Alex Bregman finally got a hit with a runner in scoring position in what truly was an improbable scenario, facing all-world closer Mason Miller in Monday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres. Ironically, the single to center field didn’t produce a run as Dansby Swanson froze on contact and held up at third base. It wasn’t a rocket, 71mph off the bat, but you’ll take anything positive as a Chicago Cubs fan when it comes to Bregman at the plate. That being said, the 32-year-old third baseman has no business hitting anywhere near the top of the Cubs starting lineup right now.
Sure, Swanson went through a deep slump at the plate before busting out for a week and demolishing the New York Mets, and Nico Hoerner hasn’t really hit much since April, but when you’re the big free agent player coming into a new team, the expectations are naturally going to be higher.
It’s not exactly like Bregman was expected to come in and become a 30+ home run slugger to help make up for the production lost from Kyle Tucker, but for all the praise Bregman got as having elite plate discipline and making the smartest swing decisions, he sure as hell looks atrocious far too often for a hitter of his reputation.
The Jason Heyward groundout to second base has now been replaced by the Bregman pop-up in the infield. I have no idea how such an accomplished hitter like Bregman constantly hits pop-ups, and it was even more annoying in the third inning on Monday night, when Bregman couldn’t square up a 3-0 fastball. I don’t necessarily follow the thought process that you should never swing at a 3-0 pitch because so many times that may end up being the only good pitch a hitter sees during an at-bat.
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However, if you do swing, at the very least make quality contact because you’re obviously locking in on a specific type of pitch if you’re confident enough to swing. What did Bregman do by taking a hack at a 93mph fastball on the inner half of the plate?
A foul out to the catcher to end the inning. Good stuff, Alex.
In his first two-hit game in two weeks, Bregman barely increased his slugging percentage to .337. To put into context just how bad that is for the third baseman, Nick Madrigal’s healthiest season with the Cubs came in 2023, when he played in 92 games, and in 294 plate appearances he put up a .352 slugging percentage, 15 points higher than Bregman’s current mark through 380 plate appearances with the Cubs.
A singles hitter isn’t what the Cubs were signing up for, and I don’t really care about Bregman apologizing for not hustling against the Milwaukee Brewers because that wouldn’t be an issue if he were actually producing on offense. And that’s really the bottom line here. Bregman hasn’t been doing much of anything for most of the first half, and yet Craig Counsell continues to put him near the top of the batting order.
Bregman has played in 83 of 85 games so far in 2026, and in one of those appearances, he came off the bench against the Padres back on April 28. Besides that game, Bregman has been penciled into the No. 2, 3, or 4 spot in the batting order in 80 games. A guy who has a slash line of .242/.339/.337 should not be hitting in the middle of the starting lineup.
The Cubs have already shuffled up the batting order, moving Nico Hoerner out of the leadoff spot and replacing him with Pete Crow-Armstrong. That move has been marvelous thanks to Crow-Armstrong’s rise as a great overall hitter. Now, as the Cubs attempt to stabilize their season, you have to optimize the offense, and Bregman hasn’t shown enough to this point to keep rolling him out there in key spots.
The numbers are horrible with runners in scoring position, and the slugging is unfathomable, but I’m not saying Bregman has to be benched either. He has to play, but give him some time down in the order to figure something out because this has been a failure for the 2026 Cubs.
