The Chicago Cubs made one of the premier signings of the offseason, inking Alex Bregman to a five-year contract. After losing Kyle Tucker in free agency, they replaced him with Bregman after a one-season stop in Boston. Bregman is now paired in the middle of the Cubs lineup with Pete Crow-Armstrong. The third baseman had some strong praise for the centerfielder as spring training opens.
“He’s so good already,” Bregman told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. “And he has so much potential. I think he’s going to have the best year of his career this year, for sure.”
Bregman also told Crow-Armstrong, “I can tell you’re going to chase less,” for mindset and mechanics reasons, per Rosenthal.
The Cubs made the playoffs last year thanks to a great season from Crow-Armstrong. He was the starting centerfielder for the National League in the All-Star Game, won the Gold Glove, and slugged 31 home runs. Crow-Armstrong told Rosenthal that he has big expectations for his age-24 season.
“I can already kind of see it’s going to be really easy to apply my conviction and competitiveness into a real thought-out approach,” Crow-Armstrong said. “[Bregman] has had .400 OBP years. He is probably someone you should listen to in terms of that. I just appreciate it when he can come in, and he’s not just picking apart my swing. That’s always a possibility. I would still hear what he has to say because it’s Alex Bregman. It’s a little bit different of an approach to swinging. He just wants to see a little less from me, I think.”
The Red Sox praised Bregman for his baseball 24/7 mentality and desire to help younger players. That should help Crow-Armstrong, among other Cubs players, during his Chicago tenure. Bregman already has two World Series rings and is looking to add a third while in the Windy City.
