Houston Astros Fan Favorite Projected to Land Major Deal in Free Agency

The Houston Astros have a fan favorite hitting free agency this winter, and he is projected to land a big-time contract.

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

No matter the sport, no matter the team, every dynasty must face this, and that is no different for the Houston Astros.

For the better part of a decade, the Astros have dominated the American League, specifically the American League West, winning the division in each of the last seven full-length seasons, making it to the American League Championship Series in seven of the last eight years, and winning two World Series Championships in four trips.

It has been a level of dominance that the baseball world has not seen since the 90s, but with every dominant dynasty, players age and some leave through free agency.

This year, Houston could face the departure of their fan-favorite third baseman Alex Bregman, who has been a key cog in the machine since making his Major League debut on July 25th, 2016.

Bregman has been named an American League All-Star twice, a Silver Slugger once, just won his first career gold glove this year and finished as the runner-up for the American League MVP in 2019.

It has already been a long and storied career for the third baseman, and now entering free agency for the first time, it looks to get even richer.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Tim Britton took a crack at projecting the contracts that the top available free agents would garner this winter, projecting Bregman to land a 7-year, $189 million deal.

For the Astros, that could be a welcome sight, as they are currently only projected to have $217 million on their payroll for the coming season, so an additional $27 million would not be that much of a burden.

However, it could be too much for the third baseman, even though he is a fan favorite at Minute Maid Park.

Bregman has been known to be inconsistent offensively throughout his career, as he has not come close to the output he provided Houston in 2019, hitting just .261/.350/.445 with 92 home runs, 343 RBI, and a 122 OPS+ across 2,594 plate appearances in 594 games.

Britton's projection uses Rafael Devers' deal with the Boston Red Sox of 10 years, $291.5 million as the ceiling, with Matt Chapman's recent deal with the San Francisco Giants of six years, $150 million as the floor, though with Bregman's production at the plate, while not being near as good defensively as Chapman may see their deals finish much closer in value.

It will be interesting to see if the Astros will go out of their way to bring back the fan favorite, but the projected asking price may be too steep.