The Diamondbacks Have Entered the Alex Bregman Sweepstakes

The Diamondbacks have struggled to lock down their third base position for years. Eugenio Suárez handled it well for a season and a half, but it’s back to being a mystery.

Currently, Jordan Lawlar and Blaze Alexander are the leading contenders for the job. One is a former top prospect who has struggled in the majors. The other is a slick fielder, but the bat leaves a lot to be desired.

Assuming a six-year contract, Bregman would become the new-age Matt Williams for Arizona: a reliable, everyday player whom the fans and team could depend upon. He would satisfy that need and give the team one less area to worry about.

Then, there’s the bat. Arizona needs another contact-oriented bat. One that does everything Bregman does. They have been missing that right-handed, consistent approach that he can provide.

Arizona struggled to hit left-handers last season. That was one of the team’s biggest issues, as the D-backs performed quite poorly when facing left-handed starters. Bregman could reverse those fortunes. Over his career, Bregman has hit for an .861 OPS against southpaws. Last year, it was an .855 OPS.

Clearly, Bregman would fit right in with Arizona, offensively and defensively. However, there’s one aspect of his profile that suits the team’s goals even better.

That’s his clubhouse appeal. If the Diamondbacks are truly worried about their clubhouse following last season’s supposed Ketel Marte controversy, then Bregman could fix that in a flash. He is known as one of the clubhouse leaders in Major League Baseball. He’s a natural leader who brings the best out of his teammates.

There’s a reason that he’s been a leader on playoff teams for the last decade. With Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo stating that it’s playoffs or bust in 2026, Bregman could be a shortcut to getting there.

Alex Bregman could solidify the dugout, being another veteran leader that the team was missing last year. He could be the missing piece that D-backs leadership spoke about at the end of the season.

How Could It Work?

Admittedly, this is the tough part. It will probably cost about $160-170 million to sign Bregman over five or six years. That’s a lot of cheddar that Arizona didn’t appear to have available when the offseason started. However, if they trade Marte and his $16 million salary next year (before deferrals), that extra cash could cover about half of Bregman’s yearly salary.

A Marte trade would essentially be necessary in order to fit Bregman’s salary into the payroll. However, a Marte trade could also bring back the players that the D-backs need to fill most of their other holes.

That could include a closer or starting pitcher, an outfielder, and more. Thus, one could say that Arizona gave up Marte for Bregman and an assortment of talented players. That could make Arizona a better team than if it kept Marte.

Leverage is a big part of the equation, too. If Arizona signs Bregman before trading Marte, then theoretically, two things could happen.

Boston might feel even more pressure to get a superstar bat and give in to Hazen’s demands and pay up for Marte. Equally possible, teams might call Arizona’s bluff, knowing that Arizona and owner Ken Kendrick have to trade Marte’s contract to afford a closer or Bregman. Likely, both come true if Bregman signs before a trade, and the stalemate continues.

However, if Arizona trades Marte and then signs Bregman, then the leverage would still be in Arizona’s favor. 3D chess is happening in front of our eyes.

A History of the D-backs Doing Exactly This

One only needs to look back to last Christmas to be stunned by the Diamondbacks snagging a superstar player that no one thought was coming to Arizona.

They signed Corbin Burnes after agent Scott Boras negotiated directly with Kendrick. This happened after Burnes expressed interest in playing for Arizona and staying close to home.

The same could be happening with Bregman. After all, he lives in Scottsdale, has two very young kids, and grew up a fan of the Diamondbacks.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported that he wanted to be drafted by Arizona in 2015 when he went second overall to the Astros, with Arizona taking Dansby Swanson. Perhaps this is his chance to play for his childhood favorite team.

Plus, Kendrick and Hazen are known for making shocking moves happen out of thin air with not much anticipation. They did it with Burnes and in 2024 with Jordan Montgomery. They did it with Eduardo Rodriguez. Kendrick did it with Zack Greinke in 2015.

Plus, Kendrick is well-versed in dealing with Boras and what it takes to sign one of his clients. As Ken Rosenthal suggested for The Athletic, Kendrick just might be going for it again.

The Diamondbacks have a knack for shocking the baseball world, and they could do it twice in one offseason. One with a trade of Marte, and again with the signing of Bregman.

Why a Bregman Signing Might Not Happen

Normally, those baseball-world-shocking moves happen when there’s been absolutely no anticipation. It’s breaking news, something happened that no one had any clue about.

This time, there are whispers, and people are aware. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It just means that it got leaked. That could’ve been due to agent manipulation or any number of reasons.

The ultimate reason this might not happen comes down to money. Arizona’s front office has been repeating all offseason that they don’t have much money to spend. They were trimming payroll, and it was tough to get Merrill Kelly’s $20 million salary in. They were going to need to trade Marte to bring in a bunch of players since they couldn’t afford to sign free agents.

With a payroll already around $169 million, fitting in an expected $30 million salary for Bregman would be tough if the team is still hoping to cut back from last year’s expenditure. That doesn’t make it impossible, though. It just takes Kendrick being willing to stretch the payroll one more time to make it happen.

However, other teams will also have a say in the matter of where Bregman signs, especially the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox badly want Bregman back, but one would think that if they were serious about signing him that it would’ve already happened. This isn’t the first time those two sides have negotiated. Something happened to cause the two parties to be at a stalemate. Likely, Boston isn’t willing to offer the years or money that Arizona might be willing to put on the table.

Still, the Red Sox have far more money in the coffers than the Diamondbacks. They know what Bregman can do for their team firsthand. Thus, they will likely push this to the limit and could very well get him back.

For now though, Arizona is right there in the mix. The Diamondbacks could pull off the unexpected once again. One could even say it’s likely if Bregman is following the Burnes playbook. However, multiple things would have to happen to fit him into the payroll, namely, a blockbuster Marte trade.