Sure sounds like Alex Bregman and Scott Boras are using the Cubs

We're now less than a week away from the beginning of spring training, and Alex Bregman appears no closer to finding a home for the 2025 MLB season. The Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs have all expressed varying degrees of interest in the two-time All-Star throughout this offseason, but for whatever reason — his age, his role in Houston's sign-stealing scandal, concerns about how his swing will translate away from the friendly confines of the Crawford Boxes — no one has yet been convinced to hand him the long-term deal he's looking for.

All of which appears to be causing his agent, Scott Boras, a good deal of consternation. Especially after Pete Alonso was forced to come crawling back to the New York Mets earlier this week, Boras could really use a win. But no matter how hard he tries, he hasn't been able to get the Bregman market to budge just yet, and now he's running out of time. So, naturally, he's doing what Boras always does when his back's up against the wall: cynically dragging a team into the rumor mill for use as leverage.

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Cubs shouldn't be spooked by Scott Boras' latest saber-rattling about Alex Bregman

Bregman clearly wants a six- or seven-year deal that will carry him through (and beyond) the remainder of his prime, preferably one that puts him in line with other top third basemen like Rafael Devers and Manny Machado. The only team that we've seen come even close to those parameters are the Astros, who are uniquely motivated to not let Bregman slip away; the six-year, $156 million offer Houston's had on the table for months now is richer than anything else he's seen so far, at least as far as we know.

You'd think that, at this point, Bregman should just take that relatively healthy offer, head back to where he's spent his entire career and call it a day. But Boras, as is his wont, thinks he can squeeze a little more — and he's using the Cubs to help him do it.

The latest Bregman update comes from The Athletic's Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma, who report that the third baseman "may view Wrigley Field as a very comfortable landing spot". While that may seem like a point in Chicago's favor, it should actually be viewed as a shot at Houston. The Cubs' aversion to the luxury tax is well-documented at this point, and means that we have a very clear idea of what they are and aren't willing to offer Bregman. If they could or would beat the Astros' offer, they would've done so by now.

The best they can do is a short-term offer that comes with a higher AAV. Houston is willing to bet, understandably so, that Bregman isn't willing to take them up on that and pick up stakes for Chicago. Boras is trying desperately to convince them otherwise, up to and including dropping little nuggets about how much he likes the idea of Wrigley Field. Of course, if he were so high on playing at the Friendly Confines, he'd probably be a Cub already. Jed Hoyer might well land Bregman at some point, but if he does, it'll be because Houston moved on, not because of Boras' transparent gamesmanship.