February starts tomorrow but Alex Bregman is still unsigned. Throughout the winter, he has reportedly been sitting on a six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that he also has a “lucrative” six-year offer, with an opt-out after the first year, from another club “that may not be not be high on his list.” Heyman mentions the Cubs, Tigers and Red Sox as clubs that have been in the mix. Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently appeared on Area 45 with Bijani and Creighton and suggested the Blue Jays might have a six-year offer out to Bregman.
The twists and turns of the Bregman saga have been well documented to this point. Going back to the Astros seemed like a strong possibility at the start of the winter and there has clearly been mutual interest in a reunion but a gap in talks when it comes to the financials, with Bregman reportedly looking to get something close to $200MM.
The $156MM offer is close-ish to that but Heyman and Nightengale both relay that Bregman viewed that as a paycut. That offer would come with an average annual value of $26MM. Bregman signed an extension with the Astros back in March of 2019, a five-year, $100MM pact. That was only a $20MM AAV but it was backloaded. Bregman got a $10MM signing bonus and then had a salary of $11MM in the first three years of that deal, followed by salaries of $28.5MM in the last two. Though the recent offer from Houston would have come with an AAV bump compared that entire contract, it appears the immediate downgrade in salary wasn’t satisfactory.
That led to Bregman getting interest from other clubs and the Astros pivoting to other players. They acquired Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker deal and then signed Christian Walker. Those two, along with Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve, seemed to fill the Houston infield and block Bregman’s path back to the club. More recently, reports have emerged that suggested the door is actually open a crack. The club apparently has some willingness to re-sign Bregman, move Paredes to second and Altuve to left field.
That’s a bit of an awkward fit, but the same could be said of Bregman’s other possible landing spots. The Red Sox have Rafael Devers at third and prospects like Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer charging towards the second base opening. Moving Devers over to first base makes some sense on account of his poor defense, but he seems reluctant to make that move and Boston has Triston Casas at first and Masataka Yoshida a likely designated hitter. The Tigers would be blocking Jace Jung, a top prospect who has already cracked the majors, from regular playing time. The Cubs would similarly be blocking Matt Shaw. The Jays would be blocking a group of potential third baseman that includes Orelvis Martínez, Addison Barger and Ernie Clement.
Financially, the clubs are in different positions, per figures from RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The Tigers project to have an Opening Day payroll of $118MM. That’s well beyond last year’s $98MM figure but they were in the $120-140MM range in the two prior years. Signing Bregman would push them past that but could be justified after last year’s surprise playoff push. As of last week, their talks with Bregman were reportedly at a standstill.
The Cubs have a competitive balance tax number of $207MM and the Red Sox $210MM. This year’s base tax threshold is $241MM, meaning both clubs are more than $30MM away from that line. They have both paid the tax in recent years, so getting to the line or even crossing it can’t be explicitly ruled out, though both clubs reportedly prefer the idea of signing Bregman to a short-term deal.
The Jays, meanwhile, are well above the rest in this group. They project for a $250MM payroll and $273MM CBT number, both of which would be franchise records by significant margins. Last year’s $225MM Opening Day payroll was a new record at the time. They went narrowly over the CBT line in 2023 and were projected to do so again last year, before their disappointing season led to a trade deadline selloff that allowed them to limbo underneath. Though they are in uncharted waters, they reportedly still have wiggle room after agreeing to a deal with Max Scherzer.
The Cubs were the only one of the non-Houston clubs mentioned here to pay the tax in 2024, meaning they would be subject to the stiffest penalties for signing Bregman. Since he rejected a qualifying offer, any club apart from Houston that signs him would be subject to draft pick forfeiture. As a tax payor, the Cubs would forfeit their second- and fifth-highest picks as well as $1MM from next year’s international bonus pool space. The Jays and Red Sox, who didn’t pay the tax and aren’t revenue-sharing recipients, would only forfeit $500K of pool space and their second-highest pick. The Jays already surrendered a pick to sign Anthony Santander, so they would actually surrender their third-highest pick if they also signed Bregman. The Tigers, as a revenue-sharing recipient, would give up their third-best pick. Houston stands to receive compensation if Bregman signs elsewhere, though since they paid the tax last year, they would only receive a pick after the fourth round of the upcoming draft. Re-signing Bregman would take that potential compensation away.
Despite the inelegant roster fits, teams seem to be willing to make it work somehow. An unsigned player this close to the start of spring training would normally have to start considering short-term contracts. That happened last winter with the so-called “Boras Four” of Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger, who all signed in February of March, inking two- or three-year deals including opt-outs. Boras also represents Bregman and Pete Alonso, who are both unsigned now.
Alonso seems likely to be going down the short-term route, having recently discussed some three-year arrangements with the Mets. Reports on Bregman, however, have suggested that’s less likely. Last week, it was reported that Bregman has multiple offers of at least five years. The Astros seem to be one of them, as they have reportedly kept their offer out to Bregman even as they have pursued other moves.
Bregman, it seems, has been stuck in a sort of limbo zone. Based on the reports, he has a decent amount of interest but not quite enough to get up to his asking price, which has led to this holding pattern. MLBTR predicted him for a seven-year deal worth $182MM at the start of the offseason. As mentioned, he was looking to get a bit beyond that, into the $200MM range, but his offers have seemingly come in at a slightly lower level.
The Astros have reportedly had Jorge Polanco as their Bregman backup plan, but he has agreed to return to the Mariners on a new deal. Whether that leads the Astros to increase their offer to Bregman remains to be seen. They are known to be looking for a left-handed outfielder. Signing Polanco, a switch-hitter, would have been an indirect way of doing that. Altuve likely would have ended up in left field but it would have added a lefty bat to the lineup regardless. They could now consider a more direct option like signing Alex Verdugo or Jason Heyward. Bregman is right-handed but a more exciting player overall than either of those two, though the club has been connected to Verdugo this offseason and signed Heyward late last year after he was released by the Dodgers.
Whether or not the Astros pivot with Polanco off the board, it seems other clubs are lurking, perhaps in a similar price range. How this plays out could have ripple effects to other players. The Jays have also been lurking in the Alonso market but surely won’t sign both. Pitchers like Jack Flaherty and Nick Pivetta are also unsigned and have been connected to some of these clubs. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two weeks.
Expos?
Stocking up on players in case they’re the next expansion team.
It’s difficult to get by on $26MM a year when you’ve been living the $28.5MM lifestyle.
He can start clipping coupons.
May I ask where you get your coupons? I would love to save 2.5MM on groceries and stuff.
@Hawktattoo Zero coupon bonds, that it.
Lord – Heavy pressure from the union to always go up with AAV on contracts, never down. But the Astros are no doubt offering 6 years to ease the CBT hit each year.
If Bregman wants the higher AAV, he should ask for the same $156M over 5 years.
If he wants both the higher AAV and the 6 years, he can go pound sand. LOL
Fever, he obviously hasn’t liked the offers he’s received either due to the AAV, years and/or team making the offer. I at this point just want him signed so the Cardinals and Arenado can decide on their future together. At five or more years I don’t want Bregman either unless the total is under $100m, which it won’t be. I still think the Sox in 25 would be best if Devers is DHing…
In a perfect world maybe but there simply isn’t any way to clear off Yoshida from the roster to open up DH.
dewey – Here’s the thing, at this point what could happen that would influence any teams to significantly increase their offer?
Truck Day is Monday, teams that could have afforded him have either allocated their resources elsewhere or simply don’t need him (Jays, Astros, Red Sox).
But he needs a team, he needs a job.
By now he should have told all teams “Give me your best offer by February 1st and I will make my decision at that time”.
But the guy has a massive ego, he thinks he’s calling the shots, he thinks he’s Soto or Burnes or Fried …. but he’s not. He’s a good but not great player, nothing more.
Ken – What other players in MLB have moved from 3B-SS-2B directly to DH while still in their 20’s? Not even taking into consideration the huge contract.
Cora has already stated Bregman would play 2B if he was signed. I know people here like to demonize and blame Yoshida for everything, but he’s not the one holding up a Bregman signing.
