The Chicago Cubs celebrated what seemed like a major coup by signing Alex Bregman away from the Red Sox with a substantial $175 million contract. However, the excitement has quickly turned to disappointment as Bregman’s performance has failed to meet expectations, marking a significant downturn in his career.
Bregman left Boston after just one commendable season, despite fervent appeals from Red Sox fans for him to stay. His transition to Chicago has been rocky, with his batting reaching unprecedented lows.
“I’ve been terrible,” Bregman candidly admitted following an ineffective 0-for-5 performance in a tight 2-1 extra innings defeat against the struggling Giants. “I need to play better. Offensively, it’s been awful. I’ve failed many times in this game. I’ve struggled. I’ve started slow before. I’ve started fast before. When you’re struggling, there is only one way forward, and that’s straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game.”
Initially, Bregman’s slump didn’t seem to hinder the Cubs, who enjoyed a promising start with a 29-16 record. Yet, the team has since hit a rough patch, going 5-16 in their last 21 games, causing them to fall to fourth place in the NL Central.
Bregman’s statistics reflect his struggles: a .669 OPS, a career low, along with just five home runs and 19 RBIs over 65 games. These figures are overshadowed even by players known for lighter bats, such as the Mets’ Marcus Semien, who has eight home runs and 25 RBIs, and the Yankees’ Ryan McMahon, with six home runs and 20 RBIs.
Bregman has been solid with the glove, still coming in at seventh in defensive runs saved among all third basemen.
“I haven’t executed all year,” Bregman said. “Runners in scoring position, I’ve been god-awful. I need to be better. If I’m better over the last how many games, we probably win the majority of them.”
One of the toughest moments of his season occurred on Sunday night. Bregman came to the dish in the eighth inning with runners on the corners and no one out in a 1-1 game.
Bregman was first-pitch swinging against left-hander Erik Miller, which resulted in a softly hit linedrive double play to run them out of the inning.
Bregman now leads all of baseball with 143 runners left on base this season.