The Chicago Cubs' big offseason move was signing Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million deal in free agency.
Bregman was really the perfect target for the Cubs in a lot of ways. He had at least a 3.5 WAR in each of his last four seasons and made the postseason in nine of his first 10 Major League seasons. The veteran is simply a winning player.
Unfortunately, Bregman has not gotten off to a strong start to begin his Cubs tenure.
He is batting just .233 with three home runs, five doubles, 13 RBI, and one stolen base across 40 games. His OPS currently sits at .661, and Bregman is currently slumping a bit at the plate.
Although the Cubs have won 10 of their last 11 games, it hasn’t been because of Bregman’s bat. He is slashing .160/.300/.200 with two doubles, three RBI, and 12 strikeouts in his last 14 games dating back to April 25.
It’s definitely a bit frustrating to see Bregman come out of the gate slow. He is the highest-paid player on this Cubs team for the 2026 season ($30 million) and should be leading the offense at the top of the lineup.
However, there is no doubt that Bregman will eventually turn things around offensively. He has always been a slow starter at the plate and still winds up finishing with good all-around numbers.
That should be no different this year.
In 2023, Bregman had a .201 batting average with four home runs, four doubles, and 16 RBI in his first 38 games with the Astros. He then batted .280 with 21 home runs, 24 doubles, and 82 RBI from May 13 onward.
In 2024, Bregman had a .206 batting average with four home runs, 10 doubles, and 21 RBI in his first 51 games. He then went on to bat .288 with 22 home runs, 20 doubles, and 54 RBI across his final 94 games.
There should be no concern surrounding Bregman right now. He has shown the ability to bounce back from slow starts in the past and is hitting the ball well in the early going with a 44.2% hard-hit rate and a 36.9% squared-up rate.
As the weather heats up, so should Bregman’s bat.
The veteran will receive a much-deserved day off in Sunday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers. Hopefully, this day off allows Bregman to reset and gets him back into a groove at the plate.