Sox have eaten money before and Yoshida is a professional hitter so they won’t have to eat it all.
Fever, I don’t believe the Astros original offer is still available because if it was, he would be signed (just my take as no one for the reasons you gave is offering more.
Bregman expecting an unrealistic offer is why Bregman hasn’t sign ed Fever.
dewey – That would be a good trivia question, who is the last player they ate a contract of more than $5M on.
Certainly nobody after Dombrowski.
dewey – I guess it’s possible the media could be wrong about the standing offer, wouldn’t be the first time they’ve been wrong.
dewey – Totally agree! I do believe the Sox refuse to go over 4 years, thankfully.
Yoshida brings ONE thing to the table, a decent but not elite bat, and is coming off surgery that makes even that a question mark.
I bet they’d have to eat a LOT and even then, most teams would want to see him in spring training first.
Dev – Ohtani and Kim had the same surgery as Yoshida, with Ohtani having it after Yoshida and Kim having it around 6 weeks before Yoshida.
Why do you have concerns about only Yoshida? It’s not usually a career-ending injury, especially for a DH.
Yes, most teams wouldn’t trade for Yoshida until he proves to be healthy and productive again. Which is why a deadline deal makes a LOT more sense for the Red Sox than simply eating his contract now.
Chris Sale.
They ate $18mm on the Chris Sale deal last year.
You mean pound trash cans.
Fever, not eating money says it all. No one wants to waste money but when the Sox were run as an isolated business, they quantified moves in that it cost to make. Now as a division of a conglomerate, the baseball team is competing against other divisions for those extra investment dollars which are awarded based on where ownership believes that extra investment will yield the best return. In other words, the question is given the sunken cost, is the team better with or without Yoshida (as there is no guarantee on how his roster spot will be filled)?
Sag, I’m in agreement but did they do that with the White Sox trade? I don’t think so but only time will tell. Reminds me of how it was either Devers or Moncada in the Sales’ trade. I’m very high on Fitts but I realize it was a very small sample size. He’s another if you don’t believe in last September.
Or in spring training Fever. There could be the framework of a trade already in place pending seeing him at bat (subject to each team reassessing of course).
Dewey – We all realize Yoshida is not a good fit if Devers cannot play 1B and has to move to DH. But they aren’t there yet, and it makes no sense eating Yoshida’s contract right now.
Patience is a virtue.
Dewey – Anything is possible but don’t expect Devers to move directly to DH. That woukd be an unprecedented move, especially for a 3B in his 20’s with a massive contract. Gotta look at it from a business perspective, not a fan perspective.
Fever, patience after what fans have put up with? Seriously, I’m not saying Yoshida should be dumped but if they have to pay it down, they certainly can if that’s what is holding up other moves. I want a solid defense in 25, which means Devers at DH.
Fever, I’m looking at it as a winning perspective. While the team won in 18, these last years have been taxing on the pitching and a great defense saves arms.
The Astros could front load their &156 offer, $30M the first 3 years and spread the rest over the final 3 slightly decreasing each year, $25, $22 and $19. Problem solved.
Detroit is bidding against themselves
Patience is all well and good, but the last time the Red Sox were below .500 over a five year stretch, it led to Butch Hobson being fired. That’s the only other time it has happened in my LIFETIME.
Other teams live through this and worse, but it has been a long time since the Red Sox were this bad consistently.
Wait – A minute… your handle literally says to be patient until next year!
So what do you think of Moncada as a 1-year stopgap at 3B? I have been saying for months him at $5M is a better option than Arenado and his contract.
Arenado is better both defensively and offensively. Moncada might be a better deal in that he is cheaper, but I can’t get excited about that one.
David Price… kinda
Fever, plenty of poor defensive 3B move to 1B or DH in their mid 20s. Some even earlier. Check out careers of Encarnacion, Thome, and Edgar Martinez? (Off the cuff, might be misremembering some.)
Wait – No doubt Arenado has been better than Moncada over the past 4 years, but I could live with Moncada for just one year at small dollars. He’s been exactly at replacement level (100 OPS+) during those 4 years, and he’s at least average defensively.
Taking on Arenado or Bregman is like trying to kill a fly by using a blowtorch.
Wait – I looked them up.
EE was fulltime 3B at 27
Age 28 he played 3B/1B/DH.
Age 29 he split 1B/DH.
Thome was fulltime 1B at 27
Age 28 he split 1B/DH
Age 29 he split 1B/DH
Edgar was fulltime 3B at 27
Age 28 he was a fulltime 3B
Age 29 he split 3B/DH
Devers is 28 this year, so I could see him splitting between 3B/1B and 3B/DH but I definitely don’t see him going to fulltime DH.
It really annoys me that last year Cora didn’t give Devers some reps at 1B. It was the perfect opportunity, Devers nursing the shoulder injury which would have benefited from throwing a lot less by playing 1B, and all the while Casas was out half the season anyway.
@LordD99
He was forced to live on $11M a year for the 1st 3 years of his prior extension, so he already knows how to deal with financial hardship.
As soon as I saw the headline I knew it was going to be Heyman drumming up business for Boras again.
Wade – Yep and Heyman didn’t even break the story, it was Nightengale on Tuesday who first reported the Toronto offer.
Exactly. If I were the astros I’d publicly take my 6 year offer off the table and publicly say we have a team policy now only giving up 5 year contracts, take whatever stupid fine that comes with it. Pretty clear bregman wants to stay in Houston but doesn’t like the amount of years.
I really don’t understand boras negotiating tactics late in offseasons. He drags these things out so long and he gets down to one suitor and costs his client money. Then boras cries about the rules afterwards.
What rules?
@ Seamus
Raven’s rules
Exactly. If I’m the Astros, I’d tell him to go sign that deal if he actually has it.
I cannot see a player wanting all the drama associated with Boras in the off season.
Champs – Players who care about getting as much as possible go with Boras.
Look at Soto …. on top of the $765M he demanded a private suite and 4 season tickets behind home plate. Greed at it’s finest.
QO he stomps his feet about that every year
Quote the Raven, never more.
There non”contract” on the table. There’s a verbal expression on Dana Brown’s part to attempt to get to a contract on $156M/6yrs. Boras no doubt told Brown that wasn’t close enough to beginning contracting. At that point, most executives would say “go with God” and do better if you can but before you sign with someone give us a ring.
Boras on Boras:
Boras
“I’ve signed 18 free agents [winter 2023],” says Boras. “I have evaluations. Teams have time for making late decisions. Often teams do that. I don’t mind letting time pass.”
“I took care of this years ago,” Boras says. “I’ve spent millions on sports training facilities and instructors. I can conduct a spring training.”
BTW, ZiPS sees 45% playoff odds for the Red Sox. That’s twice what I would have guessed.
Wait – I commented on how bad BP has been with projections, right now they are projecting a 79-83 record. with a -11 Run Differential.
I hate predictions, but with the team they have right now I don’t see how they don’t have a winning record unless they suffer key injuries.
And Houck as the #5 starter is absolutely absurd.
BPro is placing too much weight on career averages, too little on the most recent season. Sometimes improvements are real.
wait – Agreed! They don’t do much research, that is quite clear.
With Houck they didn’t take into consideration the fluke facial injury in 2023, and with both him and Crawford they didn’t take into consideration their numbers faded in the second half because they were being pushed to go far more innings than they ever had before.
And how could the team possibly be worse than last year if it’s assumed they stay relatively healthy? Other than maybe Duran and Slaten, nobody really overachieved …. in fact many of the players underachieved for various reasons.
As of right now I think the Sox will be better, the Yanks are about the same, the Jays are better, and both the Orioles and Rays are worse. .
BPro was state of the art 20 years ago, but their best minds scattered. A couple got jobs with teams, one friend going to the Indians, and many of their metrics have been untouched since then – while competing models continue to evolve. These days there isn’t really anything they do that I can’t run equally accurately (equally inaccurately) on the back of an envelope.
Baseball-Reference has also fallen out of date over the last 15 years. The Statcast data revolutionized the field. Fangraphs is my major source these days. Some of their stuff is still pretty sketchy, but overall they do it as well as anybody. Dan S. Is a bright guy.
