How a closer look at Alex Bregman's free agency could work in Houston Astros' favor
HOT STOVe
04 November 2024
HOT STOVe
With MLB free agency upon us, the Astros have some big decisions to make as they try to put the best possible roster together for the 2025 season.
We all know Alex Bregman's future is the big topic of conversation for Astros fans this offseason, but some other notable players are also free agents. That list includes Justin Verlander, Yusei Kikuchi, Kendall Graveman, Jason Heyward, Hector Neris, Ben Gammel, and Caleb Ferguson. (Houston also released Jose Urquidy on Monday, and he has already cleared waivers).
Full list of Astros moves:
Acquired Taylor Trammell for cash
Outrighted Oliver Ortega and José Urquidy, both of whom cleared waivers and are free agents
Lost Trey Cabbage (Pirates), Seth Martinez (DBacks), Penn Murfee (White Sox) on waivers.
The 40-man roster is full
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 4, 2024
And while it's hard to have confidence that the Astros will be willing to pay what Bregman will command on the open market (around 6-years, $150 million to 7-years, $185 million), one thing could be working in Houston's favor.
Demand for a top dollar third baseman may not be as high as Bregman and his agent Scott Boris were hoping for. SportsMap's Charlie Pallilo goes through all the team's with a need for a player like Bregman and only sees a few matches that make sense.
Especially if the Yankees spend big on Juan Soto. With them out of the picture, it could be tough for Breggy to find the type of contract he's looking for as a third baseman.
There are some teams that could definitely use his services, like the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays for example. But the Mariners have been reluctant to commit that type of money to offense, and if winning is important, would Breggy go to Toronto?
Now, if Bregman is willing to move to second base, that could open up some more possibilities. We'll dive into that more in the video below.
Silver Slugger finalists
Could the Silver Slugger finalists influence owner Jim Crane's approach in free agency? Here's why we bring this up. The World Champion LA Dodgers have 5 finalists this year. The Astros have 4 (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Bregman, Yainer Diaz), and likely would have had 5 if not for the injury to Kyle Tucker.
Even if the Astros were to move on from Bregman, that would still leave them with 4 possible finalists once again in 2025. Considering how much money the Dodgers spend each year, the fact that the Astros roster is still comparable to the Dodgers might add to Crane's belief that this team doesn't need another splashy move to win a World Series.
They may just need to get a little better on the margins to get this team back in serious contention for a title.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we examine all the possible landing spots for Bregman, how that impacts Houston's chances at bringing him back, and what overall strategy we should expect from Dana Brown and the Astros this offseason.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Cooper Hummel hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and Framber Valdez and two relievers combined for a four-hitter in the Houston Astros' 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
There was one out in the eighth when Hummel connected off Ranger Suárez (6-2) on his opposite field shot to the bullpen in right-center field.
COOPER HUMMEL BREAKS THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Kpbikzhujn
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 25, 2025
Valdez (9-4) scattered four hits across seven scoreless innings.
Framber was dialed tonight.#VoteStros ⭐️ @budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/69utvHPZZ2
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 25, 2025
Bryan Abreu struck out one in the eighth and Josh Hader struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.
The Phillies had a chance to get on the board in the sixth. J.T. Realmuto reached on a throwing error by third baseman Isaac Paredes with one out in the inning and stole second base. Valdez walked Otto Kemp but Edmundo Sosa grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Astros were hitless until Yainer Diaz singled on a grounder to right field to start Houston’s sixth and Hummel followed with a single to right field. Mauricio Dubón grounded into a double play that left Diaz at third before Suárez walked Jeremy Peña. But Suárez struck out Paredes to escape the jam.
Suárez yielded four hits and a run with seven strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
The home run by Hummel was his second since he was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 14.
Julia Morales caught up with Hummel after the big win!
After the win, @JuliaMorales was seen Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. pic.twitter.com/XlezkpdUnn
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 25, 2025
Suárez is the first Philadelphia starter to earn nine straight quality starts in his first 10 starts of the season since Aaron Harang did so in 2015, according to stats provided by the Phillies from the Elias Sport Bureau.
Philadelphia RHP Zack Wheeler (7-2, 2.81 ERA) opposes LHP Colton Gordon (2-1, 4.54) when the series continues Wednesday night.