It's been an interesting offseason for the Chicago Cubs, to say the least. The team has gotten better, acquiring Kyle Tucker to hit in the middle of their lineup, and revamping their bullpen by adding guys like Ryan Pressly, Eli Morgan, Ryan Brasier, and Caleb Thielbar. Even their lone rotation addition, Matthew Boyd, comes with some upside.
With that being said, though, despite the additions, Chicago's payroll has actually gone down from where it was last year. Yes, they're better on paper, and are probably even the NL Central favorites with the roster that they have, but they have not spent like a team eager to win in 2025.
They had one major opportunity to fix that and entrench themselves among the National League's elite by signing Alex Bregman in free agency. Bregman, the last star free agent off the board, could not only have given the Cubs another middle-of-the-order bat, but he could have played third base, a position in which the Cubs lack an established starter. Sure, they hope top prospect Matt Shaw takes the spot and runs with it, but who knows if he's MLB-ready before he even steps into a big league batter's box?
Unfortunately, Bregman wound up signing a three-year, $120 million deal to join the Boston Red Sox. Rather than show any sort of frustration after missing out on a star who would have helped them win many more games, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer went out of his way to praise owner Tom Ricketts for allowing him to pursue Bregman according to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune ($).
"Hoyer described it Thursday as a 'significant exception' to be able to pursue Bregman — who agreed to terms with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night — comparing it to last year’s signing of Cody Bellinger for which ownership similarly allowed Hoyer to go “way over” budget when the outfielder remained available into spring training," Montemurro wrote.
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Cubs fans should be livid after team's Alex Bregman whiff
For whatever reason, Hoyer is trying to sell Cubs fans on the idea that Ricketts did some wonderful thing by pursuing a player who they did not even sign. Are Cubs fans who pack Wrigley Field as often as any fan base packs any stadium really supposed to be wowed by an owner pursuing a good player?
What makes this even more embarrassing is that Chicago's offer was not close to good enough. Bregman wound up signing a three-year, $120 million deal with Boston. Chicago's offer was reportedly four years and $115 million. Yes, the Cubs offered less money with an extra year, making the AAVs not even close to comparable. Even the Detroit Tigers, a team that has seemingly been allergic to spending in recent years, reportedly offered a six-year deal worth a total of $171.5 million. Chicago's offer wasn't better than Detroit in terms of years, AAV, or total dollars. I mean, what're we doing here?
The Cubs are roughly $30 million below the Luxury Tax, a line that, for whatever reason, Ricketts refuses to cross. By deferring money, adding years, or doing some other creative maneuvering, the Cubs could have stayed below that tax line while still signing Bregman.
“Obviously we have a little bit of money for some small in-season things,” Hoyer said. “But this obviously was a significant exception to be able to pursue this, and I’m thankful that I was able to do that. It’s important to be able to be opportunistic, and we tried to do that.”
It sounds like the Cubs, for reasons only Ricketts can explain, are going to stay away from making any major in-season moves. In a year that they could easily compete, and their only guaranteed year with Tucker, they're going to just sit back and hope something breaks their way. Rather than express any frustration, though, Hoyer is simply thankful ownership allowed him to even talk to the star third baseman.
The Cubs are a big market team, but you wouldn't know it based on how Ricketts operates. The response to the Bregman whiff is one Cubs fans should and presumably will take exception to.