Per ESPN’s Buster Olney, a rival evaluator predicted the Philadelphia Phillies to land the Houston Astros infielder. The 30-year-old has been with the Astros his entire nine-year career.
Bregman is coming off a five-year, $100 million contract with Houston and could earn a bigger salary in 2025 as Spotrac gives him a market value of $30 million per year.
The Phillies have a projected payroll of $266.5 million heading into free agency, per Spotrac, which is the most in the majors. Olney noted that Philadelphia should have money coming off the books in the coming years, which could make signing Bregman a feasible option.
Houston has extended Bregman a $21.05 million qualifying offer, though he’ll likely turn down that offer and search for a long-term deal, either with the Astros or elsewhere.
Bregman hit 26 home runs, 75 RBI and had a .260 batting average over 145 games last season.
While the Phillies are a contender for Bregman, his current team seems keen on bringing him back this offseason. After Houston’s wild-card exit in October, Astros star Jose Altuve spoke about the importance of retaining Bregman, who helped bring the organization two World Series.
“We’re not going to be the same organization without him,” Altuve said, per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. “In my mind, there’s not a chance this is the last one.”
In early November, Astros general manager Dana Brown iterated a similar message about Bregman’s importance to the team.
“The biggest priority is third base, without a doubt,” Brown said, per MLB.com’s MartÃn Gallegos. “We would love to have Alex Bregman back. That’s our biggest priority.”
Bregman’s value to the Astros is clear at this point. Now he’ll wait to see what offers come his way in free agency.
