Jack Flaherty contract details make it even more important for Cubs to sign Alex Bregman

It has been a boom and bust sort of offseason for the Chicago Cubs.

We can't say Jed Hoyer has sat on his hands. The Kyle Tucker was a genuine swing for the fences — the sort of blockbuster Cubs fans pine for. Tucker finished last season with 23 home runs and 4.7 WAR in just 78 games. He's an MVP candidate at full strength and he offers Chicago a path back to the postseason.

Hoyer even double-dipped on the former Houston Astros champs, working overtime to land Ryan Pressly. It's fair to express concern about a past-prime closer coming off his worst season in years, but Pressly is a proven winner and he was an All-Star as recently as 2021. He's a definite upgrade over Hector Neris, right? (Right.)

Chicago feels like the presumptive favorites in a wide-open NL Central. The Brewers are bleeding talent. The Reds are fiesty, but probably not ready. The Cardinals are in open free fall. The Pirates? Well... Bob Nutting still owns the team.

That said, the Cubs aren't close to the National League heavyweights. The Dodgers are lapping most teams on the raw talent front. Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Arizona all made consequential additions this winter, while New York signed Juan freakin' Soto to the largest contract in MLB history. Hoyer still has some ground to make up.

So, why not circle back to the available pool of former Astros. Alex Bregman is there for the taking and the Cubs are out of excuses.

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Jack Flaherty's Tigers contract ratchets up pressure on Cubs to land Alex Bregman

Jack Flaherty inked a two-year, $35 million contract with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

So what? How does that impact the Cubs?

Well, that's incredible value for a World Series champ coming off an incredibly productive campaign. Flaherty, 29, finished the season with a 3.17 ERA and 194 strikeouts before leading an injury-ravaged, patchwork Dodgers rotation to the promised land. He was mostly brilliant in October and put together big outings when LA needed it most.

The Cubs, who need another top-line starter behind Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga, should've been all over Flaherty at that price. He clearly loved Detroit, to the point where a hometown discount isn't out of the question, but the Cubs should have more money to spend than Scott Harris' small-market Tigers. Flaherty would've been a genuine needle-mover for Craig Counsell's club. There isn't a better manager in the sport when it comes to maximizing his rotation, assuming he actually has talent to work with.

It's hard to come up for an excuse for Chicago's silence on the Flaherty front... unless Bregman is coming down the pipeline. If the Cubs turn around and ink Bregman to a contract, whether it's three years with an opt out or seven years fully guaranteed, fans will forgive the Flaherty oversight. Bregman has direct connections to Tucker and Pressly, his former teammates, and he'd give the Cubs another impact bat in the middle of a lineup that needs it.

Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch? That's one heck of an infield. Chicago is not the favorite for Bregman right now, but it's never too late to get in the mix — until it is.