Cubs recently had 'casual' conversations with Alex Bregman's agent

Alex Bregman remains unsigned with less than a month until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.

Bregman wont be returning to the Astros after rejecting a reported six-year, $156MM offer that led Houston to pivot to an Isaac Paredes / Christian Walker corner infield tandem.

Early in the offseason, it seemed Bregman and his representation at the Boras Corporation were seeking to eclipse the $200MM mark.

Whether thats still the goal isnt clear, though it stands to reason that some teams are hopeful he could move off a lofty ask as he lingers on the open market.

To that end, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score writes that the Cubs recently had casual conversations with Boras about Bregman.

Levine suggests that the Cubs arent interested in offering a long-term deal.

It seems theyre on the periphery of the market in case the two-time All-Star considers a shorter term with opt-out clauses.

Theres nothing to suggest Bregman is currently willing to do so, however.

Chicago traded Paredes as the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker blockbuster.

Top prospect Matt Shaw is the favorite for the third base job.

Shaw combined for a huge .284/.379/.488 slash with 21 homers and 31 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A last season.

Giving him the starting job would be justifiable, but theres no guarantee that even a prospect of Shaws caliber hits the ground running against big league pitching.

The Cubs dont really have a capable fallback in case Shaw falters.

Vidal Brujan , Luis Vazquez and Rule 5 pick Gage Workman are the backup infielders on the 40-man roster.

Bregman would provide a much higher floor.

He popped 26 homers with a .260/.315/.453 line in his final season in Houston.

Bregman remained an All-Star caliber player despite taking dramatically fewer walks than he had in his previous six seasons.

Hes entering his age-31 season, so while its understandable if teams are reluctant to commit six or seven years, Bregman shouldnt be in danger of any kind of immediate drop-off.

The Cubs have sat out the top of the market for consecutive offseasons.

They havent made a nine-figure investment since committing $177MM to Dansby Swanson over the 2022-23 winter.

Chicago was never a factor on Juan Soto , nor did they seemingly have any interest in playing at the top of the starting pitching market.

Theyve been loosely linked to Jack Flaherty , though it appears theyre similarly waiting on the fringe of the market in case a buy-low opportunity presents itself.

The Cubs have roughly $198MM in luxury tax commitments, according to the RosterResource calculations, putting them more than $40MM shy of the base threshold.

This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission..

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