Finally, after what felt like months of speculation and rumor, Alex Bregman is now officially a former Astros signing a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. The deal includes opt outs after every year of the deal, similar to the contract Carlos Correa got in Toronto.
While a significant loss for the Astros on the field as well as off, the writing had been on the wall for some time now for the team and the home grown Gold Glove third baseman. The Astros had already essentially moved on by acquiring both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but it never feels good to lose someone so valuable to the franchise.
This was not the deal Bregman wanted.
Word on the street all offseason was that Bregman wanted a long-term deal, at least six or seven years, but initially there was some hope of a bloated mega deal for eight or nine. That never came to fruition. The Astros held firm to six years, $156 million, though there were some rumors over the last month they had upped that slightly. The Tigers, home of former Astros manager A.J. Hinch, went all the way to $171 million, but no one offered more than six seasons. The Tigers included an opt out after two seasons. The Astros had no opt outs. In the end, Bregman took the biggest per-year value contract and the one with the most flexibility, but not the one he really wanted because no one was willing to pony up.
The Astros did not cheap out.
In the end, only three teams really offered deals that were competitive for Bregman and the Astros were one of them. That was the deal they opened with and they stuck to their guns. Anyone who thinks it was too little should realize that only Detroit offered more and not by much. In reality, the six-years, $156 million was absolutely in the right range of what Bregman could command on the open market. The fact the Astros nailed that range from the outset says a lot about the work GM Dana Brown and others put into the offer. They didn’t overpay and they were proactive in moving on when they felt like Bregman would go elsewhere.
Someone will need to assume a leadership role in the clubhouse.
No one doubts Bregman’s glove. His defense will be missed. At the plate, he was up and down the last few years, but money in the postseason. Where his loss will be felt most is in the clubhouse where he and Justin Verlander were the vocal leaders of the team. Both are gone leaving a pretty big void there. Jose Altuve is a leader, but not the vocal kind George Springer, Carlos Correa and Bregman were. Yordan Alvarez doesn’t seem like the type either. Someone will need to step up and fill that gap, but who is the question.
Nevermind leadership, who will replace him in the H-E-B commercials?
We cannot overlook the importance of Bregman’s dramatic performances on camera either. Who is going to do this now?
