The Chicago Cubs are among the best teams in Major League Baseball, though it’s hard not to think what could have been had their offseason pursuit of now Boston Red Sox third basemen Alex Bregman had been successful.

All winter long, the never-ending sweepstakes for the former Houston Astros perennial All-Star dominated the headlines, and though the Cubs made an admirable run, they were not able to lock him down.

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As Chicago has hit a little bit of a skid and the third base position for the team as a whole sits dead last in Major League Baseball with an OPS of just .544, wondering what Bregman could have done to this lineup is understandable.

However, even though Boston gave Bregman a megadeal which is set to pay him $40 million per year for three years and contains opt outs in each season, they could be willing to trade away the slugger.

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The Red Sox shocked everyone last week when they traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. With the season not going according to plan as well as the fact that Bregman has the looming opt out that he is likely to exercise this winter, trading him is not the craziest idea.

Jeff Passan of ESPN named the top-50 players who could be traded at the deadline, and Bregman of course came in at No. 1. Though Passan only gives it a 10 percent chance that Boston would actually trade him, he named the Cubs as the top fit if it were to happen.

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Young rookie Matt Shaw seemed to be putting it together after returning from his demotion, but he has started to struggle again at the plate over the last month.

A real case can be made that Chicago is not in a position where they can be giving away at-bats in the name of development if they are actually going to contend for a title.

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Someone like Bregman, who would likely only be a one-year rental, could be the perfect balance between giving the Cubs an elite third baseman and not blocking the position from Shaw for the foreseeable future.

If Boston does start fielding trade offers for Bregman, Chicago absolutely should be at the forefront of the negotiations and be aggressive enough to the point where they can land him.

The Red Sox are not likely to want to deal him, but if they are and the price is at least somewhat reasonable, the Cubs simply must do whatever it takes to make it happen.

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