The wheels of Alex Bregman’s first foray into MLB free agency continue to grind slowly. Publicly at least, there haven’t been any big rumblings. The Astros’ window of exclusivity ended a few days after the World Series was over, so Bregman is free to continue his career with whichever team meets his contractual desires.
We don’t have a real good gauge on what exactly Bregman is looking for from his next team, but it’s probably fair to assume, since he’s allowed his pursuit of his next contract to hit free agency, that Bregman is looking for a number of years on his deal and/or an amount of money that would strongly push the boundaries of where Astros owner Jim Crane cares to go.
As Bregman has been a fixture in the MLB postseason for nearly a decade now, I would imagine that winning is also high on Bregman’s list of desires. To that point, it would be interesting to corner Bregman and feed him some truth serum to see how exactly he feels the Astros are equipped to win over the next few season, given their payroll clogged with dead money and depleted farm system.
For now, according to BetOnline.ag, these are the favorites to land Bregman, should he decide to leave the Astros in the coming weeks:
WASHINGTON NATIONALS +450
I’ve always thought Bregman’s ability to execute the little things is way more valuable to a title contender than an also ran, which makes the Nationals as a favorite confusing. They were 71-91 last season, and have been off the grid since winning the World Series in 2019. Bregman was spotted recently at a Washington Commanders football game, which might be enough to move the odds. Of the teams on this list, Bregman landing here would anger me the least.
DETROIT TIGERS +500
The Tigers sweeping the Astros in the wild card round (which already happened) followed by the Tigers stealing Alex Bregman would be some ultimate revenge for current Tigers and former Astros manager A.J. Hinch. Detroit seems like a better fit than Washington, given they are further along in their rebuild.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS +550 The Blue Jays already landed one of our beloved core title window players when they signed George Springer after the 2020 season. Giving Bregman a monstrous deal four years later might feel worse, considering the Astros don’t have nearly as many answers for backfilling Bregman’s production and they did Springer’s four years ago.
SEATTLE MARINERS +600
Ok, now we are getting to teams where I would be legitimately pissed off, if Bregman chose to go there. For three years now, Seattle has gone into a season acting like they were ready to take the AL West mantle from the Astros, and for three years now, they’ve been wrong. If they are looking to take things up a notch in this rivalry, stealing Bregman is a solid chess move.
NEW YORK YANKEES +650
Please, no, Alex. Just, please. NO. GOD, NO. Do not do it.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