How’s it going for Spencer Turnbull?
Bregman was 26 when he signed that backoaded contract. It was for $20M/yr for 5 years no matter how you want to view it. He has regressed over the last few years especially without the trash can and he now has been given Alonsoitis from Boras. Good luck Alex.
He has a family to feed! I think!
Dodgers
Alex, ask not for whom Hinch bangs the trash can, he bangs the trash can for thee.
And guess who put the idjit idea in Bregman’s head, that he deserved a “pay raise” from any team paying for what’s probably going to be the entirety of his decline phase, probably paying him until and after he’s out of baseball?
Kiewoom Heroes
Yeah I wonder who the team might be? Maybe you right about the Expos.
Can opt out after 1 year? The Giants?
Detroit?
Here is the deal that I would offer Bregman:
6 years at $156 million
Years 1-4 $29 million per year and a no-trade clause
Years 5-6 $20 million per year without the no-trade clause during those years
Opt-out available to Bregman after 4th and 5th year
Expos already have Coco Laboy.
Only the Yankees would be so dumb.
@ chief
Only a carpathian would come back to life now, and choose New York.
Take it then.
Said in Ronald Regean voice:
“Weeelll dummy whatcha waitin’ for?”
“Viewed as taking a pay cut” due to the backloaded prior contract where the last two years were at $28.5M but AAV at $20M.
When I hear that from a guy going into his age 31 season with some decline already, a part of me roots for “all 6 year offers are no longer on the table and are now viewed as in the past”.
Who offers a contract without a deadline to accept or a deadline that long? Apparently the Astros.
We’ll keep a light on for you
Maybe they know that if they set a deadline hell take their offer.
Detroit
CarverAndrews;
I respect Mr. Bergman as a gamer. Comes to play every day. Doesn’t cut corners. Maybe not THE team leader, but in with the leadership pack.
As you note, he is 31 and beginning his decline. And of course no one wants to discuss the injuries that all players over 30 begin suffering – all they want in a name player for 2025. Can’t blame him for wanting guaranteed money for years. It’s an insurance policy paid for by the franchise he signs with.
I like the Blue Jays for him…..
Shapiro / Atkins are the same as Mozeliak in St. Louis. A year or so behind him. Neither has built an organization that makes their players under contract (minors or majors) better. So both have resorted to overpaying veteran players acquired in FA or salary-dump trades, taking on extra years when said players are clearly on the downside while their pay goes up each year. They just look to sell tickets to fanbases each offseason that haven’t figured out what’s happening – i.e. that the same approach year-after-year slowly makes their beloved team worse and paints it into a corner.
Been watching MLB teams do this for over 60 years.
Vladdy is surely leaving after 2025. If Mr. Bergman has a good season with an opt-out he’ll try FA again next offseason. If he doesn’t the Jays will be stuck with him, and it’ll be up to the new head baseball guy that takes over next offseason to go through the process the Cardinals have been going through this offseason.
Mr. Bregman? WTF? Are you dating his daughter? Get a grip Chatgpt
I was thinking the same. Pay should decline with statistical decline. Slugging .500 went out the window with the garbage can for bregman. No way he’s worth Pujols money even in 2025
Astros have had a very interesting offseason and it’s surprising They were in on Polanco. Equally surprising They wanna bring back bregman after filling the infield
Who is Ronald Regean?
He was the president after Cartier.
Before McCain
@Rickover50 “It doesn’t matter who you vote for. In the US you always get John McCain.”
McCain seemed nice, but inside those eyes lurked something
McCain was a warmonger, who purposely lost the 2008 election.
Dodgers, all money deferred.
You are a one trick pony and a bad one
Dodger fans are so easily baited
Use fertilizer as bait and find yourself smelling of it soon enough
– not a Dodger fan
Dodgers could get him. Bregman and Muncy could split 2nd and 3rd. Make Kim super utility.
I know it’s farfetched, but the Dodgers entire off-season could’ve been considered in November farfetched
Thanks but no thanks! We don’t want an overpaid cheater in decline.
Most $ deferred. It will include a huge signing bonus upfront.
Dodgers new strategy should be not signing guys with QO until summer so they can keep their draft picks as well. They are easily going to win division so have zero need for Bregman in regular season.
Pilots?
Astronauts?
Aviators?
OK, let me think…
Balloonists?
Call Jim Bouton.
Jim Bouton, the poster child for those halcyon days when the MLB teams of Amurca fill the used car lots of the nation with arms shredded by 250-plus inning workloads.
Aka “the good old days.” Well, if you were a genetic freak with a bulletproof rotator cuff throwing to lineups that had just 2 or 3 legit HR threats.
Livan Hernandez ate those seasons for breakfast
Would like to see him in Detroit or Toronto.
Honestly, at this point I’d just like to see him off the trade rumor mill. Sign anywhere already.
Not Chicago?
Let’s let Shaw get a shot at 3B. Hoerner has 2B for two more years and Triantos is coming up soon, so Bregman would just be an overpriced declining player for 4-6 years. We can use that money instead to pick up Flaherty or trade for a TOR pitcher.
@CubsIn25 Exactly. You don’t plant a FA already in significant decline at a semi-premium position where he blocks your stud prospect who has hit extremely, extremely well at every level and with a strong and improving batting eye.
Shaw’s career to date reminds me of Alonso, who hit at every minor league level through age 23. Shaw doesn’t have the plus-plus power Alonso showed at every stop without fail, but Shaw’s a full year younger which makes a big difference in projecting outcomes, and Shaw will presumably also debut in MLB a full year younger than Alonso was on OD in 2019.
I don’t know about Shaw’s defense, but he’s listed at 3B-SS-2B, and the Cubs didn’t keep him only at 3B in the minors, so it’s reasonable to expect an above average glove at 3B.
Bank on Shaw and spend that 26-30m AAV elsewhere, at position(s) of real need, not just because the FA is shiny today.
Fwiw your point is the same one I’ve been making about the Mets NOT bringing back Alonso. They have real promise at 3B, no one as good as Shaw but they have three candidates versus one, and in sum they project in 650 PA at 3B to give as much value (more on defense, less on offense) than would Alonso if the Mets brought him back.
Bregman and Sasaki rumors have made up 95% of all baseball articles this offseason, and none of them have actually said anything of substance. .
Don’t forget Alonso…he’s another one
Soto.
BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT we continue to read them, LOL.
I’d like to see him back in Houston. Thanks for letting me shop your offer all winter and spring. Appreciate you not pulling it because I would have been in real trouble.
If you think this is getting enough attention…..may I introduce you to a man named Dylan Cease
Cubs just signed him. 7/182.
Not really, just wanted to see what kind of rise I could get out of you.
You failed miserably
only way that would happen if it was $172.00.
I don’t want to see him in Detroit on a long contract. 2 years; a 3rd with an option. Tigers don’t need another Baez
@tammelinb I wouldn’t sign Bregman, either, if I was the Tiggers, but he’s no Baez. Baez’s entire career screamed, “as soon a my reflexes go a little bit, my career will crash and burn.”
Bregman’s decline in 2024 was part poor luck, but he was still a 4.1 fWAR GG-worthy 3Bman, and if you prefer how bWAR is structured, his decline 2022-2024 was less steep.
The problems with a 4-win 3Bman (which is what Bregman is at this point) turning 31, is that with a standard, typical aging curve he only rates on average to give you 4 seasons where he’s worth a full time gig. The 5th year rates to be subpar, but not awful, and the 6th year? Not pretty, but he might still be able to fill a part time role as the 2B-3B backup you don’t want to give too much time at SS to.
That’s a fair amount of dead time in the contract for a team running a mid- market payroll, though it’s not too bad—and if Bregman posts a 20-30% outcome, a lesser outcome rather than a median, 50% outcome, you might get 2 good years in that scenario, 1 year where he’s on the edge, then 3 years of sorrow. That’s a lot to carry just when Baez’s disaster will be coming off the books.
