A .669 OPS from Alex Bregman is not something anyone would expect. He went 0-for-12 over his last three games in the series against the San Francisco Giants. What’s worse is that the Cubs have recorded a 7-20 record in the last four weeks.

With the 2-1 loss against the Giants, they now have an unwanted record of losing or tying nine consecutive series. Now, the Chicago Cubs third baseman feels responsible for the team’s downfall and blames himself.

“I’ve been terrible. I need to play better. Offensively, it’s been awful,” Bregman shared. 

Days earlier, Bregman acknowledged his slump: “[There’s] lotta work to be done.”

Yet, he slashed .107/.194/.250 in his last seven games. And Bregman’s 5 homers in 65 games trail his 2016 rookie pace, signaling deeper mechanical issues. 

“I’ve failed many times in this game. I’ve struggled, I’ve started slow before, I’ve started fast before,” Bregman added. “When you’re struggling, there is only one way forward, and that’s straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game. I haven’t executed all year.”

He is hitting .243 this year, and his .669 OPS is his career-worst. Bregman has struck out 51 times—a career-high rate that mirrors his struggles. But as he said, this isn’t his only slump.

Bregman has had poor outings multiple times throughout his 10+ MLB seasons.

In 2016, after his big league debut with the Houston Astros, Bregman went 1-for-32 (.031 average).

Last week, he denied that bat speed had an impact on his offense. However, in 2024, he underwent a tough mechanical battle. He even tried to change his swing to improve his bat speed. 

In 2025, Bregman started strong but slumped to .103/.182/.128 (4-for-44) in late August. But his season average was above .200.

Now, with Chicago currently going through a rough patch, Bregman’s slump becomes significant. 

Cubs show promise underlying huge concerns amid tight NL Central race

The Cubs (34-32; No. 4 in NL Central) have been the most inconsistent team in MLB this year. They swung from back-to-back 10-game wins to a 10-game losing streak and now have 16 losses in 21 games. But that’s just scratching the surface. 

For Chicago, which led the division earlier this season, reclaiming that position seems quite tough. Even a wild card looks too hard a bargain as the Cubs are 0.5 games behind. And a playoff spot might feel like a Sisyphean task if you look at the IL.

Chicago has 11 on the injured list, including nine pitchers. At least three of the arms won’t rejoin the roster this season. Dansby Swanson, averaging .180, has been benched. Jameson Taillon has struggled with a 5.19 ERA, and a hamstring injury compounds the concern. 

All these issues are blocking the much-needed momentum for the Cubs. Even a +3 run differential doesn’t look very promising at this point. But that doesn’t mean that Chicago doesn’t have any bright spots. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong fuels the lineup with a career-best streak: 11 HRs and 32 RBIs. Seiya Suzuki is trying his best to support PCA with 9 homers and a .752 OPS. And Javier Assad’s recent 6.1 scoreless innings definitely gave some solid hope for the fans. 

Given their huge highs and lows this season, analyst Bruce Levine had termed them as an “average” team. And the Cubs have enough of both positives and negatives to go either way in the remainder of the season. That’s why they need Bregman to find his form fast.

Bregman has bounced back before using analytics and discipline—he hit .298 in May. If he can manage that again, his veteran presence can help the team find its balance.