What could the Alex Bregman Diamondbacks look like if Arizona pulls off another surprise?
The Diamondbacks have provided more national intrigue to this offseason than the speculated Ketel Marte trade, kicking the tires on Alex Bregman.
Watch: Arizona Diamondbacks trade deadline preview with Bob Nightengale | 36 mins
The Arizona Diamondbacks have unexpectedly provided more national intrigue to this offseason than the already hotly speculated Ketel Marte trade, “kicking the tires” on free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
It’s a tie that seemingly came out of nowhere, not because of fit but economics.
D-backs managing partner Ken Kendrick told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo at the start of the offseason that payroll was expected to go down, and the 31-year-old Bregman opted out of a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox after one season. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro called it a longshot and a leverage play.
But the Diamondbacks have surprised the baseball world before, signing Zack Greinke, Jordan Montgomery and Corbin Burnes to high salaries when not many saw those coming.
It is always possible in the world of free agency that rumors like these are sparked to help negotiations, but with the reporting out there, let’s dive into what a Bregman-Arizona marriage could look like:
First off, who is Alex Bregman?
Bregman is a three-time All-Star who was a staple for the Houston Astros from his 2016 debut at 22 years old through the 2024 campaign.
From 2017-24, Bregman made two All-Star Games, won a Gold Glove and finished top five for the American League MVP twice.
After signing with the Red Sox last winter, Bregman went scorched earth through May 23 with a .939 OPS and 11 home runs in 51 games before he suffered a quad injury. He came back in July and managed to stay hot for another 32 games with a .933 season OPS through Aug. 22.
He cooled off at the end of the year with a .536 OPS over his final 31 games before hitting a clutch RBI double in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees.
Alex Bregman reached 55 postseason RBIs, passing Albert Pujols to move into 8th place all-time.pic.twitter.com/yJxgykc6JT
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) October 1, 2025
The veteran only played 114 games, his fewest since 2021, as he averaged 154 games played from 2022-24.
Bregman has also played 102 postseason games throughout his career, including the infamous 2017 World Series run with the Astros.
His batting profile is very Diamondbacks-y in the sense that he walks a lot, does not strike out much and does not chase pitches out of the zone. His strikeout rate has not climbed above 15% since 2017, and the league average is 22.2%. His walk rate has dipped below 10% once since 2017 and league average is 8.4%.
He would fit into the culture of grinding out at-bats and getting on base.
Bregman has not hit more than 26 home runs since 2019, but he stayed between 23-26 from 2022-24 before hitting 18 in fewer games this past season. He would have hit 19, but Blaze Alexander robbed him at the wall at Chase Field.
Bregman is a very good defender at third, although his metrics took a step back this past season compared to the previous two. It will be up to the club to evaluate whether the injury had to do with it or if there is a risk of decline.
Bregman’s best two seasons were 2018-19, while he was in his mid-20s, and he has been an All-Star-caliber but not superstar player since then.
Second straight night Alex Bregman wears the Wally helmet! pic.twitter.com/fg64aPe3pl
— MLB (@MLB) May 14, 2025
The right-handed hitter grew up in New Mexico and starred at LSU before going second overall in the 2015 draft.
He has a home in Scottsdale and trains in the Valley with “Nemesis,” a new sports performance hub built by athletes.
Bregman is taking a second straight crack at landing a long-term contract. He is represented by Scott Boras, and the Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers and Mets have been considered fits.
Spotrac estimated his contract at four years and $112 million. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently updated his projection at five years for $170 million.
How would Alex Bregman fit the Diamondbacks?
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Bregman is a baseball and clubhouse fit as a veteran leader who can answer the uncertainty at third base.
But reports indicate the Diamondbacks would have to move off Marte to open enough payroll to add him.
The team projected payroll has already crossed $170 million and is closing in on reaching 2025 levels as it is. Marte is going to be cheaper than Bregman, as he makes $28 million over the next two years, compared to Bregman, who could make that next season alone.
Marte is also the better player at the same age and a face of the franchise.
Over the past three years, Marte has been worth 16 WAR and Bregman 12.5 WAR.