The Tigers really need to look at their FO. Why did they add Baez when Swanson was going for similar money? Why did they add Baez when he imploded almost immediately?
For an organization to miss, and miss by that much, is startling stuff. Did they not notice one of the worst examples of pitiful behavior in the ‘thumbs down’ episode? Did they not understand the aging curve, and in particular the aging curve of players who rely overwhelmingly on their reflexes?
Jack Straw
====================
“Why did they add Baez when Swanson was going for similar money?”
You could ask the same question about the Phillies and the Padres with their signings of Turner & Bogaerts. Both are nice players, but so is Swanson, and he is younger and $100M cheaper.
Can’t be Toronto if there is a year one opt out. Both parties would want a signing bonus as big as possible. For the Jays it means luxury tax savings. For the player it means only 15% tax.
Not Detroit
I like Jung as a prospect, but I really don’t think he should block this signing if the Team and Bregman reach an agreement. Jung is the reason Detroit doesn’t have give in to his full demand though.
Jung has to be hating this but I think he moves to second next year. Was a minor league gold glove at second and very mid at third
Psych, he just needs to sign with Houston. They travel to Toronto and Detroit. Enjoy the international baseball road trip!!!
Please not Boston please not Boston please not Boston
I wouldn’t worry that much
I’m not super worried because that would require the Red Sox to actually spend money in FA, but I am worried because I think it’s a horrible move and they have made multiple moves that I had similar feels on recently (Paxton 2.0, Chapman).
Agreed, he would need to be 38 years old and/or rehabbing a major injury for the Red Sox to be interested. You are safe!
Yeah, I think they’re moving on. Plenty of young infielders coming up. Would be great for him to be the “RH bat” they need, but he’s too steep for Henry & Co.
Please come to Boston.
It’s more than a feeling.
He’ll be Shipping Up To Boston eventually, if that gives you any Peace of Mind. Some are leaning toward short term deals, but Bregman wants a longer contract Foreplay/Longtime.
Well at this point I’m Used To Bad News.
Detroit
No. Please no. No more Baez contracts
That can’t be the path they take, as it means never signing a premium FA.
They need to figure out WHY they signed Baez.
Scott’s puppet being a puppet.
She said no Boston ain’t her kinda town there ain’t no gold …
Just take the offer & return to the Astros already. Not a Stros fan here, but I doubt he has better offers on an AAV anyway. And he probably wants to go back to Houston, but he and Boras want to save face by getting to that 200M plateu. But is the difference worth spending the majority of the rest of your career someplace you don’t want to be?
No rush until Houston takes offer of table
Which they should have done the moment he first rejected it.
No one (except maybe the Angels or Rockies) is giving Bregman $200m.
No one was giving him that in 2015, adjusted for inflation. Jokes aside, absolutely no one is giving him that in 2025.
He’s 31. He’s not the kind of guy who should be hoping for a better platform year, since teams, even the bad ones, know to deduct that season from any new deal they sign with him.
Even if he somehow puts up a 5 win season in 2025, is he really going to do much better than 5/130m at 32 or whatever he’s holding out hopes for?
And if he puts up a 3 win season in 2025, or a 2.5 win season, even if that involves another chunk of weak luck and he hits the market that offseason, he should consider that he may well be in line for 3/60m or 3/70m since his decline is speeding up and looks like it’s being etched in stone.
Ok. Great. Tell us when he signs a dang contract.
You didn’t have to read it
Who said he read anything more than the title? Stay away from police work. It’s not your thing.
I don’t believe this report at all. Why would any team including the Astros still be offering anywhere near a 6/156 deal? Boras screwed up again this year after screwing up last year. He may have made his money with Soto but Alonzo and Bregman are paying the price. If I am Houston I tell Boras/Bregman the offer is good until the day before Spring Training and the it starts dropping 6M per day.
Heyman working overboard for his client.
Not saying tou are wrong, but why would anyone want to let a team know publicly (especially one offering you a ton of money to be a core player) that you don’t really want to play for them?
It’s just Boras, telling his mouthpiece to let teams knowhere the bidding is at if they want Bregman. No really does. Hopefully not the Cubs anyway.
He’ll probably end up back in Houston with some incentives, opt outs or some sweetner unless Detroit or some desperate team decides they need to make a splash.
I 100% agree this supposed competing offer from an unnamed team is a complete fabrication created by Boras to try to leverage whatever teams have made real offers. What team would ever make such a ludicrous proposal where, with the opt out, it takes all of the downside and gets none of the upside of the player’s future performance?
He did not. Your hate of Boras rather than the player making the decision is a bad look and really weak. Boras is his agent and his job is to advocate for his client. Why should he decide just because MLB fans have the patience of a two year old.
“Alonzo and Bregman are paying the price”…Scott Boras effectively gets the top of market guys paid, but he leaves a lot of dead bodies along the road in doing so.
I’d tell them it was good for 24 hours. But since you are one of our own I will give you 48.
Actually I’m a hole and think that’s too much and already replaced him with Parades so I’d just do nothing and when he comes crawling back to take it tell him I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further.
I agree because for some reason when these guys don’t get to ST on time, they seem to always have crappy seasons
Keuchel and Kimbrel
Going further back Drew and Morales.
Because he knows Detroit is being pressured by the fan base after the finish they had . The fans have been patient for 7 years but it’s time to go for it
Bregman projects to something like (an oversimplified) 3.5, 3.0, 2.4, 1.8, 1.1, 0.3 WAR, given decline accelerates with age, typically accelerating around age 32..
That’s 12.1 WAR and in no way justifies 6/156m. You’d have to have found details to his performance (bad BABIP luck or the like, xBA, xOBA, xWOBA, xSLG etc etc) that lead you to believe his decline will start higher and escape the acceleration of aging curves, something like…
4.3, 3.8, 3.3, 2.8, 2.2, 1.5 WAR, giving you a chance of getting 5-6 years of regular-caliber performance, and at 17.9 WAR, if that’s your median projection for Bregman, it’s costing you a reasonable ~$8.7m per FA win—-and, more importantly, in those first 3-4 years he’s adding 3 to 4 marginal wins to your team win total.
For an 86 win team like the Tigers, that’s huge. You’ll make the postseason a LOT more often by adding Bregman, pushing drab, 86 win seasons to 89-90 wins, with the attendant chance of winning the division and drawing the lowest seed in the first round, if they can get past CLE..
Jon Heyman is nothing but a Boras mouthpiece who literally makes crap up to advance an agents agenda. He is not a journalist. He shouldn’t be allowed to work in baseball.
Please provide proof of your libelous statement. It’d be great if Heyman sued you.
Hi Jon.
You should spend time on X. No libel no clicks
ngl in my opinion Heyman is like the Angel Hernandez of journalists. Im hoping for his retirement
JH: professional teabagger
Savannah bananas ?
“Savannah bananas”…That would be HUGE. The Bananas are currently rehearsing for their upcoming musical remake of “The Natural”.
Nah…. too much monkey business!!
156M over 6y is a Joke for a declining player.
But that’s what the Jays F.O will do.
Plus this blocks Orelvis Martinez and lower his trade value.
God, please let the Jays lose 100 games so we can finally get rid of Mark Shapiro and get a F.O that knows baseball. This 10-year nightmare must end. We are currently in the “CURSE of AA” phase. It may even take a new owner to get rid of it.
Not really. Bichette is almost certainly gone after this year and might not hit well enough to be the starting SS for the whole season if he repeats last year.
Next year Martinez can take over at SS, or Gimenez can slide over to SS and he can play 2B.
Can’t be the Jays if there is a year one opt out due to the signing bonus. Both the Jays and player would want it as high as possible which isn’t going to happen with a year one opt out. Players are only taxed 15% on a signing bonus in Canada.
The 156 is Houston $. Jays would need to push 200.
Do you have anything else to say or is it one comment rephrased on every Blue Jays article?
No, $157MM is more. No need to get carried away. As every team has seen Houston’s offer, I would expect the 5 yr offers are for more per yr than it. Offering less per year for fewer years is not the way to attract a player.
