Bregman signs with the Cubs

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

My guess is that it is a bluff.  The Cubs could hang on to everyone and only lose one year out of five service  years with Shaw.  If the Astros hang onto IP they lose half of his value.  He likely won't start.

The main reason I think a trade can work is that I am nearly certain IP will be traded somewhere.

I'm less certain we will trade an OF'er, so that is one reason why I kinda shake my head when people act like the Sox should come down on their offer, because they are "desperate" or "more in need" of this trade.

We can DH Duran over Masa.

HOU is not DH'ing Paredes over Yordan.

[Behindenemylines]

On 1/10/2026 at 11:34 PM, urban cowboy said:

Phew, that is a horrific over-pay that the cubs will soon regret.

I agree! I like Bregman as a player, but not at that money. I think the Sox will mist Bregman the most in the clubhouse helping the kids improve. The Sox power increase is going to have to be the young guys picking up the slack.

[mvp 78]

4.5 fWAR and a WC spot. Seems like the Cubs are happy with the 1st year of the Breggie deal. Wonder how long he'll keep his production up? His Home OPS is 100 less than his Away OPS. He could have had a Monster season here. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

What's also interesting is if the Red Sox had traded for Paredes instead of Durbin -- based on just third baseman values -- they'd be projected for one more win...

... not counting the combined 1.3 WAR for Seigler and Mona, which cancels the 1.3 WAR for Harrison -- though the additional 0.6 for Drohan and 0.4 for Duran (swapped for Paredes) cancels out the one more win.

And then there's the 1.7 WAR for Hammy (really? hard to imagine he'd be worth more to Boston this summer than Seigler and Mona combined?). 

[moonslav59]

How could Brez let Hammy get away!

And what about Blaze?

[mvp 78]

39 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

What's also interesting is if the Red Sox had traded for Paredes instead of Durbin -- based on just third baseman values -- they'd be projected for one more win...

... not counting the combined 1.3 WAR for Seigler and Mona, which cancels the 1.3 WAR for Harrison -- though the additional 0.6 for Drohan and 0.4 for Duran (swapped for Paredes) cancels out the one more win.

And then there's the 1.7 WAR for Hammy (really? hard to imagine he'd be worth more to Boston this summer than Seigler and Mona combined?). 

With Hamilton, a lot of it is tied into his defense. His offense is still middling, but much better than Seigler or Mona's. I don't entirely trust how bWAR or fWAR add defense to their WAR calcs, but it's all we got at the moment. 

On Breggie, it was just interesting to check in as he was slumping hard earlier in the season. Looks like he'd still be a top of the order bat if he was here. 

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

And what about Blaze?

He's been better value than Duran!

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He's been better value than Duran!

He might be all we can get for Duran.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

He might be all we can get for Duran.

Hits LHP but absolutely can't pull the ball (and never has been able to). I guess we're keeping Duran. Maybe he can entertain us with a new haircut every week. 

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Hits LHP but absolutely can't pull the ball (and never has been able to). I guess we're keeping Duran. Maybe he can entertain us with a new haircut every week. 

Duran will be traded. I don't think we pay his arb rate, next year.

[drewski6]

20 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Duran will be traded. I don't think we pay his arb rate, next year.

Wasnt he like 9m this year. Doesnt feel like hes earned a big raise.  If he gets traded, and high possibility, I hope its not to penny pinch like that.  And I dont think it would be.  It would more so be because Gasper is the DH and Roman is in LF.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Wasnt he like 9m this year. Doesnt feel like hes earned a big raise.  If he gets traded, and high possibility, I hope its not to penny pinch like that.  And I dont think it would be.  It would more so be because Gasper is the DH and Roman is in LF.

He hasn't even gone through ARB before. They've just worked short term deals with him directly. 

[drewski6]

46 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He hasn't even gone through ARB before. They've just worked short term deals with him directly. 

Understood he's coming off a 1 yr deal to avoid arbitration - but hes still set for arb 3 this offseason and it will be based on his base salary this current year + a raise and I dont think that raise will be too big.

I know Moon thinks that we'll look to cut this so we can spend that 10m elsewhere, but I dont think budgets are as set in stone as this implies.  LIke I dont think teams are like we are going to spend exactly 203.4m this year so if we can move this 10m duran, we go from 3.4m to spend to 13.4.  Decisions are made more case by case.

They may trade Duran but I am 100% that if they do, the top reason wont be his salary.  Most likely it will be a favor to him, that he has earned, because they will ask him "would you rather be traded or come off the bench" - sorry bro but Gasper is our DH vs righties and we arent moving Roman/Cedanne/Abreu.

[drewski6]

I think there are plenty of teams that will still take Duran and he would be the favorite to land a starting job on that team either LF or DH.  I dont think theyd give us a ton, but I think if a Duran trade is made is because he'll have a better chance of earning a role there than here (our DH has gotten crowded) and theyll do it as a favor to him.

