The Cubs had been linked to Alex Bregman for weeks before the star third baseman ended up reportedly agreeing to terms with the Boston Red Sox.

Bregman’s deal with the Red Sox is for $120 million over 3 years with opt-outs after each year, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.

The Cubs’ interest figured to fall in a similar area – a short-term, high-salary deal with opt-outs like the one they signed with Cody Bellinger last spring.

USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale has the details of the contract the Cubs reportedly offered:

That information from Nightengale does not include any potential opt-out structure and it only represents total value of the offer – it does not indicate whether there was more money for the first year or deferred salary.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan provided more insight:

According to the reports, the Tigers had the biggest offer out there in terms of total money and years but the number Bregman ultimately landed on was the $40 million a year on average.

“Ultimately, I feel like we made a strong offer but clearly it wasn’t enough,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Thursday in Arizona. “And again, when you’re in free agency, most of the time, a player goes the highest bid.

“The Red Sox got a great player. They were aggressive. And kudos to them. They got a great player, but given where we are with our budget right now, I’m glad that we were able to pursue it and I’m thankful that we did.”

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Bregman got a nice payday with the Red Sox, of course. The exact situation with the Red Sox has not yet been announced but he is presumably going to play second base in Boston.

With the Cubs, he could have slid in at third base – his standard position – and also shared the clubhouse with several former teammates (Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly) as well as a close friend (Nicky Lopez) and made a push for the National League Central.

But at the end of the day, Bregman chose the higher salary from the Red Sox and the Cubs will now pivot back to their original plan of prospect Matt Shaw and a combination of veterans competing for the third base gig this spring.

“I think we made the best offer we could make and to me, that’s competitive,” Hoyer said. “That’s free agency. Within the structure and our finances, we made the best offer we could make and I think ultimately that’s what you have to do in free agency.”