Chicago Cubs legend offers insight on Alex Bregman struggles

It seemed like everyone was getting in on the fun in the Chicago Cubs’ 23-3 pummeling of the San Diego Padres Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field—except for Alex Bregman.

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The three-time All-Star went 0-5 on a day when the Cubs were launching hits all over the place, managing one walk and nothing else in the feast of offense. After crushing a three-run homer against Padres pitching the day before, being shut out on a day like Wednesday had to be disappointing and frustrating.

Actually, the frustration seems to be boiling over a bit when it comes to the third baseman’s first season with the Cubs after signing a 5-year, $175 million contract with the team in the offseason. As of this writing, he’s hitting .240 with a weak .341 slugging percentage.

Jon Lester weighs in

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Former Cubs pitcher and key figure on the legendary 2016 World Series team, Jon Lester recently had some words of wisdom regarding Bregman and what he may be going through, mentally.

In a recent appearances on the Northside Territory podcast, Lester theorized that the pressure of performing on a new team may be affecting Bregman’s approach at the plate. Like Bregman, Lester also came to the Cubs on a lucrative free agent contract with a lot expected of him.

“That first month was probably one of the longest months I’ve ever had in the big leagues. I wanted the season total numbers in April,” Lester said. “You lose sight sometimes of who you are and what you’ve done and the track record and that sort of thing. So, I think for Bregman… I think he might just be pressing a little bit and you know wanting to be Bregman, wanting to hit that .270 to .290 with 25 to 30 homers… He wants to hit the four home runs before his first at bat.”

Lester also tossed out the possibility that the 32-year-old third baseman may be playing injured, at least to some degree.

“He may be banged up a little bit, we don’t know that,” Lester added. “But I know he’s definitely out there grinding and he’s definitely out there giving it everything he has… But hopefully he can kind of hold on in where he’s at right now and maybe get hot here in the next month or so and be Bregman like numbers toward the end of the season.”

Bregman’s thumbs down

On Tuesday, Bregman flashed a thumbs down hand gesture after hitting his home run, while running the bases and also as he stepped on home plate. On Wednesday, he denied that the gesture meant anything and wouldn’t say if it was directed at anyone. It could very well have been a gesture aimed at the critics and to those who’ve been doubting his hustle and effort.

“We all find our own ways to be motivated,” Counsell said of Bregman’s internal motivations. “Everybody does that. You can pick all sorts of ways. You can pick the people that love you to motivate you; you can pick the people that doubt you to motivate you. I think we all do both from time to time. Especially those of us that are getting constant feedback on our performance. When you get constant feedback on your performance, you toggle between picking between the lovers and the haters and who’s motivating you.”

Whatever the reason behind the flat offensive performance, the Cubs will need Bregman to step up and figure things out. After this season, he still has four more years with the team.

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