Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz react to the Chicago Cubs finally making the move to acquire Alex Bregman for a 5-year $175 million deal. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
The Chicago Cubs spent some money, baby, signing Alex Bregman.
Five years, $175 million.
Cubs ownership made the commitment that we and the entire fan base were incredibly doubtful and skeptical that would make.
You know, people will say, “Oh, well, hold on a second.”
You know, oh, 175, it’s not that much, because $70 million is deferred.
It’s only 30 million a year.
Well, guess what?
That’s the name of the game.
You find a way to get the deal done by putting in whatever deferrals and, and contract stipulations, which in this case apparently also includes a no-trade.
Of course, we’ll talk about the team not willing to give Alex Bregman what he wanted.
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In the second block of this show.
But we stay focused on the Cubs here desire to spend.
Not just this desire to spend in their recent history, which, of course, has not been a lot in free agency.
Dansby Swanson being their most recent, you know, giant free-agent acquisition ago, Jason Heyward before that.
This Bregman contract marks the third-largest free-agent contract in franchise history.
But also, just as it relates to Alex Bregman Himself, let’s remember, a year ago, the Cubs were involved as Alex Bregman free-agent market.
But their best offer last year was 4 and 115.
Which ultimately, if it was going to be a shorter-term contract, The Red Sox clearly gave Bregman what he was looking for at the time.
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Which was the opportunity to retest the market.
And that 4-115 was also not anywhere close to The largest offer he reportedly got last year was from Detroit.
Which was, I believe, 6-171.
The Cubs, they, They learned, in all the ways, that the Red Sox clearly didn’t.
Everything they thought that they wanted in Alex Bregman.
I think that they were re-energized, re-motivated to attempt.
Now they understand.
We’ve just got back to the postseason; we have a good team.
But we are still a bat short if we’re letting Kyle Tucker go.
And Alex Bregman, we’re going to talk about all the reasons why.
Why a team would want him?
He makes this baseball team a whole lot.
Better.