The Alex Bregman sweepstakes appear to be down to three teams and the Chicago Cubs remain in the mix. Despite the Houston Astros recently increasing their initial offer to Bregman, they are now considered out on the third baseman according to a couple MLB insiders.
First, over at ESPN Buster Olney wrote the following when asked Other than Soto, which player who changed teams this winter are you most interested in seeing in his new uniform?
Alex Bregman, who is likely to land with the Red Sox, Cubs or Tigers soon; sources in the Astros organization are skeptical he'll return to Houston.
Then, later on Monday Robert Murray also discussed Bregman's market and when talking about the potential landing spots the insider notably left out the Astros as well when it comes to who he thinks Bregman's decision will come down to.
.@ByRobertMurray just said he’s skeptical at this point that Alex Bregman ends up getting a long term deal.
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) February 10, 2025
He wouldn’t declare a favorite, but he imagines it will come down to the Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox.
(via Baseball Insiders) pic.twitter.com/Rx5yL5x6Lc
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays were rumored to be in on Bregman in the past few weeks, but Murray could not confirm their involvement from his end.
There was another update by Bob Nightengale as well on Monday. He still brought up the Astros, but interestingly enough he omitted the Blue Jays in his article on Bregman. Why so interesting? Well, Nightengale is the reporter who originally said that the Blue Jays supposedly offered Bregman a six-year deal.
In his recent story Nightengale adds that while the Cubs have show strong interest in Bregman, the team has not been willing to go above three years.
Via USA Today.
Yet, while the Cubs continue to talk to agent Scott Boras about Bregman, there’s no indication that the Cubs would be willing to offer more than a three-year contract. There’s also no sign that Bregman would dramatically lower his asking price when he already has at least one six-year offer on the table.
The Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros have all made offers of at least four years to Bregman, but no one has been willing to meet his asking price.
This contradicts previous reports of a four-year offer coming from the Cubs for Bregman.
At this point it just doesn't seem like Bregman will get the huge 6-7 year deal that he wants. The Astros offered him $156 million over six years back in November, an offer that was still on the table as the calendar flipped to 2025. Last week the Astros reportedly upped their bid, but despite that effort it was reported that it still isn't enough to keep Bregman in Houston.
The #Astros have improved their initial offer to free agent 3B Alex Bregman, two sources tell KPRC 2.
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) February 7, 2025
However, that improved offer is unlikely to get the deal done, according to a source. pic.twitter.com/7YP15V8fKy
Now you have Olney and Murray counting out the Astros.
So, a short-term deal with the Cubs or Red Sox? Does Bregman want to sign a longer deal and play in Detroit? The one storyline that has stayed consistent throughout the offseason is that the Astros have always felt like re-signing Bregman wasn't likely. If we take that at face value, then it might just be down to the Cubs, Red Sox or Tigers for Bregman.
