The Toronto Blue Jays and Pete Alonso have been inseparable seemingly all offseason, even after they made three big splashes with the acquisitions of Max Scherzer, Anthony Santander and Jeff Hoffman.
But, with Alonso's market looking more and more uncertain by the day, the Blue Jays would be smart to shift their focus to another free agent whose market is appearing to shrink.
The free agent in question Alex Bregman: another player the Blue Jays have been linked to all offseason. While Bregman's a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, recent reports indicate that the Astros (his former team) are out of the running, which means that's one less team the Blue Jays have to worry about.
During his address at the team's annual media luncheon, Dana Brown twice spoke about Alex Bregman in the past tense, saying once that the team "lost Bregman."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 4, 2025
Houston was thought to be out on Bregman after they acquired third baseman Isaac Parades in a trade with the Cubs this offseason, but they reportedly jumped back into the race after Jose Altuve said he was willing to move to left field.
Dana Brown says Jose Altuve could split time between second base and left field this season for the Astros
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) January 28, 2025
(via @Chandler_Rome) pic.twitter.com/WEv2PsGagS
But now that the Astros are out of the Bregman sweepstakes, there's no better time for the Blue Jays to pull out all the stops to try to sign him.
Astros seem to be out on Alex Bregman, which should benefit the Blue Jays
The list of teams in on Bregman could shorten out, especially since his market has stalled out a bit over the past couple weeks. The Cubs, Red Sox, and Tigers have are all dragging their feet, which is another reason why the Blue Jays need to be all-in on Bregman.
One reason why Detroit may be lagging behind is due to their recent signing of Jack Flaherty to a two-year, $35 million contract. While that addition likely won't completely take them out of the Bregman sweepstakes, it could make it easier for the Blue Jays to out-bid them for Bregman.
After signing Jack Flaherty and augmenting their rotation, the Tigers are one of the teams pursuing Alex Bregman.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 3, 2025
Like Alonso, Bregman's market has been in state of flux for the past month. We got a little bit of clarity on what that market could look like on Tuesday when Rob Bradford reported that some teams in on Bregman have floated shorter deals with higher average annual values, and that the Blue Jays are an outlier and have offered a longer contract.
Sources suggest that interested teams (including Red Sox) are coming in with the high AAV/fewer years approach with Bregman. Toronto might be outlier with more years. https://t.co/sgEJ8Ipvdy
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) February 4, 2025
Toronto should be doing all it can to work toward getting a deal done with Bregman since adding his bat to the lineup would turn the Blue Jays into a legitimate contender. Even if Bregman's market is shifting, Toronto should do everything it can to finish the job.