about to get underway, it feels as if we're no closer to figuring out where he's going to play in 2025 than we were in November.

For much of the offseason, teams like the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago Cubs have been linked to Bregman, and according to ESPN's Jeff Passan ($), those teams are still in the mix.

Of those interested suitors, an argument can be made that the Toronto Blue Jays should be the most desperate. They're coming off a dreadful year, have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on an expiring contract, and not much else to get excited about. Signing Bregman would not only help Toronto compete in 2025, but might help them convince Guerrero to stick around long-term.

Despite the obvious need for a player like Bregman, he is still sitting on the open market, and Passan has seemingly had enough with Toronto's unwillingness to get a deal done.

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Blue Jays have run out of excuses not to sign Alex Bregman, and Jeff Passan knows it

Bregman is not only the best player still available in this offseason's free agency class, but he's the best infielder who will be on the open market for the next couple of offseasons. Only a handful of infielders, including guys like Bo Bichette, Luis Arraez, Brandon Lowe, and Nico Hoerner, have had a season of at least 4.0 bWAR over the last five years. Bregman has done that in each of the last three seasons and in six of his eight full MLB seasons. He's a star, and the future infield market lacks starpower.

Passan noted why, even with the lack of future infield options, teams involved in the running might be hesitant to sign Bregman to the big deal he's looking for.

"The Tigers have a former top 100 prospect (Jace Jung) and a good platoon partner for him (Matt Vierling) at third. The Astros acquired Isaac Paredes from the Cubs to play third. The Red Sox's best hitter (Rafael Devers) is a third baseman, and they've got two high-ceiling infield prospects on the way in Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer. The Cubs' best prospect, Matt Shaw, plays second and third And the Blue Jays really have no excuse, beyond a luxury tax payroll already around $270 million that would leap into Steve Cohen tax territory with Bregman," writes Passan.

The non-Blue Jays teams interested in Bregman have fallback options to consider. The Blue Jays, however, with Ernie Clement slated to be their starting third baseman without Bregman, do not. That, for a team attempting to compete, is a problem. Passan did note that a Bregman signing would take them into the dreaded Cohen Tax, which definitely is somewhat of an excuse, but if winning in 2025 is the goal, they should be willing to take the leap.

The Blue Jays have gotten better this offseason by bringing in players like Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, Jeff Hoffman, and Yimi Garcia, but Bregman would be the best of the bunch. He'd fill in at a weaker position on their roster, and provide them with some much-needed power. The Jays ranked 26th in home runs this past season. Adding Bregman on top of Santander would give them a major boost in that department, and he even plays a Gold Glove third base.

Without Bregman, this Jays team, while improved, is probably the fourth-best team in their own division. With him, an argument can be made that they can compete with the best in the AL East and be serious postseason contenders. Without much of an excuse not to sign him other than money (which Jays ownership has lots of), hopefully, they can find a way to get a deal done.