Then they acquired Walker and adames . Move on already.. the thought of altuve in left in turf would be hilarious. Every bounce to the wall
Lose 121 games. There ya go.
Billyen;
They brought in 87 year-old Max Schurzer!
What’s the problem?
Jays posters on here were excited. Probably went out and splurged for season tickets immediately after the announcement. I’ve heard the phones in the Jays ticketing offices were ringing off the hook. Including some guy named Trudeau that said he’d have a lot of free time to attend games this summer. Somehow he got the Canadian government to pay for the tickets. Hey, bucks are bucks.
Rogers Communications is loaded so you don’t want to throw that away just have them get someone decent in the FO, then they can go back to forgetting about it while the team wins or at least competes.
Shapiro’s shtick was a renewed stadium and fitness centres and that’s complete so there’s no reason to keep him on. While Atkins had extended, cleaning house with a new administration would be typical once the broom is let loose. Everything from player development to scouting to the farm system turtles all the way down needs a purge
Look man I ain’t fallin’ for no banana in my tailpipe.
How about a potato?
This is the new agent tactic. We have a long term contract from another team. Sooooo you are not signing it because………
We saw what happened last year with Snell, Bellinger and Montgomery. If you are this close to spring training and have an option of a 6 year contract in front of you then you are nuts for not taking it.
I would love to be a fly on the wall with Bregman, Flaherty and Alonso’s negotiations.
@Goose
Have that same energy once Bregman signs somewhere. The Astros agent that desperate to be swayed by those tactics. GMs are not allowed to state whether or not their in on a player or not. I think he has a great offer, but it’s not from a good team he wants to play for.
If what’s reported is true, these agents are really awful at negotiating. Players are wasting their $ having them. Just get a great account and attorney or do it yourself.
Someone should’ve told Juan Soto that he should not have given away to Boras $38.5M in commissions and called H&R BLOCK, 1-800-LAWYERS, and a Nigerian Prince instead.
They can just come visit us at mlbtr and I will advise them for free.
This all reminds me of the circus side show behind the scenes with AI and the guy stuck in it. He can’t read between the lines well, and no one wants to talk directly to him
He is as clueless as you could get. It is actually painful to witness.
Dodgers..the signing is being deferred
Too late. Been done…
Surrre he does. And I kissed Morgan Fairchild….. On the lips! .. And I liked it! Yeah that’s the ticket!
I get the analogy…. But who in the world is Morgan Fairchild?
A very popular 80’s actress. You, my friend were apparently not watching the very popular show “Dallas” in the 80’s.
Ah, thank you. I’ll Google her up to see what all this hubbub is about.
Jon Lovitz did a skit on SNL many moons ago and it was one of his lines about Morgan Fairchild
Look up 80’s big boobs
What about Morganna the kissing bandit? She’s 77 now.
Age or bust size?
Awesome response, not sure the answer? Lol
Hopefully not the Tigers.
I think I have heard the name, “Bergman”, enough already this off-season, I don’t want to hear it much anymore…
Unless he is hitting home runs, that is…..
Even articles that have nothing to do with.the guy, somehow, someway….
Work in the Bergman situation into the article…..
Sick
I have not heard of “Bergman” until your comment. Is he also a free agent?
Very popular with the Chinese.
Alex Bregman
Alex Bergman
Hye Seong Kim
Ha Seong Kim
There’s room for everyone.
On the Dodgers roster!!!
Well good thing his name is bregman then right so you won’t have to worry about hearing Bergman anymore lmfaoo
Id have to think there would be some six year deals. Doesnt seem like year length matters much when there’s no true Financials connected.
Yep. I’d give him 10 or 12.
30-40. We’re talking hypotheticals.
Might have trouble getting it approved but lets make them tell us no!
Bowie Kuhn blocked lifetime contracts in KC. But that was SO 80s. Lol
Length always matters.
Yankees?
Cough, cough, puke…. No, please.
“Hey Judge, do you want to see the ring?”
Lol!
Lucrative 6-year offer on the table?
Seems like a last ditch effort by Bregman’s agent to try to get another year out of the Tigers or Red Sox.
You mean tigers, red sox have been out on bregman since it was revealed devers has a contract basically stating he can play 3b as long as he wants a multiple top prospect options competing at 2b for peanuts on the dollar
Such a contract would be illegal.
Then you need to speak with red sox management because comments from them specifically implied promises were made in that regard when the media kept trying to move him to 1b.. and why would it be illegal? You can stipulate anything a contract both parties are willing to sign and the union approves.
Pool, his agent said he would not move. You cannot include that in a contract. Read the CBA and the UPC. Tou can find both here – mlbplayers.com/cba
If the Red Sox say they want him to play DH then Devers choices are play DH if he wants to get paid or retire if he doesn’t want to get paid.
He can sulk, but it doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t have the choice, the team does.
Do you think its wise to force a guy you just gave 300 million to to change positions 1 year into his deal while his manager and gm have said all winter he is the 3b?..no its not quit this fantasy bs about bregman. 1 devers isnt moving 2 sox def wont pay him 3 sox fknt need hom to play 2b they are more than covered..move on
Yes, if it helps the team win games. If he pouts about it, he is not a professional and you should not have signed him in the first place. Your own bleeping fault.
Devers is so bad on defense that as several people have pointed out if he had played last season at DH, he would have had a higher WAR even though 3B has a 17-run advantage over DH in the WAR positional adjustment.
To make that easy to grasp, Devers cost the Red Sox wins by playing 3B instead of DH. He has done that every year he has played 3B for them. If he plays 3B for them next season instead of DH he will cost them wins.
The Red Sox are paying him no matter where he plays. Whether he is costing them wins at 3B or at DH where his value to the team is greatest. So yes, they will pay him to play DH if that is in the best interest of the team.
So the question I need to ask you is do you want wins more or do you want to not potentially tick off the player?
What is that player more interested in? If it isn’t wins, trade his behind post haste. Even if you have to eat a huge chunk of money. Get that selfish bleep off your team if the team winning is not his priority when he is already getting paid big dollars for the long haul.
We are discusing 2 different things here..my point is the red sox are not getting bregman for multiple reasons the devers situation only being one of them and if you understand how this franchise has been run they are not dealing him in fact quite the opposite, they are building him up to be the face of it..its really that simple
I guess you really don’t understand. I am sorry that you have no clue how this stuff works on any team, so we will just have to agree to disagree.
Who was the face of the Red Sox through their WS wins? Some guy named Big Papi that played what position? Oh yeah, DH.
You dont have to be a ahole but guess we will agree to disagree on that too jerk
Altuve doesn’t want him to leave Houston because once he is gone he can freely talk about Jose’s buzzer.
Only problem is Altuve is sure to have dirt on Bregman too. So, guessing they signed a non-disclosure agreement that’ll step in if he leaves.
“I swear, I thought it was just a nipple stimulator!”
This ain’t the WWE man. MLB players have a code and honor it even if you don’t like the other person. Nobody flips or snitches. NBA and NFL not so much since that kind of stuff helps sell.
What team leaves an outstanding offer out for weeks or months? That’s crazy. I sure hope it’s not the Tigers about to clog up their roster and payroll for the next 6 years. They’ve been doing a great job at not taking on bad contracts so they can be more dynamic in the future when the Max Clark era begins.
Luke – Normally it is crazy, but in this case the Astros already have a replacement for Bregman so it’s not like they need to find someone else if he signs elsewhere.
If they sellout copa then they could afford 200 mil payroll. Why have 20,000 empty seats. Sign flaherty as well. The guy is begging for a one year
I call BS. We all know Heyman is Scott Boras’ boy. He messed up, asked for too much and is now trying to cover his butt. IF there is a contract for that much then SIGN IT. Boras is trying to generate buzz because there isn’t any. When will these players learn. Suck it up and sign.
If he had a 6 year deal on the table he would have signed it already. Heyman just being a mouthpiece for Boras as usual, he really is on the Boras Corp payroll
Is it possible that if there really is a 6 year offer its from a team that Bregman doesn’t really want to play for….after all, he’s been spoiled with the team success he’s been a part of with the Astros….would he really want to sign with a Pittsburg or a Miami team for example and play out that 6 year contract possibly without ever making the playoffs again and being exposed in the lineup given no lineup protection in the batting order all based on finances?
