“So, right now, the Cubs have a ‘creative, potentially unprecedented’ contract offer out to Bregman, one source said,” Matthew Trueblood of North Side Baseball reports. “The deal is believed to be worth around $30 million annually over four years, with multiple opt-outs. Bregman could end up with the right to opt out after any of the first three seasons of the deal, and the structure of the contract would be similar to the one the Cubs signed with Cody Bellinger (another Boras client) last February.”

Bregman has been looking for a long-term contract with a team this offseason, and after turning down the Houston Astros’ offer, he seemingly has not found what he has desired. The Cubs, along with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, have been rumored destinations.

According to Trueblood, the Cubs and president Jed Hoyer are operating with two ‘hard ceilings’ when it comes to budget. The known limit is the first luxury tax threshold, which is set at $241 million for 2025. The unknown one is the set budget by the Ricketts family.

The Cubs’ sit around $40 million under the threshold, and the reported $30 million offer would fit under the first tax threshold, so it is up to the Ricketts family to decide where the budget sits for 2025.

An addition of Bregman would be huge for the Cubs, who acquired two other former Astros this winter in Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly. As currently constructed, the Cubs are a team that should contend for the National League Central title in 2025, and adding Bregman, the best remaining player on the free-agent market, would strengthen those chances even more.