Alex Bregman played nine seasons with the Houston Astros, a golden period for the team. They made several trips to the World Series and even won, not once, but twice. Fans thought if Jose Altuve, their second baseman got an extension, even Bregman would get one. But it never came, and now he is a free agent. However, the Astros now know his worth, given that so many teams are eyeing Bregman. But getting him back won’t be a piece of cake.

Alex Bregman is first a Scott Boras client! That itself is a huge matter because deals get finalized at the final minute of Boras clients. Not to mention that Boras looks for the best contract for his client and is probably trying to lock in the best value. He may be busy with Juan Soto, but Bregman is also his top priority. Secondly, the main issue that lies ahead is that Bregman’s value might have just increased by $40 million!

Alex Bregman’s ask increases to $200 million!

Jim Crane, the Astros owner, made it clear on Monday that they are comfortable enough to spend as they did in previous years in 2025. Little did he expect that the next news he would receive is that he would need to shell out at least $40 million more if they needed their star, Alex Bregman, back. Bob Nightengale reported, “The Houston Astros would love to have Alex Bregman back on a six-year deal worth about $156 million, but Bregman is seeking a deal worth at least $200 million.” Quite a leap from his initial ask, but again, he is a Scott Boras client, not to mention a stellar player in demand.

Dana Brown in the Baseball Tonight podcast was candid about how they are laser-focused on just Alex Bregman. He mentioned that they aren’t at all focused on Juan Soto or anyone, apart from Bregman at this point. “We’re just trying to, you know, put our priorities, get our priorities straight, and so Bregman right now would be the priority,” said Dana Brown.

Brown mentioned that they have a gap in the third base that only Alex Bregman can fill in perfectly. So for them, that’s the main agenda—sign Bregman. However, now with the rates gone up, it remains to see if that’s a deal-breaker.

Kikuchi joins Angles with a $63M deal

The first major signing this off-season started with the Los Angeles Angels, getting the left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. He is getting a three-year deal with $63 million. It does show that the angels are ready to spend big time. But even more fascinating is the fact that Kikuchi ended up in Angels and not back to Astros yet again! Kikuchi was excellent in his game with the Astros. He had a 2.70 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 60 innings. Given that even Justin Verlander was saying his goodbye, most thought that a reunion with Kikuchi was more than plausible to get rotation depth. But yet, he signed elsewhere, and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!

The reason the Astros didn’t go ahead to sign Kikuchi? His price and years were too much reported by MLB’s Brian McTaggart. “Kikuchi would have filled that void [in the starting rotation], but the Astros believed the price and years were too much for a mid-level starting pitcher,” said McTaggart. Now they might have to push for Verlander along with Bregman Hander more than ever!

Do you think Bregman or Verlander will be back to the Astros? Let us know!