JUPITER, Fla. – For the Houston Astros, it did not come as a total shock.
In the wake of franchise cornerstone Alex Bregman ending his nine-year stint in Houston to accept a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, there’s at least half a moment to spare to appreciate the man who was a driving force in two World Series championships and seven consecutive trips to the American League Championship Series.
“Alex Bregman had a hell of a run here with us,” Astros general manager Dana Brown told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “We hate to see him go, but we wish him all the best.
“Boston’s getting a really good player. Good defender, will hit for power over the (Green) Monster for sure.”
Yet the pivot to moving forward is coming very naturally for a club that had an agreement to trade for Nolan Arenado, acquired infielder Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs and largely cinched Bregman’s departure in signing first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
In the aggregate, they can likely make up for a player with a startling .848 career OPS, 191 career homers and a career-best 8.9 WAR season in 2019, one of the Astros’ three trips to the World Series since 2017.
There’s only one “Bregs,” however, that smirking and swaggering ballplayer who might hit a home run and carry the bat to first base, poke their division rivals before popping the cork on a division title and give the Astros that little extra that made them reviled outside the 713.
“It’s hard to replace,” says manager Joe Espada. “because for him, it was genuine and it came out naturally. Replacing those intangibles is difficult, but we do have those guys with those intangibles. One thing our leaders have done in the past is develop other leaders.
“I’m sure our players, after they saw that news in the morning thought, ‘OK, it’s my turn to take over some of that leadership role.’ And I expect someone to do that.”
Bregman was a free agent after his six-year, $100 million extension expired. While he festered on the market into spring training, the $40 million average annual value marks a significantly higher salary than the $26 million he’d have earned had he accepted the Astros’ standing offer of six years and $156 million. He also turned down the Detroit Tigers’ offer of six years and $171.5 million.
Now he gives the Red Sox – Astros playoff combatants in 2017 and 2021 – the sense of a sleeping giant, all while having to replace slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker, who was traded to acquire, in part, Paredes from the Chicago Cubs.
“There’s a chance you may play him again in the postseason,’ says Brown. “That’s part of the game as well. We feel good about our club and some of the things we’ve been able to do, like putting Paredes at third. We feel his bat is going to play in our ballpark.
“He’s got big power. At first base, we felt like we added two guys who we feel fit in the top five in our lineup. And we lost two that hit in the top five in Bregman and Tucker.
“We still feel like it’s a competitive ballclub with a good chance to win the division and go deep in the postseason.”
And they see Bregman working: He will make beautiful music with the Green Monster as he did the short-porch Crawford Boxes in Houston. Bregman can opt out after this season and next – and with a career. 375 average, .490 OBP and 1.240 OPS in 21 games at Fenway Park, look out.
“He knows how to play a pepper game against the left field wall,” says Espada. “He’s had an incredible career there, numbers-wise. So I get it.”