Possible Seattle Mariners Free Agent Target Alex Bregman Open to Position Change
Thursday marked the final day of MLB General Manager meetings in San Antonio. Those meetings often get the ball rolling when it comes to trades and other offseason moves, and Seattle Mariners fans hope that will be the case again in 2025.
And while fans anxiously wait to see what moves the Mariners make, one possible free agent target has expressed his willingness to be malleable for teams looks to sign him.
According to a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, long-time Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has expressed willingness to play second base.
Bregman last played second base in his third major league season in 2018 and played just 11 innings at the position.
Alex Bregman is willing to move to second base, per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/rCxv58pEgw
— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) November 7, 2024
Bregman has played for the Astros for the entirety of his nine-year career and has given Seattle fits throughout his near-decade in the American League West.
ALEX. BREGMAN.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) October 13, 2022
Mariners walked Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman drives in a run the next AB
4-2 Astros in the 8th
pic.twitter.com/QlsOyPvZ5O
Bregman is considered one of the most notable free agents in the offseason, with several publications ranking him as the second-best available player behind only superstar Juan Soto.
Bregman, who's represented by agent Scott Boras, is estimated to have a market value of four years, $119.866 million ($30 million AAV) according to Spotrac.
Mariners owner/chairman John Stanton has stated that the team is unlikely to spend big in free agency, and other media have expressed it would be an "upset" if the team snags a big-name on the open market.
But Bregman's willingness to play second base might sweeten the pot for Seattle. Third base is already a position of need for the Mariners. So is second. Bregman's ability to play both and the lineup flexibility that would give Seattle could entice the front office to pick up the phone to call Boras and Bregman.
And at least one MLB Insider thinks that the team will at least make an attempt.
MLB Network's Jon Morosi went on Seattle Sports on Thursday and offered some thoughts about the Mariners potentially going after Bregman.
Morosi said he would imagine the team would try to sign Bregman. But he also pointed out the fact that Bregman would be under a lot of criticism due to his past in Houston.
Bregman was a part of the Astros' 2017 World Series team that faced sanctions from the MLB for a cheating scandal that included the team banging on trash cans to signal the opposing team's pitch.
Morosi pointed this out and the road block it might present in his interview with Seattle Sports:
"He has had to wear the brunt of a lot of the criticism along with (Jose) Altuve, going back to the sign-stealing scandal. Players that have moved on or gone other places, they don't seem to get booed as much as those who have remained in the Houston uniform. And so that's a lot of years where Alex has heard boos in Seattle. We understand that sometimes – look, Johnny Damon went from playing for the Red Sox to playing for the Yankees so if that can happen then anything could happen. But I think that might in some way be an obstacle."
The boos and rivalry between the two squads might stop Bregman from going to the Pacific Northwest, even if Seattle is willing to spend.
But it wouldn't hurt the Mariners to try. The worst Bregman can do is say "no," and a negotiation could help Seattle get in the good graces of Boras, who also represents the team's Gold Glove and possible Silver Slugger catcher Cal Raleigh, who will be due for his own big-money extension sooner rather than later.
Bregman will likely be the crown jewel of the offseason for whichever team signs him. And it would be interesting if a former Houston slugger ends up being the big get for Seattle.
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