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One of the key pieces to the Houston Astros championship core could be on the move this offseason.
As first reported by former general manager and MLB insider Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on Monday, the Astros willing to consider trade offers for All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman.
SNY’s Andy Martino confirmed Duquette’s report.
Bregman is entering the final year of his contract. If the Astros feel like they won’t be able to re-sign him, it would make a lot of sense for them to try and work out a trade to get as much value out of Bregman as possible.
The Astros found themselves in a similar situation with Carlos Correa. The Astros let him enter free agency, but he was asking for too much and they were unable to re-sign him, losing him for nothing.
Further complicating things for the Astros, Bregman is a client of super-agent Scott Boras (Correa is also a Boras client). Boras is known for getting the absolute best deal possible for his clients, so it is even more unlikely that Houston would be able to bring back Bregman on any sort of team-friendly deal.
Bregman is coming off of another excellent season where he helped lead the Astros to the ALCS. Playing in 161 games, Bregman slashed .262/.363/.441, hit 25 home runs, and provides above-average defense at third base. Bregman also has some of the best plate discipline in the league, walking more than he strikes out in his last four full seasons.
Perhaps most importantly, Bregman is a winner. Dating back to his college career at LSU, Bregman has either made the College World Series or the ALCS nine out of the last 11 seasons. If Bregman ends up getting traded, he would bring a championship pedigree to the clubhouse of whichever team makes a deal for him.
If Bregman is indeed available, there will be no shortage of potential suitors. The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are just some of the teams that could be looking to make an upgrade at third base.
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