Houston Astros Could Trade For Phillies All-Star Alec Bohm As Bregman Replacement

The Houston Astros could swing a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for Alec Bohm if Alex Bregman leaves the team.

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

With the ongoing free agency of superstar third baseman Alex Bregman, the Houston Astros have to have some contingecy plans in place a team makes him an offer that Houston cannot or should not match.

Recent reports emerged that the Astros have been keeping a close eye on Milwaukee Brewers free agent superstar shortstop Willy Adames to potentially move him to third base, but if they let Bregman walk over money, the chances of signing Adames don't feel all that great either. While there are names out there to be had, what if Houston looked to bring in someone from the trade block instead of the open market.

Enter the possibility of a deal being made for Philadelphia Phillies All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm. While Bohm is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and was phenomenal for the first half of the year, he cooled off drastically down the stretch and was benched in the playoffs both due to the performance dip and questions of maturity. These problems have led to Philadelphia wanting to re-tool things following their early elimination and putting Bohm on the trade block. In an article this week trying to find suitors who would be good fits for Bohm, Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors named the Astros as a possibility if they do lose Bregman.

"The priority is Bregman, but the Astros will need to go to lengths they’ve never approached under owner Jim Crane in order to retain their longtime third baseman," Adams wrote. "They’ve considered a variety of contingencies, reportedly including an outside-the-box option in veteran second baseman Jorge Polanco. Bohm is a more straightforward fit. The Astros have some rotation depth and outfield depth to spare, both in the form of young players with MLB experience and upper-minors names who could debut in 2025."

Bohm could potentially replace some of the performance of Bregman on the field if he can get his act together and play like he did in the first half of the previous season, but replacing the veteran leadership of Bregman is a question. It's not ideal that Bohm is at least partially being shopped due to some off the field issues with acting like a professional given that Bregman is the consumate professional.

But if Houston thinks it can get the most out of a player like Bohm who has shown some promise, it's worth at least looking into if Bregman does move on.