Of MLBTR’s high 20 free brokers, Alex Bregman is the one one who stays unsigned. The star third baseman is reportedly sitting on a number of six-year affords however hasn’t discovered a worth to his liking.
A kind of is from the incumbent Astros. Houston has reportedly had a standing six-year, $156MM supply for a lot of the winter. Jon Heyman of the New York Put up writes that the Astros have bumped that quantity greater, although specifics on the brand new proposal aren’t clear. In any case, it doesn’t appear that it was a dramatic bounce. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 experiences that Houston’s elevated supply remains to be unlikely to end in a deal.
The Tigers are nonetheless pursuing Bregman after agreeing to a two-year cope with Jack Flaherty over the weekend. The Blue Jays have a gap at third base. The Purple Sox have proven curiosity, although Alex Speier of the Boston Globe has recommended they have been reluctant to transcend 4 years. The Sox have stayed in touch with the Cardinals concerning Nolan Arenado as effectively. MLB.com’s John Denton writes that Boston would “choose” to signal Bregman over an Arenado commerce, although that’s troublesome to ascertain except they push the size past their consolation zone.
Whereas gamers like Flaherty and Pete Alonso have moved to short-term offers to conclude prolonged free agent stays, Bregman nonetheless appears dedicated to an extended contract. Agent Scott Boras mentioned as a lot final month. Heyman writes that Bregman expects to signal for a minimum of six years, although he has obtained affords on shorter phrases.
The Astros dipped under the luxurious tax threshold once they traded Ryan Pressly to the Cubs, offloading $8.5MM of his $14MM wage. RosterResource estimates their tax quantity round $237MM, about $4MM under the bottom threshold. They’d have to go effectively past the tax line to signal Bregman however in any other case choose to remain below the $241MM marker. In the event that they don’t re-sign Bregman, they’ll have Isaac Paredes at third base. That’d possible depart Jose Altuve as the first second baseman with a left subject combine that would often characteristic Altuve alongside Mauricio Dubón, Ben Gamel and Zach Dezenzo.
