Houston Astros Door for Reunion With Star Fan Favorite Free Agent 'Wide Open'

The Houston Astros could be on the verge of bringing back their fan favorite superstar free agent.

Oct 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third base Alex Bregman (2) runs after hitting a single against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning of game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Things might not be over just yet when it comes to the Houston Astros and their superstar free agent.

For the better part of the last three months, it has been highly assumed that fan favorite franchise icon third baseman Alex Bregman would be playing on a different team next season for the first time in his professional career. Having turned down a reported six-year, $156 million offer from the Astros early in the offseason, Bregman seemed destined to sign elsewhere.

This assumption gained more traction when Houston dealt away Kyle Tucker, receiving a new third baseman in return from the Chicago Cubs in Isaac Paredes before signing Christian Walker to play first base and seemingly shoring up the infield.

Last week however, shocking rumors emerged when reports of the Astros 're-engaging' with Bregman surfaced, with the only other player who's more popular than Bregman in H-Town, second baseman Jose Altuve, saying he's even willing to move to the outfield in order to make a reunion happen.

Those rumors started snowballing even further over the weekend when Houston dealt away former closer turned setup man Ryan Pressly and his $14 million contract, further making space for a potential Bregman deal.

USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday night that the Pressly deal makes the door 'wide open' for the slugging third baseman to return.

"The Ryan Pressly trade now opens the door wide open for Alex Bregman return to the Houston Astros. The Astros needed to move Pressly before Bregman acquisition could become realistic," Nightengale wrote.

Bringing back Bregman would be a supremely popular move with the fanbase to say the least, but whether or not the Astros should actually do it is another question.

Moving Altuve to the outfield is flat out ridiculous and while it's admirable the face of the franchise would be willing to switch from the position he's played for a decade and a half, that doesn't make it a good idea.

With the left field power of Paredes, there's an argument to be made depending on what a Bregman contract looks like that Houston would be better suited moving forward with Paredes at the hot corner.

If it's the type of situation where Bregman has found out the grass is not greener with other franchises and wants to come back on a team friendly deal, then it's worth bringing him in and finding a way to make things work.

But simply handing the two-time All-Star a megadeal and bringing him back for the sake of bringing him back is not something that should be done based on the way the team has been built in his assumed absence.

In all likelihood, Bregman will still sign elsewhere, but it's certainly more likely than it has been in a very long time that the star could be back.