Chicago Cubs just got screwed by Pat Murphy, Brewers yet again

The Chicago Cubs made one of the biggest signings of the MLB offseason, inking Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract. It was widely seen as a counter to losing Kyle Tucker, and at the time, the move was viewed with excitement.

That being said, some did feel it was a bit of an overpay for Bregman, especially considering he had only been good — not great — for the preceding six campaigns.

Well, the early returns on the Bregman deal have not been good, as the veteran third baseman is slashing .259/.343/.356 with four home runs and 16 RBI over 245 plate appearances. His defense has been decent, but he has been less than stellar at the dish.

This isn’t what the Cubs were expecting from a man making $35 million annually, and the fact that they just lost 10 games in a row made the contract that much less palatable.

And somehow, some way, the Milwaukee Brewers managed to one-up Chicago yet again.

Chicago Cubs got hoodwinked by the Milwaukee Brewers

Bregman spent the 2025 campaign with the Boston Red Sox, so after losing Bregman to the Cubs, the Red Sox had to find a solution at third base.

They scrambled and ended up trading for Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin, sending pitcher Kyle Harrison to Milwaukee in exchange. Boston had previously acquired Harrison — a former top prospect — in the deal that sent Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last year.

Needless to say, Durbin has bombed in Beantown, managing a .479 OPS across his first 164 plate appearances of 2026. Harrison? He has developed into a star in Milwaukee, owning a 1.57 ERA and 1.026 WHIP through his first 10 starts.

So by snatching Bregman away from the Red Sox, Chicago opened the door for the Brewers to bamboozle Boston with the Durbin-Harrison trade, and now, the NL Central has become that much more difficult for the Cubs as a result.

Pat Murphy and Milwaukee have managed to upstage Chicago regularly in recent years, and while it has become beyond irritating (as is Murphy’s smug demeanor), at some point, you kind of have to respect it.

The Cubs are four-and-a-half games behind the Brewers — six in the loss column — for first place in the NL Central, and the addition of Harrison has played a big role in Milwaukee’s success.

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