{"id":32585,"date":"2026-06-08T04:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/just-like-he-did-with-astros-alex-bregman-making-presence-felt-with-behind-the-scenes-impact-for-cubs\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T04:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:22:48","slug":"just-like-he-did-with-astros-alex-bregman-making-presence-felt-with-behind-the-scenes-impact-for-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/just-like-he-did-with-astros-alex-bregman-making-presence-felt-with-behind-the-scenes-impact-for-cubs\/","title":{"rendered":"Just like he did with Astros, Alex Bregman making presence felt with behind-the-scenes impact for Cubs"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Alex Bregman is a lot of things.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a Gold Glove third baseman. He\u2019s a Silver Slugger at the plate.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s an All Star. He\u2019s a World Series champion. He\u2019s the Cubs<\/a>\u2019 $175 million man.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s also, sometimes, an impromptu pitching coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an outstanding resource, not only for our position players but also for our pitchers. Just an extremely high baseball IQ guy,\u201d relief pitcher Phil Maton told the Sun-Times on Wednesday. \u201cI don\u2019t know if anyone truly puts in more work off the field with scouting than he does. He\u2019s coming in here giving me scouting reports for how to pitch guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t even know how you had time to do that. You\u2019ve got to prepare to hit against 13 arms.\u2019 And he\u2019s over here like, \u2018You need to do this to this guy if you face him.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he sees something that might help our pitchers, I think it\u2019s great he\u2019s telling guys, \u2018This is what I see.\u2019 It might make a big out in a game today.\u201d<\/p>\n

While descriptive of Bregman\u2019s behind-the-scenes impact, that anecdote will only go so far toward swaying the opinions of frustrated fans who might not think Bregman is living up to his contract. The Cubs are in the middle of a nasty stretch<\/a>, losers of 18 of their last 23.<\/p>\n

The offense has looked broken, and the lack of power production from Bregman is among the concerns. He only hit five homers and drove in 19 runs in his first 61 games as a Cub. He\u2019s also been one of the few productive Cubs hitters of late, hitting .303 with a .361 on-base percentage over his final 18 games in May, a stretch that included an 11-game hit streak.<\/p>\n

But Bregman stepped into his Cubs tenure as more than just a bat. He brought with him a reputation as a strong clubhouse presence, and the reviews are as good as anyone could have hoped for.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t wait for the next day to come, good or bad,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cThat\u2019s never going to change with Alex. That\u2019s just who he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s mad when the game\u2019s over. Even if he\u2019s having a bad game, he\u2019s upset the game\u2019s over. He\u2019d like to keep playing. That\u2019s just who he is. That\u2019s a great trait, and I think everybody feels it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maton has seen this before. He and Bregman were Astros teammates for three years, a stretch that included a World Series win in 2021.<\/p>\n

Now Maton is seeing it again, and it\u2019s impressing him even more this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I think he\u2019s grown a little bit more,\u201d Maton said. \u201cWe had a really good clubhouse in Houston, we had a lot of guys. I don\u2019t know if this is [what happened] when he went to Boston or when he came here, but he\u2019s really grown into just becoming \u2018the guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Bregman\u2019s status as the player who got the Cubs to finally shell out big free-agent bucks brings the expectations that he will be \u201cthe guy\u201d for this team.<\/p>\n

Maton believes that\u2019s coming \u2013 \u201cI know it\u2019s going to turn for him, I don\u2019t question that for a second\u201d \u2013 and in addition to speaking from the experience of playing alongside him, he can speak from the experience of trying to get Bregman out.<\/p>\n

The two have only faced off twice, most recently last season, when Maton induced a Bregman ground out. But the first time, Bregman struck with a walk-off single in extra innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when he\u2019s not producing at the level he\u2019d like to be at, he\u2019s always a tough at-bat,\u201d Maton said. \u201c[Even] when he\u2019s going through it, you have to go out there and beat him in the zone. And that\u2019s something that creates a ton of value. It puts a ton of pressure on the other team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s on our side and I don\u2019t have to deal with him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs hope headaches like that start piling up for opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n

But no matter the on-field results, it seems the Cubs are getting what they paid for behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

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On the verge of having a full complement of healthy starting pitching, Taillon walked off the mound one batter into the second inning, never a good sign.<\/p>\n

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