There is a lot to think about when it comes to the Houston Astros’ offseason plans. The Astros have a difficult payroll situation with the money owed to Jose Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Lance McCullers Jr., and that is going to complicate filling roster holes and making desired upgrades.
However, all of that is contingent on what happens with Alex Bregman.
For most of the season, it just felt like Bregman departing the Astros after the season was inevitable. There was next to no discussion of bring him back, and between his rumored asking price, his agent, and the Astros’ tight payroll, his return felt very questionable. Hell, Bregman all but said goodbye on social media immediately after Houston’s season ended.
However, since that line of demarcation, there has been increasing chatter that the Astros reuniting with Bregman could actually happen. Jose Altuve is in the middle of a full court press to try and convince the Houston front office to bring him back, and now Bregman appears to still be courting Astros fans over on Instagram.
This whole Bregman thing requires a lot of reading of tea leaves to make sense of and, honestly, it is hard to judge intent. For the optimistic Astros fans out there, Bregman thanking fans AGAIN for their support this season could mean that Bregman wants to stay in Houston or, at minimum, wants the Astros to stay involved and is open to returning.
However, there is a more insidious spin to this whole situation as well. If Bregman wants to avoid looking like a villain to Astros fans and/or wants Houston to help bid him up this offseason, this is one of the moves he has in his arsenal. If he ends up taking the most money somewhere else, he can always say that he wanted to stay and the Astros just didn’t make a competitive offer.
We will get a better sense of the Astros’ chances of retaining Bregman once the offseason actually gets started. If the rumor mill is immediately flooded with nine-figure offers being floated for Bregman from other teams, his days in Houston are likely over. If his market is slow to develop, don’t be surprised if the Astros get more involved, especially if the initial talks between Boras and Dana Brown go well.
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