Alex Bregman Lands with the Cubs
Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball
The Athletic
4.7 • 873 Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Eno and DVR discuss Alex Bregman's new five-year, $175 million deal with the Cubs and the push being made with the team's current core as a few key players approach free agency at season's end. Plus, they consider how Bregman's bat may age over the next half-decade, and the short-term impact on Matt Shaw, who appears headed for a super utility role in 2026.
They also discuss a previously unreported shoulder injury that slowed Gunnar Henderson's production in 2025 differences between projections systems, and a few other news and notes around the league including a trade that might pave the way for an outfield prospect to break through sooner than expected in Arizona.
Rundown
3:01 Alex Bregman: Signs Five-Year, $175M Deal with Cubs
9:50 Moving Further Into Modern Contract Analysis
13:54 Short-Term vs. Long-Term Approach with Roster Decisions
18:10 Matt Shaw's Year 2 Outlook
27:52 Gunnar Henderson Reveals Shoulder Injury From 2025
34:49 What Are the Differences Between Projections Systems?
46:03 Other News & Notes: Kepler Suspension, Rockies-D-backs Trade, Smaller Signings
Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social
Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
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Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris
Producer: Brian Smith
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to rates and barrels. |
| 0:12.4 | It is Monday, January 12th. |
| 0:14.5 | Derek Van Riper here with Enosaris on this episode. |
| 0:16.6 | We dig into a big signing that dropped over the weekend. |
| 0:19.7 | Alex Bregman heads to the Cubs on a new five-year, $175 million deal. |
| 0:25.6 | Lots of fallout with that one. |
| 0:27.0 | We will dig into that here in just a few minutes. |
| 0:30.4 | We got some information about Gunner Henderson last week that I thought was pretty interesting |
| 0:34.6 | because I think it explains a lot about what happened to him |
| 0:37.6 | production-wise in 2025. |
| 0:40.2 | Got a mailbag question about different projection systems that we're going to try to crack open |
| 0:44.3 | and a few other news and notes around the league, including a suspension for Max Kepler. |
| 0:50.8 | So, Eno, how'd the weekend treat you? |
| 0:53.3 | Oh, pretty good other than the fact that I sliced my finger open. |
| 0:58.7 | Oh, so baseball writers get the same kinds of injuries as baseball players? |
| 1:03.8 | What were you doing? |
| 1:04.4 | Let me guess. |
| 1:05.0 | You were opening a new ping pong paddle out of one of those snap tight plastic containers and the scissors |
| 1:13.7 | didn't cut you but the really sharp plastic thing oh that's the worst or like the cardboard |
| 1:19.7 | paper cuts oh no it is too cold here for ping pong what are you talking about it's like |
| 1:26.4 | 35 it's so cold it's never too here for ping pong what are you talking about it's like 35 it's so cold it's never too cold for ping pong i was making butternut squash soup man butternut squash is so hard to peel man those are butterfish butternought squash is like the most preposterous vegetable because it just, it looks like wood. |
| 1:46.5 | It, you knock on it. |
... |
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