With just one week left in February, Alex Bregman remains a free agent. This has led to speculation that he may need to change his focus and try to sign a short-term deal, but that doesn’t seem to be the case yet. KPRC 2’s Ali Alexander reported today that Bregman has received five-year offers from at least three teams this offseason, including the Astros. It was not revealed which club made the offer and when.
Bregman entered this winter as one of the top free agents. He has a batting average of .260/.349/.449 over the past three years, and is also good at third base defense. There are some concerns about 2024, where he got off to a slow start, hitting only .216/.283/.294 by the end of April. He eventually made amends and finished the season with a batting average of .260/.315/.453, but his walk rate of 6.9% was the lowest of his career.
Despite a less-than-perfect year, Bregman still entered free agency with strong name recognition and the legitimacy to earn a powerful contract. MLBTR expected him to sign a seven-year contract worth $182 million. Many observers expected him to return to the Astros, and various reports said the team offered him $156 million over six years. But Bregman and his agents were aiming to reach a $200 million plateau.
Today’s report indicates that several other clubs may have had the desire to fall into some similar range as the Astros. It’s unclear which clubs made these offers or exactly how much money was available, but Bregman has been linked to teams such as the Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mets and Phillies throughout the offseason. there were.
While this represents a decent market, none of it seems to have been strong enough to convince Bregman to put pen to paper. The Astros seemed to have blinked away from their standoff with Bregman by acquiring Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but recent reports suggest the team is holding off on offers and still has some openness to a reunion. Showing attitude. In such a scenario, Bregman would move back to the hot corner, with Paredes at second base and Jose Altuve in left field.
Whether that ultimately happens is likely to depend on other offers and whether any clubs are receptive. If they are all similar to some degree and no club is significantly separated from the pack, then perhaps Bregman will choose to remain with the only club he has ever known.
It’s also possible that some of Mr. Bregman’s suitors are no longer interested, even if they made strong offers earlier in the winter. The Tigers signed Gleyber Torres, somewhat reducing the need for additional infielders. They remain engaged to Bregman, but have reportedly reached an impasse. The Red Sox would likely have to move Rafael Devers to first base to make Bregman fit, and things would get awkward. Second base is more open at the moment, but they might prefer to keep that spot open for Christian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, or Vaughn Grissom. The Blue Jays recently added Anthony Santander. Santander isn’t an infielder, but the team shouldn’t be too eager to upgrade offensively. The Mets and Pete Alonso seem to be at loggerheads with each other, but there’s still a chance they could reunite, and the Jays seem to have some involvement in that as well. The Phillies apparently tried to trade Alec Bohm in conjunction with acquiring Bregman, but they didn’t seem to get much momentum there. The Cubs appear to be interested only if Bregman is willing to pivot to a short-term deal. Jon Heyman of the New York Post said today that the Cubs are “believed” to have “significant interest” in Bregman, along with the Astros, but the Red Sox and Tigers are also involved.
The offer wasn’t strong enough for Bregman to sign anywhere, but it’s probably understandable why he didn’t make a short-term pivot. It’s a path taken by many other free agents, including Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger last winter. But if Bregman has a reasonably decent offer in the five or six year range, he probably won’t feel the need to do so just yet. Just over a week ago, Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, echoed reports this week, saying there was enough interest in a long-term deal that there was no need to change course.
Only time will tell if Bregman returns to Houston or ends up elsewhere. The Astros will make him a qualifying offer at the end of the season and will receive draft picks as compensation if he signs elsewhere, but the club that signs him will be subject to associated penalties. Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in just over two weeks.
