After losing Juan Soto to their cross-town rivals, the Yankees are going to make a run at Houston’s third baseman, according to a new report.
The Houston Astros’ chances at retaining third baseman Alex Bregman may have taken a hard knock on Sunday night following Juan Soto’s $765-million signing with the New York Mets.
Soto’s historic, 15-year deal—the most expensive in professional sports—was inked after a multi-team bidding war for the 26-year-old New York Yankees slugger, according to USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale. One of four teams vying for Soto, the Yankees’ final offer came up painfully short of the Mets’ deal: 16 years and $760 million, according to Nightengale.
Now, the freshly-spurned Yankees are now looking to pick up the pieces after failing to retain their young star, and are reportedly prepared to “make a run at third baseman Alex Bregman,” Nightengale wrote in his Sunday evening column. This turn of events likely spells trouble for Houston, which has already extended a six-year, $156-million offer to the franchise cornerstone—a deal likely well below his market value.
Bregman is unlikely to take anything less than $200 million and seven years, according to multiple reports, and recent rumblings noted by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal intimate that figure could be much higher: possibly even in the realm of the 11-year, $350 million deal struck by Manny Machado and San Diego Padres after the 2022 MLB season. This is where things get hairy for Houston.
Flush with cash, the Yankees could likely outspend the notoriously spendthrift Astros if it comes down to a bidding war for the veteran third baseman. Bringing in Bregman would entail a reshuffling of New York’s infield, sending incumbent hot corner man Jazz Chisholm to shortstop or second base—but bigger adjustments have been made to accommodate top talents.
In any case, whether the Yankees ultimately sign Bregman or not, the rapidly evolving free agent landscape is trending toward the absurdly pricey, and New York’s interest alone will drive up the going rate for Houston’s 30-year-old team leader. Another factor to consider: Bregman and Soto are both represented by MLB super agent Scott Boras. After Sunday night’s titanic Soto deal, it’s hard to imagine Houston’s 2024 Gold Glove winner being interested in giving any kind of home team discount to Houston when both parties meet at the table.
Is it the end of the world if the Astros can’t hold on to Bregman? Not exactly. But it likely signals the end of Houston’s recent dynastic run, one in which the third baseman helped shepherd the franchise to two World Series and seven straight ACLS appearances.