Marte has hit more home runs, driven in more runs and racked up more hits in eight fewer games played during that span. His .887 OPS blows away Bregman’s .796 OPS.
So, why do this at all?
The idea of trading Marte is complex.
He has 10-and-five rights coming up in April — 10 years of MLB service time, five with the same franchise — which would give him a full no-trade clause. The club has leverage now.
The Diamondbacks have roster holes, and Marte has been floated as being able to bring back pieces to fill them. Pitching has been at the forefront of Arizona’s offseason, which the club has addressed with free agent deals for Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka, but young controllable arms are still desirable.
There is also the off-the-field element with Marte and his days off requests. How much the organization wants to make a clubhouse shift factors into the decision.
Arizona, if willing to invest in Bregman, could theoretically build out a deeper team with the pieces it brings back from Marte, paired with a new (and expensive) All-Star third baseman.
Let’s say the Red Sox and Diamondbacks figured something out.
The Red Sox are an obvious baseball fit for Marte, especially if they lose Bregman. Marte is a switch-hitter who could mash home runs over the Green Monster from one side of the plate and whiz line drives past the Pesky Pole out in right field from the other.
The Red Sox need a second baseman and a bat to anchor a young lineup with Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer. Boston also has an outfielder surplus and a hoard of young pitching, gold for the Diamondbacks.
Let’s say a deal can be struck that sends outfielder Jarren Duran and 23-year-old pitching prospect Payton Tolle to Arizona for Marte, perhaps with some other pieces involved. Duran takes on a starting role in left while Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continues to rehab from a torn ACL, and Tolle gives the Diamondbacks a high-upside pitching prospect who could fill in a rotation spot if need be.
The Diamondbacks Opening Day lineup could look something like this (not a batting order):
- C Gabriel Moreno
- 1B Pavin Smith
- 2B Jordan Lawlar/Blaze Alexander
- 3B Alex Bregman
- SS Geraldo Perdomo
- LF Jarren Duran
- CF Alek Thomas/Blaze Alexander/Jake McCarthy
- RF Corbin Carroll
- DH Adrian Del Castillo
That is not a perfect lineup and probably needs more roster tweaking, particularly a right-handed platoon bat somewhere, but it is an enticing core.
By the end of the season, if players return from injuries and prospects make waves, a hypothetical lineup could evolve into this:
- C Gabriel Moreno
- 1B Pavin Smith
- 2B Jordan Lawlar
- 3B Alex Bregman
- SS Geraldo Perdomo
- LF Jarren Duran
- CF Ryan Waldschmidt
- RF Corbin Carroll
- DH Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Bench options: Blaze Alexander, James McCann, Tyler Locklear, Jake McCarthy, Tommy Troy, Tim Tawa, Adrian Del Castillo, Jorge Barrosa
Swapping out Marte and filling in Bregman is inherently risky.
The Diamondbacks would be on the hook for Bregman as he ages into his mid-to-late-30s for a lot more money than Marte while already paying Burnes north of $30 million annually through 2030, so long as he does not opt out next offseason.
As far as starting pitchers, they have two more years of $20 million each for Eduardo Rodriguez and now Kelly with that same price point.
At the same time, this development shows the Diamondbacks are exploring creative ways to keep pushing despite the disappointing results of 2025.
Related
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Comments
4 Comments
Don’t trade Marte to make this happen. Fix the issues in the clubhouse.
If Hazen trades Marte to get Bregman at 40mil per it is a mistake. I dont see him making it.
Yes, he probably improves the clubhouse
but
Marte is cheaper, a better glove at this point, a better batter and he is durable at this point in career
The last 3 years have seen them very close on stats but Bregman, last year, showed signs of his hustle with a drop off in his physical capability
Bregman at Marte's price would be good but its all about the money
I like Marte but the last two years, his behavior (not others) caused the issues in the clubhouse and team made me to think that it is time to make trade him. Baseball is a business. The Dbacks has a situation IF they are WISE can build the Dbacks for the future by getting young (under 27) and proven players...not has-beens, retreads, never-been, old players and prospects. I have no faith that the Dbacks can make good deals based upon their tendencies to sign players from the bargain bins. If K-Mart was still in business, the Dbacks could be a promotional for their blue-light specials!