Alex Bregman Could Look To Leave Houston Astros for Division Rival

The Houston Astros could lose Alex Bregman to a team within their division.

May 4, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) warms up prior to the game against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have the looming cloud hanging over them by one of their most popular players on the open market.

Alex Bregman's free agency status feels as if it's put the rest of the offseason on hold as they try to retain him while other teams make their offers.

The Astros have expressed both publicly and privately that they want to keep their franchise cornerstone third baseman, but the team certainly has a history of letting superstars walk away when the number gets too high.

There are certain teams that would hurt more than others if Bregman were to leave the only franchise he's known for his near decade long Major League career.

If they had their choice, Houston would love to see him go somewhere in the National League, but if the team ultimately lets him walk, he will likely go to the highest bidder.

One of the worst-case scenarios would be to see Bregman stay within the division.

In a recent article naming players who could leave their teams for a division rival, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com predicted the Seattle Mariners as a team who could steal the star away.

"Last season, Seattle got a slash line of .213/.301/.341 from its third basemen," Randhawa wrote. "With a starting rotation that is young and one of the best in the Majors, the club is in need of more hitting, and Bregman, who has a career .848 OPS, would be a welcome boost to the lineup. He hasn’t been able to come close to replicating his big 2019 campaign, in which he finished runner-up in AL MVP voting, but he remains one of the best third basemen in the game."

While the New York Yankees still feel like the worst possible outcome, the Mariners are a close second.

Houston was able to fend off Seattle for their fourth consecutive AL West title, but this year was as tough as its been throughout the team's run of American League dominance.

Only holding off the Mariners by 3.5 games as that franchise begins to ascend, Bregman could be the piece that puts them over the top.

They don't have the big market status that teams who could try to sign Bregman like the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies have, but Seattle has money to spend and could go all in to acquire the two-time All-Star.