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Its been well established that re-signing is the top priority for the Astros but he remains a free agent. The club has to consider backup plans for the event Bregman gets away and its been that one of their contingencies is . Today, reports that they could instead shift their focus to first base and have discu sed . The Astros and Bregman have been dancing around each other for quite some time without finding common ground. Dana Brown was hired as general manager in January of 2023 and almost immediately talked about signing core players to extensions. They did get new deals done with and but not with Bregman or . Brown and owner Jim Crane have continued to talk about their desire to re-sign Bregman in the almost two years since then but without getting pen to paper. The problem seems to be the organizations long-standing aversion to big deals. Altuves $151MM extension in 2018 is still the largest guarantee theyve ever given out on any contract and the six years on the extension is their longest pact. Theyve let players like , and go get their big paydays elsewhere as opposed to re-signing them. On top of that, theres the short-term payroll question. They payed the competitive balance tax in 2024, technically for the first time. They did go over the line in 2020 but the penalties were put on pause for the COVID-shortened season. projects their CBT number at $234MM for next year, just barely below the $241MM base threshold. Back in October, Brown spoke of the finances being a little tight and said We may have to get a little bit creative about spending. Crane struck a slightly more optimistic tone about the money in November, saying that the club has the wherewithal to do it if we need to do it but also cautioned that they didnt want to go crazy. McTaggart says the Astros have offered Bregman a six-year deal worth $156MM, which aligns with . That would eclipse their previous record but Darell Hernaiz Jersey just barely and its po sible Bregman can top that elsewhere. he could land a guarantee of $182MM and he is reportedly looking for something in the range of $200MM. Bregman has reported interest from clubs like the Blue Jays, Phillies and Red Sox, with MLBTRs Anthony Franco recently taking a detailed look at his market in . With a non-zero chance of Bregman ending up leaving Houston, the club naturally needs to at least ponder alternate realities, with Walker one such thing they seem to have considered. Its a logical consideration given that first base is a weak spot for the club. crashed and burned as an Astro, getting released midway through the 2024 season. picked up most of his playing time and was adequate but not outstanding. He slashed .234/.321/.386 last year for a wRC+ of 105 but with subpar defense, leading to an e sentially replacement level season. Walker is coming off a remarkably consistent three-year run with the Diamondbacks. He got into 160 games in 2022 and hit 36 home runs, then followed it up with 33 home runs in 157 games the following year. In 2024, he was on roughly the same pace but spent a small amount of time on the injured list, limited to 26 homers in 130 games. He finished each season with a wRC+ in the 119-122 range, producing a combined .250/.332/.481 batting line in those three seasons. Hes also considered a strong defender at first base, with career tallies of 43 Defensive Runs Saved and 57 Outs Above Average. FanGraphs gave him 3.9 wins above replacement in 2022 and 2023. He would have been back in that range in 2024 if not for the aforementioned injury absence, ending up at 3.0 fWAR. But since Walker turns 34 in March, his contract will be limited. MLBTR predicted him for a three-year deal with a $60MM guarantee, though its also po sible he will be limited to a two-year pact, depending on how his market develops. That price point would perhaps be more attractive to the Astros than the kind of deal Bregman will eventually sign, though there would also be drawbacks. Walker rejected a qualifying offer from the Diamondbacks, meaning he is tied to the a sociated penalties. Since the Astros just paid the CBT in 2024, they would have to surrender their second- and fifth-best picks in the upcoming draft as well as $1MM of international bonus pool space. Also, after just getting burned by signing Abreu, they may not want to sign another mid-3os first baseman to a notable deal, especially when theyre still paying Abreu for another year. George Hendrick Jersey |
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发表于 2025-11-30 11:38:44