New York Yankees Again Linked to Houston Astros Top Free Agent Priority

The New York Yankees have continued to be viewed as a fit for the Houston Astros star.

Oct 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The New York Yankees celebrate after beating the Cleveland Guardians during game five of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. / David Richard-Imagn Images

Depending on how people define it, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros rivalry has been the biggest in Major League Baseball over the past decade.

While the Astros have dominated the Yankees in nearly every big moment the two clubs have played, there's still a different feeling in the building when the guys from the Bronx are in the other dugout.

The cheating scandal only fueled that, which could cause some issues to arise later on in both team's existence.

That includes pending free agent Alex Bregman, who was a member of the Houston teams that were caught cheating.

Bregman will be on the open market and has been linked to New York multiple times. While the pairing makes sense as a player, there are obstacles to think about because of what's happened in the past.

Despite that, Jim Bowden of The Athletic still views the Yankees as a fit.

Bowden highlighted why he might not return to the Astros and predicted his contract, which was seven years and $155.5 million.

"Alex Bregman would love to finish his career as an Astro, but will the organization do enough to keep him? Houston has a history in free agency of saying goodbye to its star players, such as Carlos Correa and George Springer... Bregman is a proven leader with elite skills in not chasing out of the strike zone. He has all the intangibles that winning organizations want. His market range is well-defined — somewhere between what the Giants gave Matt Chapman last month and Nolan Arenado’s contract with the Rockies/Cardinals. Astros general manager Dana Brown has said the team will make Bregman an offer, but will it be close to how the rest of the industry views him?"

New York signing Bregman would be an interesting situation to watch. He'd help them a ton, as they could move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to a different position and add one of the better right-handed bats in baseball to their lineup.

From Houston's perspective, that's likely the last team they'd want him to play for, as the Yankees and Astros are bound to play each other again in a future playoff series.

If Bregman's career in Houston did indeed come to an end in the Wild Card Round, it's been a wild ride filled with many highs.

Fans certainly wouldn't be happy if he decided to play for New York, but if that's where the money is, it'd be tough to blame him.