Houston Astros Most Important Offseason Decision is About One Player

Looking ahead to the Houston Astros' offseason, they will need to make one very important decision regarding the status of their superstar.

Jul 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) smiles on the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Minute Maid Park / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Right now, the last thing the Houston Astros are thinking about is what's going to take place in the offseason.

After fighting back to hold a commanding lead in the AL West, they firmly have their sights set on making yet another deep playoff run to extend their American League record of consecutive ALCS appearances.

With Justin Verlander returning to the starting rotation following an extended time on the injured list, the Astros are looking poised to win their division for the fourth year in a row.

But, even if Houston isn't ready to start thinking about what might happen after the season ends, the elephant in the room is what they are going to do regarding the impending free agency of their star Alex Bregman after they weren't able to lock him up with an extension this winter.

As one of the best third basemen in the game since making his Major League debut back in 2016, he has been a staple of this franchise, winning two World Series titles while earning two All-Star selections and a Silver Slugger award.

When on the open market, there are expectations he might get up to $200 million.

If that's the case, the writing is on the wall that his tenure with the Astros is going to be over since they would prefer to stay under the luxury tax.

Handing out the megadeal to Josh Hader and signing Jose Altuve to his lucrative extension shrunk the amount of resources they would be able to give Bregman.

But can they really allow the 30-year-old to walk in free agency?

Bregman's situation feels a bit different than the ones in the past where they have been willing to let Gerrit Cole, George Springer and Carlos Correa find homes with new teams.

Even though they have called up internal replacement candidate Zach Dezenzo to the Majors to see what he can do, it seems like he has a ways to go before being able to step in and replace one of the best players in Houston's history.

Bregman has accumulated a 38.5 bWAR in his career, clearly proving how important he has been to the succcess of this team.

So, while owner Jim Crane might prefer to stay under the luxury tax, not finding a way to bring back the star third baseman would also be a reversal of his word that, as long as he's in charge, the championship window for this organization will be open.

Houston should do whatever it takes to re-sign Bregman.

While his current season is being perceived as a down year, he's still putting up an OPS+ that is 16 points above the league average and is on pace to surpass the highest home run total he's had in a single season since he hit 41 in 2019.

At 30 years old, he clearly has some gas left in the tank.

The Astros' most important decision in the offseason will be finding a way to make sure Bregman is back in 2025 and beyond.