Alex Bregman landing spots: 10 teams who could sign Astros veteran; is reunion with A.J. Hinch possible?

The Houston Astros on Friday agreed to sign free agent first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year deal. In all likelihood, this signals the end of third baseman Alex Bregman with the Astros. 

Bregman was drafted second overall in 2015 behind Dansby Swanson and debuted with the Astros in 2016. In parts of nine years for the team, he’s played in 1,111 regular-season games and hit .272/.366/.483 (132 OPS+) with 1,132 hits, 265 doubles, 191 home runs, 663 RBI, 694 runs and 39.6 WAR. He has two top-five MVP finishes. He also played in 99 postseason games, being part of four AL pennant winners and two World Series champions. He has 19 home runs and 54 RBI in his playoff career. 

He is an all-time great Astros player, ranking ninth in WAR with the franchise while, again, having all that postseason success. 

Here are the top-10 most likely landing spots now in free agency for Bregman. 

10. Houston Astros

There is a way that Bregman could hang around. The Astros could use Isaac Paredes at designated hitter with Bregman at third and Walker at first. That would mean playing Yordan Alvarez in left field everyday, of course, but it’s doable if both sides still want to make it happen. 

I just don’t think it will. I think Bregman is headed elsewhere … 

9. Seattle Mariners

There has been very little, if any, real connection between the Mariners and Bregman in rumors to this point. Still, the Mariners need offense and after missing the playoffs by one game last season, they should be in aggressive, win-now mode. They don’t really have a starting third baseman right now, as utility man Dylan Moore looks like he’s slotted there right now. 

The best bet is Bregman would love to avoid going from a hitter-friendly ballpark to the most pitcher-friendly in the majors, but money talks if the Mariners are willing to flash some (they likely won’t). 

8. New York Yankees

After losing out on Juan Soto in free agency, the smart money is on Brian Cashman avoiding another P.R. hit and Yankees fans still really, really hate members of the 2017 Astros. 

If that were put aside, however, there’s a fit here. The Yankees could use a third baseman, which would push Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base and help solidify the infield. Oswaldo Cabrera would then be the first baseman until another one was acquired, but Cody Bellinger could also fit at first base. 

7. Philadelphia Phillies

It has felt this offseason like the Phillies were mostly wanting to run it back with their core that was so good last season. If anything, they seem to be mostly into some tweaks on the margins instead of grabbing more “main character” types for the roster. We do know that they’ve been floating third baseman Alec Bohm on the trade market, though, which would open things up for a Bregman signing, if they so desire. 

Even if the last half of a Bregman contract is bad, the Phillies being in win-now mode should mean they don’t care about that. 

6. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have been trying this offseason, as they’ve added Jorge Soler, Yusei Kikuchi and Travis d’Arnaud. They still have Mike Trout along with some impressive young players in Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe. 

Some people might point to Anthony Rendon at third base. He’s still owed over $77 million in the final two years of his deal. To me, that’s a sunk cost. Rendon seems more content to tell everyone how little he cares about playing baseball than actually being productive on the field at this point. He’s appeared in 205 games total in the last four seasons. They might be better off just eating the money and releasing him. 

Regardless, Bregman marks a big upgrade and he’s sitting right there for the taking. 

5. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have been said to be desperate to make a splash this offseason. They are trying to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and maybe Bo Bichette. They traded for superb glove-man Andrés Giménez to play second base and Bregman would give them a potential juggernaut infield (Guerrero, Giménez, Bichette, Bregman). It would also free up Ernie Clement to be used in a utility role. 

They’ve seemed to have money to throw around, given the bidding on Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto the past two offseasons. Bregman isn’t even close to being in that ballpark, but he won’t require nearly as much money either. 

4. Boston Red Sox

Some shuffling would need to be done here. The Red Sox have a superstar slugger in his prime at third base in Rafael Devers. If they slide Devers over to first, Triston Casas becomes trade bait or the full-time designated hitter and Masataka Yoshida looks like the DH right now. There’s an opening at second base for the time being — until top prospect Kristian Campbell is ready — so perhaps the Red Sox try to put Devers there in this scenario? 

We do know that Bregman would be a really nice fit in Fenway Park and would provide the Red Sox an upgrade in the short term, no matter how they configured the roster after signing him. We also know they’ve been looking to spend money though much of the offseason, so the resources are there. 

3. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs had essentially a set roster with nowhere to go heading into the offseason, so they’ve started moving things around. They traded Isaac Paredes to the Astros as part of a deal to land superstar right fielder Kyle Tucker. That created a logjam in the outfield and they essentially salary-dumped Cody Bellinger to the Yankees. Third base appears to be open for rookie Matt Shaw, but clearing that money before the final year of president Jed Hoyer’s deal should mean the Cubs continue to stay aggressive in spending to build a winner in 2025. Bregman fits perfectly at third base. If the Cubs believe Shaw is ready right away, they could always spin Nico Hoerner as part of a deal for pitching (with the Mariners, for example) and that opens up second for Shaw. It would all fit quite well, assuming the Cubs believe Bregman on a six-year deal or so is a good play. 

2. New York Mets

The Mets under David Stears so far — a small sample, to be clear — seem content to go inexpensive with the rotation and hope to hit on some cheap gems like they did last year with Luis Severino and Sean Manaea. We also know that they aren’t about to just sign Juan Soto to a $765 million deal and then sit the rest of the offseason out. Pete Alonso is a free agent and maybe the Mets just bring him back. They could also flip Mark Vientos across the diamond to first and sign a third baseman. 

Hello, Mr. Bregman. With switch-hitting Francisco Lindor and lefties like Soto, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, the Mets are most certainly not too right-handed. Vientos and Bregman would be their righty power threats. Bregman and Lindor on the left side of that infield would be a pitcher’s dream with their range. 

1. Detroit Tigers

It isn’t just the Yankees (of Dodgers), there are a decent number of fan bases who want nothing to do with 2017 Astros. The Tigers fan base, though, is strongly behind manager A.J. Hinch and he was the manager of the Astros in ’17. Hinch was the man in charge on the field when Bregman came up and adapted to the majors on through his best season in 2019. A reunion here makes for a decent story, no? 

Further, the Tigers hardly have any salary on the books moving forward. It’s only Javier Báez’s disaster deal (which only runs through 2027) and Colt Keith‘s incredibly club-friendly contract. They have the financial wherewithal anyway, but it’s a good time to flex some of those muscles now after that awesome late-season run.

Some might think there isn’t a fit due to youngster Jace Jung at third base. Jung has only 94 career plate appearances and wasn’t awesome in his first foray in the majors or anything. There’s promise there, but Bregman is a known quantity. 

Further, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith all swing the bat left-handed, so Bregman helps to provide a little more balance to the lineup from the right side. 

This Tigers front office hasn’t made a run at a major free agent, so it remains to be seen if they desire to get in on this one in a significant way, but the fit here makes more sense than any of the other 29 teams.