Why Alex Bregman Could Be Final Piece To Cubs’ Defensive Puzzle

On November 3, Major League Baseball announced the Gold Glove Award winners for the 2025 season. The Chicago Cubs had three winners, including second baseman Nico Hoerner, left fielder Ian Happ, and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The Boston Red Sox also had two outfielders win Gold Glove Awards in the American League (Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu). As a result, this marked the first season in which there were multiple outfield winners from the same team in each league since the 2021 season.

It also makes a strong case why the Cubs have baseball's best outfield defense in the NL, while the Red Sox hold that claim in the AL. However, given that Jarren Duran (who is the Red Sox's one starting outfielder who didn't win a Gold Glove Award) had a better defensive season than Cubs' right fielders Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker (according to their respective defensive metrics), this presumably means the Red Sox have the best outfield defense in all of baseball.

Chicago Cubs outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) (left), Ian Happ (8) (center), and Seiya Suzuki (27) (right) celebrate | David Banks-Imagn Images

But who has baseball's best overall defense? If Gold Glove Awards are the deciding metric, it would be the Cubs, given that no other team has three award winners.

However, a defense can't only be judged by its best players. The entire squad must be factored in, and there are clearly a few spots where Chicago's defense could improve.

Insider Explains Alex Bregman Signing Could Make Cubs Baseball's Best Defense

In fact, Chicago could be one (major) offseason move away from becoming baseball's best defense. And Jon Heyman detailed this during a November 6 appearance on Marquee Sports Network's Cubs Weekly Podcast.

"Bregman brings that extra defensive measure," Heyman said when asked whether Alex Bregman or Kyle Schwarber is a better fit for Chicago to pursue in free agency. "I think [Matt] Shaw was pretty decent defensively, better than people thought. He didn't hit up a storm.

"[Signing] Bregman would give them arguably the best defense in the sport. They already have three Gold Glove winners. Bregman has one in the past. To me, that makes sense," he added.

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Bregman was an above-average defender for the Red Sox in 2025 and had four outs more than Shaw in terms of Fielding Run Value (the advanced metrics that quantify defense). And as Heyman alluded to, Bregman did win a Gold Glove Award with the Houston Astros in 2024.

The Cubs and Bregman already seemed like a great pairing in free agency. And given that signing him will likely cement Chicago as the best defensive team in baseball, this is just another reason why the Cubs' front office should set their sights on the star third baseman.

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