More than likely, this is a last ditch attempt to either get the Astros to up their offer, or engage another top tier team in the bidding for leverage…..
There’s a 6 year deal. Just less $ than Astro’s. They left out important details.
if any team is going to give him too much money for too long of a period of time it will be the Tigers.
The tigers won’t. In the Chris Illich era, the only big signings were baez and e rod. But that was with their old GM Al Avila. Scott Harris doesn’t seem like the type of guy to actually be serious about these long contracts.
Don’t kid yourself .. it’s the first time he has a contender
It’s the Yankees. They already tried to get Arenado.
Don’t think so…..if they’ve offered 6 years the average value is lower than what he says he would accept….been down this road too many times…DJL, Donaldson, even Giancarlo…..
I really don’t think the Yankees will get him
No way. They’re capped. They won’t even spend to get what they need in relief right now because of the CBT penalty.
I would be shocked if it is the Yankees. Plus, Cashman is still railing on about how the Yankees would’ve won in ‘17 if the Astros didn’t cheat, and Bregman was an integral part of those teams.
What better way to neuter a rival than sign their franchise player?
Astros sign bregman and drop him in left field.
You can’t seriously expect Alex Bregman to feed, clothe and shelter his family for an AAV of only $26,000,000 per year. Latrell Sprewell would be totally outraged.
The Bregman player at 29 as compared to the Bregman player at 31 are different and only he seems to be resistant to that fact…..
Pete Alonso here!
“What do they think I am, some janitor?!”
“Uhhh, Alex…”
“Club Other Than” has tossed their hat in the ring. Not to be confused with the “mystery team”
Totally different (wink, wink)
Let’s go AJ!
Guessing Toronto and wondering if they would offer 6 years/$174 million (29/yr) and would Bregman accept?
I hope that’s their offer, and I hope he takes it. I think all baseball fans are pretty annoyed with the Bregman/Boras show at this point
174 he would probably choose taxes and living preference of Houston at 156
I would if I had that choice. Winning, legacy, and comfort are more important in the long run than a little more cash.
You know just how bad it is for Toronto if that’s true. It’s like offering a homeless person a house, but they decline because it’s only 2 bedrooms.
Much like SF during Zaidi, Toronto needs to do some self-reflection to honestly assess why they’re having these problems.
I’m not YourDreamGMAccountant but the taxes alone probably make it close to equal. Legacy besides having personal value means more $. Already has endorsement relations that can be renewed simply by signing vs finding new ones. If he wants to open a bar restaurant whatever what better place that the place where you are a lifelong world series champion of that team. He has friends. Wife kids have friends. How many millions does it take to make you want to give them up? If he has kids I dunno. 30 million sure? 3 or 5 or 7 not when you have hundreds of millions right? Winning isn’t just more fun but more often you make playoffs and the deeper you go means more $. I like Astros chances better.
There’s a lot more to it than just looking at the bigger number. Fans believe oh he took less $. That’s just pr from the team that missed out and from the player wanting to look good. They almost always take the most $.
So ego is greater than greed? Lindor took less $ just to have a bigger #? It’s possible. Incredibly stupid but possible.
It’s not a mystery. By not being able to sign Vlad they aren’t saying they are competing. I believe had Vlad been signed then all the pitching added the team would be more attractive to FA’s. Players want to win but also see a team trying to win
Vlad would be foolish to sign now unless they overpay. And they would be foolish to overpay by much. So not having signed him isn’t an issue for me. They can always wait for the market to set a price after the season. And then sign him. So the Vlad hyperventilation is premature to me. They need to add for this year before next year. And sign multi-year contracts when they can.
What problems? Toronto has signed a LOT of free agents. The team takes care of families. Their players are paid in US dollars and spend in Canadian dollars when in Toronto — big bonus there. One of three largest urban areas in North America and only one with just one MLB team, and a domed stadium. Their stadium not built on a massive old dump site like Citi Field is, or on a site where a century old community was forced out by city so their stadium could be built (Chavez Ravine).
Toronto management sticks to valuations instead of overpays.
100% Toronto !
Then his camp is leaking this info in hopes Houston or Boston match the near or near enough so he doesn’t have to play in Canada. Doubt it works and hope he signs in Toronto.
@Mystery. I would lose complete respect for Mr. Crane
These games are annoying. Lifelong Astros fan, speaking only for myself, goodbye.
He’ll be a Cub.
I really hope the cubs don’t sign him
DODGERS
The would be funnier than any Saturday Night Live skit.(Belushi & Jane excluded)
” February starts tomorrow but Alex Bregman is still unsigned… “. Like we all couldn’t guess who is agent is?…
Tigers have $40m of cap dropping off in 2026 between Cobb, Torres and Maeda. They need to figure in a Skub extension that starts in 2027, but have $24m more dropping off for 2028 forward with Baez.
Beyond Skub, the only guy time extend before 29 is Greene.
They can spend.
“… suggested the Blue Jays MIGHT have a six-year offer…”
That’s not even a rumor. That’s wishful thinking
I’ll still hang in this….
The Yankees should’ve signed Bregman and Ha-Seong Kim this offseason and then ironed out the rest of their roster. Fried was not a necessary purchase.
He’s definitely just going back to the astros
What Boras really means is *Bregman got an offer from a team he does not want to go to and wants the Cubs or Astros to up their offers.”
Yes-Bregman is frustrated Toronto is the best offer. No team with higher probability of success is desperate to acquire him beyond the good reported guarantee Astros extended a long time ago. Take the $ or go back to Houston if that deal is truly still on the table.
Negotiating through the press too long here.
I’m in agreement with Gimbo. He returns to Houston. If not Detroit makes sense. Too bad Toronto doesn’t have the cojones to sign him and Alonso. Same for Boston.
It has to be the A’s. “Not high on his list”.
But nah, he wouldn’t sign there…
“They [Houston] are known to be looking for a left-handed outfielder.”
I could have sworn the Astros had one of the best not very long ago. Is Kyle Tucker the price the team really pays for the BS with Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero? The betrayal of James Click?
I guess the really wealthy people who own teams aren’t accustomed to people not doing what they want them to do (e.g. build me a new stadium).
I don’t have a real point to make about the Astros this offseason. If I had a rational point to make, and could do so in a concise and logical manner, do you think I would be rambling like this?
Get this to the finish line!
Think if there really was 6yr offer on table from any MLB team this headline would read “Bregman signs w/whoever.” Toronto balked when Bregman said he was bringing his favorite trashcan, it’s 2 for 1 deal.
They really need him tbh. The Guererro/Bichette era will end after this season. The offensive core afterwards can be Bregman/Santander which is solid enough in a weak AL to still get some postseason appearances.
Unless they are firmly in contention. This year might be the last real opportunity for a legit WS run, assuming health and performance. It’s not a WS roster, but its about as good as it will get for them.
Good for PR but Astros offer is better and he would take it if it’s real.
Something called taxes. And $ now is better than $ later. And people are creatures of comfort. He’s lived there. Knows his team. Family has friends. That has value. Not to mention future endorsements business ventures that come from being a lifetime Astro world series champion. Yes it’s better.
I have absolutely zero insider information so not sure what you are talking about. I’m just going with what mlbtr tells me.
So 24m taxes care of taxes. So what? You don’t pick up your family and leave for the same $. You can’t even just beat Houston’s offer. You have to do so significantly. Now that’s just common sense. I don’t know Bregman. Maybe for a few bucks more he will wreck havoc on his personal life.
He hasn’t accepted Houston’s offer because they are idiots who stink at negotiating. There should be no offer. Until it is removed there’s no reason to accept it until sometime in spring training.
Zero absolutes. These are things a intelligent person would know or intelligent advisors would be telling them.
Santander .307 OBP
Bregman .315 OBP
They are not getting younger.
I don’t expect that. If he’s the old Bo which led the AL in hits for several years, that’s the Bo they’d want to sign long-term.
