New Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was in town after agreeing to a five-year, $175 million contract and I’m taking the optimistic view here that he may have shut down any Nico Hoerner trade rumors by going to Monday night’s Blackhawks game.
Bregman’s deal was announced Saturday night and he immediately embraced Chicago’s fan base by celebrating the Bears’ 31-27 comeback win over the Packers at Soldier Field. Then, on Monday Bregman was in attendance at the United Center, where the Blackhawks hosted the Edmonton Oilers, as the two-time World Series champion is quickly winning over fans in Chicago.
But what does any of this have to do with Cubs trade rumors? Well, it’s all in the numbers.
Bregman was selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros and he later admitted that one of the reasons he decided to wear the No. 2, is because the Arizona Diamondbacks did not draft him with the No. 1 pick.
Via ESPN. (2018)
Third baseman Alex Bregman still isn’t over the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks passed over him in the 2015 MLB draft.
“I was super-happy to come to a good organization like the Astros, an organization that was up-and-coming,” Bregman told The Arizona Republic on Saturday. “But, yeah, I was pissed. I wanted to be the No. 1 overall pick. Part of the reason I wear No. 2 is because of that.”
By the way, current Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson went to the Diamondbacks with the No. 1 pick ahead of Bregman.
Anyway, Bregman has worn the No. 2 with the Astros and he did it last season with the Boston Red Sox. There’s a problem now though because Nico Hoerner wears the No. 2 with the Cubs and has ever since he made his MLB debut in 2019.
Of course, Hoerner has been the subject of trade rumors since last offseason and they’re not going away any time soon, especially now that Bregman has joined a crowded infield. The San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees are reportedly trying to work out a trade for Hoerner, but local reports indicate it’ll take a massive overpay for the Cubs to ever consider Hoerner.
If you paid close attention to Bregman’s appearance at the Blackhawks game, then you might have noticed that he’s wearing a No. 3 jersey.
Maybe I’m reaching here, but it’s possible that at the minimum we know Bregman’s new jersey number with the Cubs, but if we want to get into the weeds, he’s picking No. 3 because he knows Nico Hoerner is staying and will keep wearing the No. 2.
At least that’s what I’m hoping for. Trading Hoerner would be an awful idea.
