Alex Bregman’s New Cubs Deal Means Astros Fans Won’t See Him Much

The Houston Astros will see even less of their former third baseman after he agreed to a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Boston Red Sox third base Alex Bregman (2) hits a home run during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

As Saturday nights go, the city of Chicago had a good one. The Bears beat the Packers in the playoffs, the Bulls beat the Dallas Mavericks and the Cubs agreed to a five-year deal with former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.

The deal, reported by multiple outlets, was for five years and $175 million, with an average annual value of $35 million per year. With the $40 million he made in Boston in 2024, he will make $215 million in six years after leaving Houston. His deal has a no-trade clause and no opt-outs.

Houston never reportedly made overtures to Bregman’s camp about a reunion this offseason. Now, Astros fans will have to live with seeing even less of him.

Alex Bregman’s Upcoming Houston Visits

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With Bregman in Boston, Astros fans could be assured of seeing him once a season. All American League team that are outside of each other’s division play a home-and-home series each year in the league’s new schedule. Now, with him heading to the Cubs, the cadence changes.

The Cubs are in the National League — where the Astors were until they moved to the AL — and because that’s interleague play, the rotation is different. Houston plays half of the NL teams at home and half on the road one year and then reverses that the next year. The rotation ensures that every team visits every team in a two-year cycle.

Had he remained in Boston, Bregman would have visited Daikin Park in March and seen his former team in Boston again later in the season. Now, Astros fans won’t get to see Bregman at home this year. Houston is scheduled to go to Chicago to face the Cubs on May 22-24. A road trip will be required to catch him play third base for the Cubs.

That also means that Bregman will make just two visits to Houston during the five-year contract. Chicago is scheduled to return in 2027 and 2029, based on the league’s current schedule format. His contract with the Cubs will expire after the 2030 season.

Bregman was drafted No. 2 overall by Houston in the 2015 MLB draft out of LSU. He reached the Majors the next season and became the Astros’ everyday third baseman during the franchise’s most successful stretch in history.

He won two World Series titles in 2017 and 2022. He also went to the All-Star Game three times, won an AL Gold Glove, an AL Silver Slugger and was named an All-Star Game MVP.