Cubs miss out on Alex Bregman (but wild contract details could make them winners)

Well, that's certainly something.

The Boston Red Sox, led by former Chicago Cubs executive Craig Breslow, are putting their money where their mouth is, signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal that contains opt-outs after both the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

In other words, they're paying Bregman the same amount the New York Yankees are paying Aaron Judge - the reigning American League MVP who has amassed 10+ WAR in two of the last three seasons as the game's premier offensive talent.

Good luck with that.

This isn't an instance where I'm upset in any way, shape or form that Jed Hoyer and the Cubs had their evaluation and refused to push past it just to get a deal done. There's no world where Bregman is worth that kind of money in 2024 - and the path is now clear for Chicago to give top prospect Matt Shaw the chance to win the third base job this spring.

That's not to say the Cubs should be done adding, though. After the San Diego Padres signed free agent Nick Pivetta to a four-year, $55 million deal (pushing their CBT number even higher past the first threshold in the process) - it feels inevitable they look to move Dylan Cease and more between now and Opening Day.

Chicago sits around $209 million in CBT payroll, per RosterResource, giving them a little over $30 million before they hit the first threshold mark of $241 million. Given the front office's preference to leave some dollars for in-season acquisitions, it's probably closer to $20-25 million available right now - but even that allows for picking up Cease's entire $14 million salary in a trade and making another move (like signing Justin Turner, for example).

I just don't see how this pays dividends for Boston, who now faces a major roster crunch on the infield. I get wanting to add star power and, at the right price, I liked him for the Cubs - but this deal has all the makings