Houston Astros Internal Alex Bregman Replacement Option Earns Promotion

With some eyes on the future, one of the Houston Astros internal star prospects has earned a promotion to get him competition against better talent.

Feb 25, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Zach Dezenzo (84) in position against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

During the offseason, there seemed to be some writing on the wall that this was going be the last year Alex Bregman donned a Houston Astros jersey.

The franchise cornerstone is set to hit free agency after the season, and when the Astros worked out a contract extension with Jose Altuve and handed out a megadeal to Josh Hader instead of turning their attention to the star third baseman, they likely won't be able to match what other teams will offer him on the open market.

What that means for the Astros going forward will be found out at a later date as this group is currently all in on chasing their third World Series title.

There's still a chance, although unlikely, that Bregman decides to re-sign with Houston if Jim Crane offers him something of market value. Past situations like this would indicate that won't be the case, though, as George Springer, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Correa all departed in free agency.

If they don't have the two-time All-Star in the mix during 2025, then signs point to them turning things over to some internal options unless a cheap veteran falls into their lap.

One player who seems poised to have his name in the running is Zach Dezenzo.

The star prospect is ranked No. 4 in the Astros' farm system, climbing their rankings after being taken in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB draft.

He will now be getting his first shot at the Triple-A level following his recent promotion.

Today, the #Astros announced the following player promotions. pic.twitter.com/FpBNrNoNB4

— Astros Player Development (@AstrosPlayerDev) July 23, 2024

The 6-foot-5, 24-year-old infielder has been impressive in his minor league career with a slash line of .267/.345/.416, 24 home runs, 61 extra-base hits, and 87 RBI.

And even though he's not putting up great numbers facing Double-A pitching this season, Houston clearly wants to see what he can do at the next level so they can evaluate if he can take over the third base spot in the Majors next year.

It's certainly not a given that Dezenzo will be able to do that.

The Astros got extremely lucky when they moved on from Correa and Jeremy Pena was able to fill in and become the ALCS and World Series MVP during his rookie season.

Having lightning strike twice in this scenario is very unlikely.

So, the way Houston has operated when it comes to the future of Bregman with this organization is certainly a risk. Depending on what they do during this year's deadline, there's a chance they will be relying on superstar Yordan Alvarez, regressing Framber Valdez, aging Jose Altuve, impending 2025 free agent Kyle Tucker, and young pieces to maintain their stranglehold on the American League.

Maybe that's enough.

The Astros have quieted all the doubters in the past when people thought they wouldn't survive the egress of talent that previously departed.

Dezenzo will be a player who fans need to monitor for the rest of this campaign to see how he performs when facing Triple-A pitchers.