Cubs may have finally escaped Alex Bregman drama that was impossible to ignore

For a concerningly long stretch, Alex Bregman looked washed up. The de facto replacement for Kyle Tucker in the middle of the lineup, the 32-year-old third baseman bottomed out in early June as the team looked completely lost in all phases of the game.

Thankfully, the Chicago Cubs have bounced back, and so too has Bregman. Since July 1, he's hitting .270/.336/.489 (127 wRC+) with 18 extra-base hits and 24 RBI. That has his season-long production up to a 105 wRC+ and .729 OPS, which is well below expectations but a vast improvement over what he contributed in the spring.

He's been especially hot in the second half, posting a 138 wRC+. Combined with his usually excellent defense at the hot corner, he's now up to 2.6 fWAR in 2026, which ranks fourth on the Cubs.

Alex Bregman's ridiculously high floor remains his biggest selling point to Cubs

There was always a risk in signing a player in his 30s to a contract featuring a team-record average annual value. What Bregman is doing right now is proof as to why Jed Hoyer and the front office were willing to bet on him specifically.

Even when he forgot how to hit with runners in scoring position, Bregman's plate approach never faltered. He's unshakeable in the batter's box, with chase, whiff, strikeout, and walk rates all well above league average. Pitchers just can't get him to bite on bad offerings, which is why he's never once finished a season with a wRC+ below 100 or an OPS below .700.

His second-half surge has been sparked by a commitment to his other immutable trait: a predisposition to hit the ball to left field. Bregman's pull rate since the All-Star Break is over 50%, which would be the best mark of his career if it held up over a full season. That's particularly promising since fastballs had been frequently beating him in the first half; at his best, he's one of the best four-seam punishers in the league (his near-MVP campaign in 2019 featured an impossible +30 run value against fastballs).

With his offense finally stabilizing, the Cubs can now more easily celebrate his defensive wizardry. He leads all MLB third basemen this year in Outs Above Average (+6) and ranks second behind Matt Chapman in Defensive Runs Saved (+10). A second Gold Glove may soon rest in his trophy cabinet, which would more than make up for his initial months of struggles while adjusting to life at Wrigley Field.

Combine all of those things -- elite plate discipline, top-tier pull rates, and Gold-Glove-caliber defense -- and you get a formula for one of the highest floor players in the league. That may not be as exciting as someone with MVP upside, but Pete Crow-Armstrong has that covered. What the Cubs need Bregman to do more than anything is keep being who he's always been.

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