De ja vu? For the second winter in a row, a Scott Boras client is still out on the open market. There’s two of them, as Pete Alonso is still unsigned and it turns out he will be wearing a different jersey in 2025. He will have plenty of suitors. The other client that has suitors is third baseman Alex Bregman.

Bregman is somehow still available, which is a bit stunning. He was certainly one of the players I did not think would linger this late into the winter. There’s still time, but pitchers and catchers report in less than a month. It does make you wonder, is Bregman the Matt Chapman of this winter?

Bregman Still Out There

It is wild that it’s the end of an era in Houston. Originally it was reported that Bregman was seeking $200 million. In the effort to retain their star third baseman, the Astros offered $156 million, where Bregman denied the contract offer. The Astros managed to pivot and now Bregman sits on the open market.

The teams that have been in the mix on Bregman have been the Red Sox, Tigers, and even the Mets have been linked to the third baseman. Bregman can do it all, from deliver at the plate, to manning the hot corner.

Things started out slow for Bregman in 2024, but he still put together a good season. He slashed .260/.315/.453 with a 768 OPS. That was a significant drop from the .804 he had a year ago. This is a player though in his career that has hit 20+ home runs three years in a row and has a career high of 41. So the offense is there. What stood out a ton was his defense.

Bregman for the first time in his career won a Gold Glove for his play at third base. He finished the season with six defensive runs saved and six outs above average. Rarely does he make any errors and his defense is valuable to any infield.

This all sounds like a player you’d want and would want to sign. All this is fun, but let’s compare his season to Matt Chapman’s final season as a Blue Jay before signing very late into Spring Training.

Is Bregman the New Chapman

Let’s hope that Bregman is not the new Chapman. Now the signing late into Spring Training had more of an effect on Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery than Chapman, but he had quite the season in 2024 after escaping his slow start. Chapman is one of the best defensive third baseman in the game of baseball. Chapman had the most defensive runs saved and outs above average in 2024. But let’s compare their walk years.

Defensively, Chapman (2023) was still solid, finishing with the third most defensive runs saved (12) and ninth most outs above average (4). Bregman finished seventh in defensive runs saved (6) and fifth in outs above average (6). Not too far off, but Chapman had the edge.

Life at the plate is a bit different. Chapman has never been known to have the most pop at the plate. In 2023, Chapman slashed .240/.330/.424 with a .755 OPS. Chapman did finish with 110 wRC+, which was only eight behind Bregman (118 in 2024).

When you really look at it, they are very similar in what they did in their walk years and are the same age (31). Both played had very similar outputs defensively, but Bregman had the better offensive year by a slight margin. The question now is what does Bregman truly seek financially? Does he take the Chapman approach?

Bregman’s Approach

The approach could be similar to Chapman and he could end up betting on himself. If the payday he is seeking is not going to come right now, sign the original deal that Chapman inked with the Giants. Last March, Chapman signed with the Giants for three years and $54 million. The deal had opt outs. Chapman had a phenomenal first year with the Giants and the team made the marriage work out long term. Chapman got his pay day and the Giants secured their third baseman.

Bregman could take the same approach. He could pick the team he wants to sign with that can help improve his numbers and boost his value. Take a team like the Red Sox. They play at Fenway Park, which is a very hitter friendly ballpark. His offensive numbers could sky rocket.

Bregman is an extremely valuable player. His intangible factors are something to appreciate. He is a veteran, a leader in the clubhouse, and brings a championship pedigree with him. Bregman is the type of guy you want in your clubhouse and he immediately makes your team better.