He sure is a stuck up ######
Amazing if Boras can pull this off….
John Heyman: “Alex Bregman has a 6 year offer from a team *not* the Astros 😉 :wink:”
Brian Griffin: ” Congratulations John, you’re the Spalding Gray of crap”…
Scott Boras and his employee Jeff Passan.
Think the guy is right. This is a fake story, as they all are prior to the actual signing news release. Bregman is going to end up taking a one year deal somewhere.
Not if he’s smart and not if there really is a 6/156 deal on the table, short of him hating the Astros’ FO’s guts for some reason.
Or maybe Bregman really isn’t that smart. Alonso isn’t, and he’s put himself in a similar boat. He has no understanding of the aging curve, no grasp of what today’s FO’s look at as regards 30 yo RR bad 1Bmen, and he bought into idiocies such as Spotrac predicting he’d get 9/270m (I am not making this up) in free agency.
Maybe Bregman was dumb enough to believe he was in line for at least $180 million, and maybe Boras really is a total mercenary even with his own clients, a pathological liar who cares about one thing and only one thing—and if his client takes a beating? Too bad. Maybe he laughs at them for believing him and despise every one of them thoroughly.
I’ve known a few guys like this. It’s chilling how much contempt they have for, well, everyone who shows any weakness or plain humanity.
Regardless of what he signs for will he be able to afford eggs?
Afford yes. Smart investment no.
Sign it and run!
“The $156MM offer is close-ish to that but … Bregman viewed that as a paycut.”
It’s a paycut because you’re in steep decline, Al!
What I see happening is that the team that does sign this guy to big money will regret it immediately because without a regular worry free off-season and perhaps things dipping into spring training, Alex won’t have the usual comfort level preparation time.
His performance could suffer, even though he’s not a pitcher like last year‘s examples I believe Baseball players love routine, and this is really putting a dent into Bregman‘s normal winter and even spring perhaps.
I’m sure his agent, himself, and the teams involved are really hoping to wrap this up ASAP because of what I’ve stated above.
I agree. As a Tigers fan, I don’t even want a short term deal with him once ST starts. They never seem to get on track when they show up late. I’d rather get Flaherty and Grichuk anyway
@GaryRedSoxxWarriors It’s a good point. If I was close to on the fence as a GM, the second week before the start of spring training would be the latest I’d sign a guy.
The record for players who wait longer appears to be less than otherwise.
LA Deferrals probably not an option for Bregman since Friedman seldom makes deals with Boras
Based on that logic, they probably didn’t sign Snell either
The Dodgers signed Snell too? Oh my goodness I forgot about that. This is getting so ridiculous.
Watch the mystery team shock everyone and be either the Athletics, the Marlins, or even the Rockies or some other destination thought to be a black hole.
“Thought to be”??
So he has a 6 year offer but we don’t know how much or from who? May not be from a team high on his list, but even the known suitors may not be high on the list.
Sure he does. I do too.
Heyman out here hustling for the Boras clients! No thank you to Bregman for the Cubs.
Hey Lousy GM shapiro , We do not need another George Springer contract in Toronto………
Hopefully You will be fired soon…..
it’s absurd how boras uses heyman to lie for him. if there was a 6-year offer he would have signed already
Hopefully Detroit signs Flaherty and Grichuk instead of 6+ yrs to him. Maybe even trade for Suarez too.
So tired of Bregman drama and then the offshoot of Arenado drama. Just sign already Bregman. Nobody cares.
SIX YEARS FOR BREGMAN??? THE SYSTEM IS SO BROKEN. ITS THE DODGERS FAULT. ITS PROBABLY ALL DEFERRED!
Bregman is not that good and any Red Sox fan that wants him is delusional.
All he would do is block players like Campbell who are already better than him.
Bregman is an automatic 4+ WAR for at least a few more years and his peak was 8.9 WAR. Before he was called up in July of 2016 Bregman was the #9 prospect in baseball in the mid-season rankings.
Campbell is not a 3B.
Campbell has never played in the majors.
No one has any idea if he can do it yet.
To even try to say he is better than Bregman already is pretty stupid.
I think that someday Campbell is going to be a really good 2B, but for now he is a suspect. Nothing more. Bregman is a proven All Star caliber player.
From what you post, Bregman sounds like a player that SD should add.
I have seen the Blue Jays has already offered at least a 6 year deal.
at this point, both Bregman and Alonso should sign pillow contracts with a high AAV with an opt out after a year with the Jays.
Any team with brains is not going to stick themselves with giving Alonso an opt-out.
Bregman, maybe. He hit in bad luck in 2024. Alonso, not so much.
The contract offer that only exist in the imagination of Scott Boras.
Great! F***ing sign a contract with them (unless it’s with the Red Sox) and move on!
No doubt it’s the Red Sox
I only pray its not Detroit. No thanks. No more Bsrz or Zimmerman’s.
If he had truly received a solid six year offer, he would’ve signed it by now. He, like many other Boras clients, overplayed his hand, and now his camp is making a (likely) failed attempt to draw out renewed interest when many other teams have already made alternate moves. The teams that are sticking around are likely only interested because they perceive the asking price to be lower (in years or dollars or both) since he’s still on the market this late into the off-season.
Astros don’t have a 3B problem. They solved the problem of Bregman’s departure back in December when they wisely traded for Isaac Paredes – a player with approximately the same 2024 performance projections as Bregman’s for far less financial commitment. Astros do have a public relations problem with the fan base and local media since there will be widespread anger if the team doesn’t make the idiotic decision to bid against itself and allow Bregman’s departure. Astros do need a OF who can hit for power from the left side and this can be addressed by sending Paredes back to the Cubs for Owen Caissie a Top 100 prospect.
If he has a 6 year offer he should take it.
At this point does anybody actually believe this BS ?
It’s possible, but meaningless without knowing the details. I don’t think the RS need him, but I could easily see the RS, or any number of teams, offering Bregman $120M/6.
This idea that the Astros – or any team- have an actual contract offer on the table is absurd. MLB teams only provide financial parameters to agents and usually verbally. It’s their assessment of the player’s market value. Once there is a convergence of players’ market value then contracting begins. – financials need to be settled or really close. Dana Brown most assuredly affirmed the Astros continued interest in Bregman’s return but asked Boras to get back to them if the market moves closer to Bregman’s number than their current understanding of his market value.
Or does it all imply that Bregman either has 2 multi-year offers, or none. If he had one, good chance he would have taken it by now. Then again, he is a Boras client.
I’ve always believed the February of March was the coldest part of April!
“Might not be high on his list” is French for ‘Canada’.
Isotopes?
Would make his commute quicker. He sold his penthouse in Houston and he and Reagan reportedly bought a house in his hometown of Albuquerque,
Hahaaa Boras selling the opt out and it’s still January, nobody’s fooled.
2 years in a row that Boras has completely misjudged the market for his clients. A lot of players currently on team Boras will be looking for new agents soon.
Its wild that many of the same people saying this is BS because Heyman said it are the same ones floating proposals, most terrible, for the Mets to acquire Cease in the article about Heyman’s rumors that they had talked to Padres.
Sign Jason Heyward and forget Bregman.
O such offer exists. If an offer does exist, it will be rejected face value. This is a leak for the sake of future negotiations.
Just hard for me to comprehend these mindsets. Not happy with $26M/yr? That’s $71,000 a DAY for a whole year. He makes more in a day than my wife, a teacher, makes in one year. We can’t afford to go to more than a couple Astros games a year. And he’s not happy with $26M annually? I just… I can’t comprehend this.
I don’t begrudge anything Bregman can get, I’d just be angry at my team for wasting payroll budget on the guy. Add in Bregman’s completely delusional perception of what he’s worth, and it’s a loser proposition all the way around.
Amen brother.
The $26 million needs to be put in the context of what the total business generates, and what the talent that creates that revenue is worth. ’24 MLB revenue was quoted around $12.1 BILLION, and I’m sure there’s still unreported revenue streams all around.
Sports are just insane revenue drivers. There are college football teams that generate a billion $ per year.
