MLB RUMORS — Well, we’re officially in a holding pattern. The big-time free-agent relievers are still standing by for Tanner Scott to set the market (Andrew Kittredge notwithstanding). Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman are in no man’s land and are reportedly considering short, opt-out heavy deals after declining longer-term offers earlier in the year. And Roki Sasaki still has five days until he’s even allowed to sign officially. I have no doubt the Cubs (with their $50M+ room of space beneath the first tier of the luxury tax) have more to do. But I do wonder if we might not see any serious activity until Sasaki picks his team.
Nonetheless, let’s get into some of the existing MLB Rumors as the weekend approaches.
Short Offers for Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman?
I’m sure it’s a perfectly common practice, albeit one we don’t hear about often, but it’s still funny to see reports of Pete Alonso’s camp (a.k.a. Scott Boras) creating offers for the METS to consider – and not the other way around:
Although more recent reporting characterizes this offer as more of a counter to the three-year, $90M deal New York reportedly put on the table two weeks ago. And now I’m more curious than ever to learn how much Alonso is trying to get on a year-to-year basis – $35M per year? More?
In any case, there’s plenty of logic in a structure like this, for both Alonso and the Mets, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this helps get a deal across the finish line. However, I think it’s increasingly clear that Alonso made a mistake in reportedly declining that 7-year, $158M offer he had on the table before firing his representation and hiring Scott Boras. No, it’s not difficult to imagine Alonso making $30M+ in 2025, having a huge season, and scoring big next winter. But he’s been trending in the wrong direction and is already on the wrong side of 30. So … it’s a gamble.
Likewise, I wouldn’t start imagining ways Alonso could fit on the Cubs, even on a deal like this. Not only is this sort of offer exclusive to the Mets for the time being, Alsono’s fit on the Cubs is less clear than ever.
On the flip side — and for however extremely unlikely this also is to wind up benefitting the Cubs — Alex Bregman seems to be headed towards a similar opt-out heavy deal. And it does make you wonder just a teeeeeny bit more.
Earlier today at The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal started theorizing that Boston’s reluctance to go big for Bregman could lead to a short-term/opt-out deal with the Red Sox. For now, it seems the delay there is the Red Sox holding onto hope that they can pry Nolan Arenado away from the Cardinals (on an even cheaper deal), who have clearly made him available this offseason. The Red Sox are reportedly one of the teams to which Arenado would accept a trade, so at least one key obstacle has been cleared.
So I guess that means if you want to dream on the Cubs landing Bregman on a short-term deal, you’ll want the Cardinals to deal Arenado to Boston. Of course, even in that circumstance, you have to (1) hope the Cardinals don’t get a great return, (2) imagine a way the Cubs open up another infield spot for Bregman (i.e. moving Nico Hoerner so Matt Shaw can start at second base), and (3) hope the Blue Jays don’t get desperate and hand him an unmatchable bag. They’re in desperation mode.
OH, and don’t forget that if you do go short-term with Bregman, the AAV will necessarily be quite high. Likely in that $30M range. And considering the Cubs have roughly $40M total left to spend ($50M left of space minus $10M of reserves for mid-season pickups), that does not leave a lot of room to add an impact reliever, let alone another starter.
There was some recent chatter connecting the Cubs to Bregman on this sort of deal, but the fact that Bregman is attached to draft pick compensation makes it nearly a non-starter. In fact, that’s more important than anything I mentioned in the preceding paragraph, so if you haven’t read Brett’s breakdown yet, go there and read it.
Does Oswaldo Cabrera Make Sense for the Cubs?
Among the positions the Cubs are still (theoretically) actively seeking is a quality bench bat who can hit from the left side of the plate, and who can cover all the infield spots. So when I see rumors of teams calling New York on the availability of Oswaldo Cabrera, I at least wonder if the Cubs and Yankees have yet another deal in them somewhere.
Cabrera, 25, is a switch-hitter and was a solid (though not quite tip-top) prospect who’s been up and down for the Yankees the last few years. He spent all of 2024 with the big league team, slashing .247/.296/.365 (88 wRC+) while playing every spot around the infield (including short) and a little left field. And while that offensive line may not be too enticing, his work against righties (as a lefty) last season was much better: .268/.320/.409 (107 wRC+). And that’s probably how the Cubs would use him anyway.
Other MLB Rumors
- In case you were wondering, Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal re-confirm that the San Diego Padres are willing to trade just about anyone right now to save money, including their ace, Dylan Cease, their closer, Robert Suarez, and infielders Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth.
- The Yankees are still trying to trade former Cubs starter Marcus Stroman this winter. He’s been included in just about every theoretical Yankees trade offer, though I don’t suspect teams are jumping at the chance to pay him $18M in 2025, so the Yankees would have to eat a big chunk just to move him.
- The New York Mets are interested in signing a big-time, impactful free-agent reliever, with their eyes reportedly set on Tanner Scott. How’d they manage closing duties with their other big-time, big-money closer, Edwin Diaz, is a question, though. Perhaps more for Scott, who probably wants to close, than Steve Cohen, who won’t care about the financial implications.
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