[drewski6]

And even if Gaspers magic runs out (doubtful), I think then youd pivot to Roman at DH and Owen gets thrown into the fire.  I think the ACC has better pitching than AA, so Im not worried about Owen never have seen pitching above A+.

I think people have fully realized how good college baseball has gotten.  Its certainly more competitive than AA, because college teams are trying to win, not develop.

[drewski6]

If I didnt love Mickey so much, I would be rip roaring mad that Owen isnt in the majors yet.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

My opinion since last winter is that Duran will never be an effective DH. 

And since this season, Duran is a better leftfielder than Anthony.

In fact, I'm predicting Duran will either be in the postseason starting line-up as the LF or benched from the line-up. Anthony or Gasper will DH.

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

If I didnt love Mickey so much, I would be rip roaring mad that Owen isnt in the majors yet.

Uh, Hull is still in High A. Pump the breaks a little on that one. The offensive stats are greatly inflated down there. 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

My opinion since last winter is that Duran will never be an effective DH. 

And since this season, Duran is a better leftfielder than Anthony.

In fact, I'm predicting Duran will either be in the postseason starting line-up as the LF or benched from the line-up. Anthony or Gasper will DH.

No Jahmai Jones vs LHP at DH? 

[drewski6]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Uh, Hull is still in High A. Pump the breaks a little on that one. The offensive stats are greatly inflated down there. 

What about in the ACC?

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

What about in the ACC?

Meaningless to MLB. Georgia Tech had 12 players OPS over 1000 this year. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Wasnt he like 9m this year. Doesnt feel like hes earned a big raise.  If he gets traded, and high possibility, I hope its not to penny pinch like that.  And I dont think it would be.  It would more so be because Gasper is the DH and Roman is in LF.

I can't see paying him even $6-7M, and if that's true for all GMs, then he's more of a non tender candidate than a trade candidate.

I would not bring him back.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

No Jahmai Jones vs LHP at DH? 

Ya, they'll do that and bench Gasper, too. But not Anthony, even though his K-rate is basically the same as Duran's.

And I'm not bashing Roman, just pointing out that he gets the benefit of the doubt over all others because he's owed the most longterm money at the youngest age. 

But from what we've seen in the outfield this entire season, who would you rather see in leftfield in the quick do-or-die playoffs: Duran or Anthony? I have to say Jarren, even though I was all over JD last October when he dropped that soft liner the NYY cultists awarded a hit to to the messiah.

[Deja Doh]

On 9/10/2026 at 8:29 AM, mvp 78 said:

4.5 fWAR and a WC spot. Seems like the Cubs are happy with the 1st year of the Breggie deal. Wonder how long he'll keep his production up? His Home OPS is 100 less than his Away OPS. He could have had a Monster season here. 

Remember that when Bregman got hurt in June of last year, and then came back, he struggled because he was still in recovery (not an easy injury to bounce back from).  I think he was still recovering from that injury for the first 2 and half months this year.  He seems to have gotten his groove the last two months though.  

[Deja Doh]

I just wished the ownership had valued him and Pete Alonzo (these are everyday ballers) as we do not have power on our team.

[JimEd]

16 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Remember that when Bregman got hurt in June of last year, and then came back, he struggled because he was still in recovery (not an easy injury to bounce back from).  I think he was still recovering from that injury for the first 2 and half months this year.  He seems to have gotten his groove the last two months though.  

most of use knew he would. getting injured after signing a contract with the Red Sox is a rite of passage.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Ya, they'll do that and bench Gasper, too. But not Anthony, even though his K-rate is basically the same as Duran's.

And I'm not bashing Roman, just pointing out that he gets the benefit of the doubt over all others because he's owed the most longterm money at the youngest age. 

But from what we've seen in the outfield this entire season, who would you rather see in leftfield in the quick do-or-die playoffs: Duran or Anthony? I have to say Jarren, even though I was all over JD last October when he dropped that soft liner the NYY cultists awarded a hit to to the messiah.

Anthony was at .842 since his return. (17Ks in 54 PAs sucks, but Duran only wishes he could hit .742.)

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Anthony was at .842 since his return. (17Ks in 54 PAs sucks, but Duran only wishes he could hit .742.)

Sorry, I wasn't clear that I choose Duran over Anthony in LF purely on defense. Talk about pick your poison -- but Duran has been decent this summer and had good enough ratings on some metrics to be considered for Gold Glove nominations.

I did state that Anthony's bat will be in the line-up no matter what, though... he hits the ball really hard once a game.

[jad]

15 hours ago, Deja Doh said:

I just wished the ownership had valued him and Pete Alonzo (these are everyday ballers) as we do not have power on our team.

Meanwhile Devers , with a slam last night, is on pace for 40 HR and over 100 RBI.  Why can't we get guys like that?

[notin]

1 hour ago, jad said:

Meanwhile Devers , with a slam last night, is on pace for 40 HR and over 100 RBI.  Why can't we get guys like that?

I know.  Then we could be as good as the Giants!!  

 <sigh> If only…