Baseball appears to be losing it’s status as “America’s National Pastime”, because most Americans can’t afford to attend the games.
Son, let me teach you about baseball… By the way son, I’m poor compared to compared to Billy Crystal…..
I can teach you, but we can’t afford to go to the games…..maybe once or twice in a lifetime….and when we go….we’ll sit up there…..
Sounds like a conversation every father wants to have with his son.
Yes. I am just an angry man, the sad part being that I am WAY MORE funny than Billy Crystal ever was or ever will be; or ANY of those guys – except Bernie Mac, and he’s dead.
That’s the saddest part and it’s not funny.
If he has a six year offer from the Astros, he should take it before they wake up one day and realize what a mistake that is.
“From a team ‘that may not be high on [Bregman’s] list.’” It’s the Angels, isn’t it? Hey, maybe it’s the Rockies, where—in a complete coincidence—it turns out that Smokey Drew from the “analytics”/intrumural hackysack team invented a killer new strain of bud in his mom’s attic, and it’s been a big hit at Coors (get it, big hit? ). But it’s probably the Angels.
Jon Heyman is a hack.
The egos are unhinged
Bregman has a horse to feed and train…it gets really expensive…Bregman needs a Bigger Boat and Contract…it just can’t be any other way
He’s on a plane to Toronto right now.
Would baseball be better without Scott Boras?
To me the answer is rather obvious.
So, the other 6 yr offer is from the Tigers and he doesn’t want to play in Detroit.
@CJS I think his numbers would crater in Detroit, not as bad as they would in Seattle, but still. Alex doesn’t hammer the ball out of the ballpark often. He hits soft fly balls that land in the Crawford boxes or barely make it over the fence. He would definitely struggle to hit 20 home runs with Detroit as his home park.
Bregman is on the decline. He deserves 4 years max.
Which unsigned free agent are you tired of hearing about. Bregman or Alonso?
Both, but Bregman in particular
BREGMAN OR BUST BOSTON ITS THAT SIMPLE
@baseballguru I think that is the best fit for Alex Bregman aside from a little bit of drama they will experience when they tell Devers he’s not playing third base anymore
The tribulations of players agonizing over who has the higher AAV really resonates in our current reality.
If the Tigers have the best offer on the table and he’s not signing they should move on.
Sign Flaherty and trade off some pitching (Mize, Olson, Montero, a bullpen piece) to get themselves a young versatile player in the Ha Seong Kim mold who can cover 3B, SS, 2B et al. Then they have a younger better version of McKinistry to be their swiss army knife and a backup plan for the combos at 3B and SS if they don’t work out this year, who can shift elsewhere when younger options come up from the minors eventually (McGonigle, Rainer et al). A Matt McLain type player would be an example.
I’d be angrier if Detroit gave in to Bregman and saddled the team with an albatross contract than if they don’t sign him at all.
I really hope he actually described the lower AAV as not ‘satisfactory’
That’s some gilded age thinking and talking right there.
On one hand I would like to see him sign with the tigers. On the other I think his home runs go from 25,26 in Houston to 15 to 20 in Detroit. Would still be an upgrade but not to expectations of a mega contract
Berkman > Bregman
Edward Rogers. Thank you
#1 priority. Sign Vladdy
#2 priority. Get Bregman
#3 priority. Sign Ryan Yarbrough
#4 priority. Extend Bo
#5 priority. Dump Schneider, Atkins and get some real management in there.
#6 priority. Build the farm.
Would it really hurt Houston to up the offer from 6yr-$156M to 6yr-$171M? That’s $2.5M AAV increase and puts his AAV at $28.5M over the life of the contract which is what he earned the past 2 years of his prior extension. Camaraderie and overall clubhouse culture are very important attributes among great teams in every sport, the Astros and the Mets need to realize this with Bregman & Alonso. They both very much so could use their “star” back, meanwhile star players in Altuve & Lindor have been vocal to the front office that both players mean a lot to their respective teams and they would very much so like them to return. Astros 6yr-$171M to make Bregman happy, Mets 3yr-$75M to make Alonso happy, let’s end these sagas.
@Queen Soto, would it really damage Alex Bregman to take a fair offer? They told him they needed him to make a decision and he passed on this offer so they decided to move on aquiring Isaac Parades & Christian Walker . Now Alex is not liking the deals they’re out there and he wants back. I’m a lifelong Astros fan, I’m done with the guy, time for him to move on.
You can really only pay players a fair price, same as out here in the real world. I am beloved, but still only worth the market rate for my skills.
The 6 years is not with the cubs- not with Matt Shaw waiting in the wings unless Shaw moves to 2nd his natural position and trade hoerner now.
Make a decision already. Drama Queen.
actually, fire Boras, then make a decision 😀
Seriously. I’m a Tigers fan and I’m already sick of him.
The Blue Jays have had a bad run of drafts and the farm system shows it, even though they’ve also depleted it through trades. To make up for that they’re going the free agent route to re-stock the big team, and they have the money to do so. Now that they’ve added a few bigger names, it appears they’re not ready to stop. So why not go all they way? So I’ll not be surprised to see Bregman and/or Alonso also come on board, and perhaps even a trade.
It’s a way to get out of the ALE basement, but also to show that they’re able and ready to spend big.
Japan ?
Bregman’s problems are both macro but yet very specific to his free agency. Specifically, Bregman’s previous team, the Houston Astros, no longer need a third baseman – that is just a fact. However, emotionally, the Astros fans long for Bregman’s return – and every business wants satisfied customers. In the macro, Bregman’s free agency is “failing” because the following teams have next to zero active interest in his services : LAD, NYY, NYM, PHL, SFG, TX,AZ., SD These teams can be described as having regular active interest in free agent investment. Most – not all- are the teams with the highest valuations and largest markets.. Many have aggressive ownership and/or creative front offices. They also represent a healthy cross section of MLB. -both leagues and virtually all regions. Bregman’s so-called suitors are mostly American League teams with the Cubs representing the only reported NL team interested. Boston and the Cubs are the only Big 4 teams – in terms of valuation- that have interest. Bregman basically has a very weak free agent appeal. Virtually all reported teams that have interest, also have a fairly strong alternative to Bregman. Unless one or two of the teams that usually engage in over drive for free agency Bregman’s best bet is Houston..
@statyllus, i’m in my late 50s, an Astro fan my whole life. I do not emotionally long for his return, I want him to go away. They gave a more than fair offer to a player who is in decline. He can’t get a better deal elsewhere now he’s crying to come back for more money. I say good riddance. Outside Houston he’s a pariah, he was a hero here
This is so much like Freeman. Players are entitled to seek as much as they can reasonably get, and to play where they want. But this feels like a low-grade auction.
“I hear $156,000,000/6″ Does anyone want to raise their bid by $50? Do I hear $156,000,100?”
Shocking..
Its not from the cubs
Alex Bregman reportedly can’t make up his mind.
Sounds like Boras talking. Who is going to sign an aging third baseman with a .315 OBP to Millions for 6 years?
What exactly does Boras/Bregman want ? ? How much per year, how many years, what kind of opt-outs ?
Whoever foolishly signs him will regret it.
Sounds like typical Boras crap feeding the media
Rumors are the Tigers actually have the best offer out there, but it seems like that may not be enough.
I don’t blame him, if it wasn’t for the Wings and Tigers I’d avoid that crap hole city permanently.
Just wish he’d sign already. As a fan I kinda want him, but at the same time worry he will be the next Baez with his regression already happening. But if it’s a slow regression and not just falling off a cliff like Baez, it might be worth it.
Harris needs to stay his hand and not overpay for past performance. Bregman would be nice in Detroit but only at the right price.
“Meanwhile” has to START the sentence. It can’t come in the middle between commas.
I read this as Bregman has six one-year offers from clubs other than Astros
I sincerely hope the Astros don’t increase their offer, they ought to decrease it honestly. Even if we like Bregman, we don’t like him for 6 more years. He is apparently a great leader and a good defender but he isn’t really a difference making hitter. Furthermore, his addition blocks Cam Smith, displaces Paredes and doesn’t solve the serious OF issue.