Schwarber re-signs, Diaz joins Dodgers in MLB winter meetings
Kyle Schwarber re-signs with the Phillies while Edwin Diaz joins the Dodgers in a busy MLB winter meetings.
A potential deal for Bregman would likely require an increase in the team’s spending from ownership.Bregman, an Albuquerque native, grew up as a fan of the Diamondbacks.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have shown interest in free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, sources confirmed, a surprising development for a club that has been hyper-focused on adding pitchers, not position players, for the first few months of the offseason.
While suggesting a potential Bregman/Diamondbacks deal is unlikely, a source indicated that the way such an agreement could come together would be if Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick, the club’s managing general partner, opted to increase the team’s spending power.
Bregman, 31, has been one of the better third basemen in the majors since debuting in 2016. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Houston Astros before signing with the Boston Red Sox prior to this season. He opted out of his Red Sox contract to become a free agent again last month.
Bregman, who was born and raised in Albuquerque, grew up a fan of the Diamondbacks, whose television rights extend to New Mexico. As a kid, Bregman would attend Diamondbacks games as a fan when he was in Arizona for travel ball tournaments.
Bregman had hoped the Diamondbacks would take him at No. 1 overall in the 2015 draft. They instead took shortstop Dansby Swanson. Bregman was taken by the Astros with the next pick.
It is unclear what a Bregman contract would cost, but various projections from the beginning of the offseason pegged it in the five- or six-year range at somewhere between $28 million and $32 million per season.
It is also unclear what a Bregman deal would mean within the context of the Ketel Marte trade talks. The Diamondbacks have been open to moving Marte in a package built around young starting pitching.
Bregman is coming off a season in which he hit .273/.360/.462 with 28 doubles and 18 homers for the Red Sox. Players, coaches and executives with the Red Sox gushed throughout the year about the impact Bregman made on their clubhouse culture.
The Diamondbacks’ interest in Bregman was first reported by USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale.
Michael Soroka introduced by Diamondbacks
Right-hander Michael Soroka, whom the Diamondbacks signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal last week, was introduced on a video call by his new club, saying he hoped strides he has made with his delivery, pitch mix and training regimen would help him take a step forward and stay healthy with his new team.
“I’m really excited about where those sit moving forward,” Soroka said. “Obviously, the Diamondbacks see those as well, and I’m really thankful.”
Soroka finished last season with the Chicago Cubs and credited Cubs executive Tyler Zombro with helping him build out his repertoire, which included improvement with his cutter, sweeper and slider.
Though Soroka has battled injuries throughout his career, he said he has learned more about what caused issues in the past and what he needs to do to stay on the mound.
“Ultimately, that’s where injuries have added up for me is just chronic inflammation and being able to clear that,” Soroka said. “I think what I was dealing with had a really big part in that. And, working on the delivery, you change things and work on new ways to do things efficiently, I think all that started to come into place, and that was kind of the last key.”
Moreover, Soroka, a Valley resident, was excited not just to be able to live in his home year-round but also to pitch close to the training and pitching facilities he frequents in the offseason.
“It’s kind of a dream scenario,” he said.