MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs are out of the Alex Bregman sweepstakes.
The All-Star third baseman reportedly agreed to a 3-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. The news was first reported by The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, who cited league sources. The deal includes opt outs after each season.
Bregman, 30, had been linked to the Cubs for a few weeks now after his market had failed to take off. The World Series winning third baseman had spent the first nine years of his career with Houston and accumulated 39.6 bWAR with 191 home runs and a .848 OPS. He finished second in AL MVP voting in 2019 with Houston.
But the Astros added Isaac Paredes in a trade with the Cubs for Kyle Tucker and signed free agent Christian Walker to play first base, making a return to Houston unlikely. Other interested teams — like Toronto and Detroit — signed different free agents. That began to create a possibility that the Cubs could jump in the mix on a shorter-term deal like they did with Cody Bellinger last offseason.
Boston, though, remained in the hunt and ultimately offered Bregman a deal with a high annual average value and tempted him to Fenway Park.
The move clears the way for Matt Shaw to win the Cubs’ Opening Day third base job. Since trading away Paredes in December, the Cubs have made it known that the 2023 1st-round pick would have an opportunity to win the job.
But there was always a possibility that the Cubs would look for a veteran piece to compete for the job at the hot corner. Young players — like Pete Crow-Armstrong last year for the Cubs — have struggled and Shaw is not guaranteed success in the majors.
The Cubs added free agent Jon Berti to be in the mix for the third base job, too, and earlier this week, they were connected to veteran Justin Turner. It remains to be seen if the Cubs would still add in that department and give a cushion to Shaw, who has just 159 professional games under his belt.
“I don’t think you ever consider yourself done building a roster,” manager Craig Counsell said earlier this week. “Whether big or small, I don’t think you should consider yourself done, especially on February 11.
“I would say still always looking at options out there, absolutely.”
