How the latest Alex Bregman rumors could affect the Blue Jays

At some point this offseason the major dominos will begin to fall. Big name players remain on the free agent market almost two months into the offseason. Baseball's offseason has always been slow moving, but some times it just takes a spark to really get the wheels in motion and one of those sparks could be the latest rumor involving an infielder the Toronto Blue Jays have previously been interested in.

Alex Bregman, who spent last season with the Boston Red Sox is drawing the interest of the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal (subscription required). But in order to make that happen, they would need to make a lateral move to create financial space for Bregman, resulting in another move that could have implications for Toronto.

How the latest Alex Bregman rumors could affect the Blue Jays

The first implication is simple; getting Bregman out of the AL East would be a good thing for the Blue Jays. If there is a way their division rival can lose a player that brings his A-game to both sides of the diamond, that's always a bonus. Bregman won a Gold Glove award two years ago and has consistently been a 20+ home run threat with an OPS over .760 in each of the last four seasons. He's also hit .279/.363/.535 with an OPS of .898 in 58 career games against the Blue Jays, with a .308 BABIP.

Bregman, who will be 32-years-old when next season begins, opted out of the final two years of a $120 million contract with the Red Sox, leaving $80 million on the table. It still remains to be seen if he'll actually get that kind of money again, from the Diamondbacks or anyone else, but if it is Arizona willing to pony up, they'll have to shed salary elsewhere. One area they can do that is by trading their current most expensive non-pitcher, Ketel Marte.

Marte will be making $14 million this season (after deferrals) and is in the second year of a six year contract that will run through the 2031 season, when Marte is 37. Rosenthal says in order for the Diamondbacks to make a Bregman deal work, they would need to move Marte first, so they don't lose any leverage during trade negotiations.

The Blue Jays are one of the teams who have been pointed to as having two of the major needs to make a trade happen. One, they have deep enough pockets to take on Marte's contract. Two, they technically have a roster vacancy at second base, although a combination of Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider could carry them to start the season. And that's also only the case if they don't bring back Bo Bichette.

If Bichette returns to the fold, their is no point in Toronto lining up a deal for Marte, but the second baseman could still find his way in the AL East. That brings us to that second implication of what a Bregman to Arizona deal means for Toronto; Boston will be on the hunt for a Bregman replacement. If the Red Sox feel they are out on on a reunion with Bregman, they could target Marte or even Bichette as a replacement.

As we await for more major moves to be made, this rumor at least plants the seeds of everything else that could follow, and the Blue Jays will have to be on their toes to react appropriately.