“Put Alex Bregman in the middle of Cubs lineup” – MLB analyst sees potential blockbuster move shaking up NL Central

The weekend has come and gone, and Alex Bregman remains unsigned. The hot stove continues to heat up with his agent, Scott Boras, stirring the pot in hopes of getting the All-Star third baseman signed in the near future. To this point, the usual suspects have been the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets.

Enter the Chicago Cubs ...

Robert Flores and Harold Reynolds broached the topic early Monday morning during their "Hot Stove telecast" on the MLB Network, citing reports of the Cubs actively pursuing the free agent. After going into the backstory and what they ultimately think occurs for Alex Bregman, Flores got Cubs fans fired up with what he said.

"You put Bregman in the middle of this lineup. ... This gets me excited if I'm a Cubs fan," Flores said.

Having already made a pair of deals with the Astros to bring Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, two good friends of Bregman's, to the north side of Chicago, inserting his career .272 batting average, 663 RBIs, 191 home runs and Gold Glove at the hot corner would inject a needed dose of production to the top half of the order.

With pitchers and catchers reporting next week, Reynolds believes a loaded opt-out deal is in the cards for Alex Bregman, with a big money payout to come this year. At this late stage, neither he nor Flores expects the free agent to receive anywhere in the neighborhood of the six-year deal he desires. If the Ricketts family ponies up, the Cubs would add another All-Star for the upcoming season.

Paving the path for an Alex Bregman return to Houston

On Friday, MLB insider Jim Bowden expressed several scenarios he believes could play out surrounding a potential homecoming with the Houston Astros. The most interesting aspect of his dissection of the situation was that he thinks a deal would need to be struck first before Houston could bring Bregman back.

His sources in Tampa apparently told him that Isaac Paredes isn't adequate enough to be the everyday left fielder. So, to get Alex Bregman back, he believes spinning Paredes to another team like the Tigers, Blue Jays or Mets, if they lose out on Pete Alonso, could allow the team to resign him and not be forced to drastically alter the defensive lineup in the process.