CHICAGO — Even as his offensive numbers remained uncharacteristically low into July, Alex Bregman continued to say that a turnaround was coming. There was a process happening behind the scenes and a trust that the work was going to lead to a reverse in production.
As October inches closer and the Cubs close in on a postseason berth, Bregman has more than lived up to those personal prognostications. Over the past two months, the veteran third baseman has been one of baseball’s best players — overshadowed by the MVP campaign being compiled by his teammate, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
In a 12-2 romp over the Pirates on Friday afternoon, Bregman kept his foot on the gas within an all-around offensive onslaught by the North Siders in their return to Wrigley Field for the penultimate homestand of the season. Bregman finished a triple shy of a cycle in a 16-hit day for Chicago to back a quality start from Shota Imanaga.
“Probably in like June,” Bregman said, “I kind of just decided that I don’t really care what my numbers look like. I care about fixing my mechanics for the rest of my career. And I feel like that mentality allows you not to chase hitting seven homers in one at-bat. And it allows you just to take one at-bat at a time, and try to win the next pitch and win the next at-bat.”
All of a sudden, Bregman’s season production looks like the back of his baseball card typically looks. His two-run home run to cap off a four-run outburst in the fourth inning gave him 25 homers on the year. His double in a two-run sixth for the Cubs marked his 30th two-base hit of the year.
This is the fourth time in Bregman’s 11-year career that he has reached at least 25 homers and 30 doubles in a season. The third baseman has notched at least 25 homers, 30 doubles and 80 RBIs for only the third time. With roughly two weeks to play, there is still time for Bregman to put the finishing touches on what will wind up being one of his best all-around seasons.
“He’s had an Alex Bregman season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
That is especially impressive when put into context.
Back on July 10, Bregman was hitting .235/.333/.338 with just seven homers, 14 doubles and 35 RBIs through 92 games (421 plate appearances). He then homered in consecutive games in Cincinnati and started flipping the script. With Friday’s performance, Bregman has hit .310/.383/.638 with 18 homers, 16 doubles and 49 RBIs in 53 games (240 PAs) going back to July 11.
“We want to pick our seasons and [have them] be the same,” Counsell said. “Sometimes, that’s just not how it works. It’s kind of been a tale of two halves for him. And that’s just the way it is this year. We’re glad the second half is going this way, and we’ve got some games to go with him playing like this.”
It has not only been in the batter’s box, either.
Bregman headed into Friday’s action with a +6 Fielding Run Value and +8 Outs Above Average at third base. He was tied with Manny Machado of the Padres for first among Major League third baseman in both categories. In 2024, Bregman won a Gold Glove Award with the Astros after finishing with a +8 FRV and +8 OAA.
“I take a ton of pride in that,” Bregman said of his defense.
“He’s played an incredible third base,” Counsell said. “He’s doing what we hoped he would do.”
Entering play on Friday, Bregman’s 4.6 WAR (per FanGraphs) ranked 18th in the Majors among all players (pitchers and position players). It was 10th in the NL and fifth among NL position players (excluding two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani). After Friday, Bregman was up to 4.9 fWAR, ranking fourth in the NL among pure position players.
“It’s tempting to go up there and try to get it all back with one swing,” Bregman said. “But I feel like the most important thing for me over the last few months has been the work in the cage, and the attention to detail.”