How Cubs signing Alex Bregman affects the Blue Jays' hopes of a Bo Bichette reunion

One of the top dominos have finally fallen. The Chicago Cubs have signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. News broke late on Saturday night that Bregman was joining the Cubs on a five-year $175 million contract.

The move should bring smiles to the faces of fans of the Toronto Blue Jays for two reasons. The first being that Bregman is no longer a part of the Boston Red Sox lineup. The second is that the Cubs are no longer in play for Bo Bichette.

How Cubs signing Alex Bregman affects the Blue Jays' hopes of a Bo Bichette reunion

Bregman played for the Red Sox in 2025 and would have been a huge part of their offensive equation had he returned in 2026. The Red Sox have spent most of the winter trying to improve the roster that went 89-73 last season and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. They added two upside arms to the rotation in Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo. They also landed1B / DH Willson Contreras in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.

While their lineup will still be a tough entity to contend with for opposing teams next year, including the Blue Jays, Bregman will be a noticeable absence. The former first-round pick of the Houston Astros was an All-Star with the Red Sox in 2025. He produced a 3.5 bWAR while slashing .273/.360/.462 in 114 games. He hit 18 home runs and had a very respectable 70:51 strikeout to walk ratio.

At 31-years-old Bregmans advanced statistics still jump off the page. His K%, Whiff %, Chase % and Squared Up% were all in the 88th percentile or better. He was also worth three Outs Above Average at third base, putting him in the 83rd percentile on the defensive side.

Those are all numbers that were clearly attractive enough for the Cubs to offer him a deal worth an AAV of $35 million. The Blue Jays also had interest in Bregman for a second straight offseason, and while they've missed out on him again, it leaves the door open for a reunion with their own star infielder, Bo Bichette.

The Cubs were rumored to be looking at Bichette and the question was, "where would he play?" The Cubs have Dansby Swanson locked in at shortstop and Nico Hoerner has more than earned the right to continue to be the every day second baseman for the North Siders. But with Bichette open to moving off short, that would have set up an intriguing mix of where the Cubs could have deployed him.

However, Bregman is a stronger fit for what they need, both offensively and defensively and Bichette remains a free agent. Now, there is a chance that with Bregman out of Boston that the Red Sox try to reengage with Bichette. They had met earlier this season via Zoom, and while those talks are said to have gone well, news broke later that week that the Red Sox weren't willing to meet Bo's asking price.

With Bregman's deal official, we finally have a solid number for one of the "Big Four" free agents on this years market. Bregman, being the oldest of the group, sets the table with a deal that a team like Toronto should be willing to take on if it were applied to any of the other three free agents. While it would come off as likely an extreme underpay for Kyle Tucker and possibly an overpay for Cody Bellinger, it feels just about right for what they could be paying Bichette.

But with Bichette preparing to meet with the Philadelphia Phillies and his asking price soaring to enormous heights, a reunion with Toronto may still be on the table but it doesn't appear close to being a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.