Ranking 3 Most Likely Alex Bregman Landing Spots After Latest Reports

In a week of few impactful free-agent signings, Alex Bregman has dominated the baseball news cycle.

On Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks were "kicking the tires" on Bregman, to the surprise of many fans around the sport. Arizona's previous top storyline of the offseason was a potential trade of second baseman Ketel Marte, so spending big on Bregman wasn't an obvious alternative.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic's latest report, published Thursday morning, insinuated that the Diamondbacks would likely have to trade Marte in order to afford Bregman's contract. With that report in mind, and given everything else we know about the situation, here are Fastball on SI's rankings of the likeliest destinations for the Boston Red Sox's three-time All-Star.

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3. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have been the quiet sleepers in the Bregman sweepstakes. We know Chicago made him a four-year offer last offseason, and that even with Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner manning third base and second base, respectively, the Cubs front office values the leadership qualities Bregman could bring to the table.

From a fit perspective, Bregman makes enough sense for the Cubs, but given that their offer was the smallest in terms of total dollars last winter, it's hard to see them coming in with the highest bid all of a sudden a year later.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona came out of nowhere to join the conversation for Bregman this week, and as we learned last offseason in the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick will spend on stars if he believes the team is truly in a competitive window. But until we hear specifics of an offer Arizona has on the table, we can't say with certainty that it's a more enthusiastic bidder than Boston.

How much of the smoke around Bregman heading to Arizona is based on the club's willingness to give him a big-money deal, and how much of it is agent Scott Boras trying to drive up the market price? Where Bregman winds up could come down to the answer to that essential question.

1. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are the only team on this list Bregman has chosen before. He wants to keep his streak of never missing the playoffs alive, and Boston has a burgeoning young core that should contend for the postseason year in, year out. And even if the Red Sox's offers haven't been to Bregman's and Boras' liking so far, it's been reported that retaining the superstar is Boston's top priority.

Reading between the lines, it seems like Bregman wants to return to Boston, but only on his terms. Last offseason proved his willingness to wait until February to sign, but until another team truly steps up to the plate, we'll bet that Boston is where he'll ultimately wind up.

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