This offseason, the Houston Astros have been through quite a roller-coaster ride with free-agent infielder Alex Bregman.
To begin the offseason, it seemed quite likely Houston would re-sign the star infielder. He has played his entire career with the Astros and the two sides have seen a lot of success.
But Bregman reportedly wants $200 million this winter and the Astros weren't budging from around $150 million. Instead, Houston swung a blockbuster trade for Chicago Cubs infielder Isaac Paredes and signed free agent first baseman Christian Walker, effectively removing itself from the Bregman sweepstakes.
If the Astros are out of the Bregman sweepstakes, who's the favorite to land the star infielder? Will he get a $200 million contract?
The top teams left in pursuit of Bregman are the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Tigers emerged recently as a potential suitor because Bregman has connections to Detroit and the Tigers need an infielder. But with the big spenders like the Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees in pursuit, it's unlikely the Tigers land him.
The Phillies are seen as a suitor, but only if they trade away third baseman Alec Bohm. Bohm is likely to remain with the Phillies after they acquired Jesús Luzardo, so it's unlikely Philadelphia will sign him.
This sweepstakes will likely turn into a bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees. It could go either way as both teams still have the flexibility to be spenders down the stretch of free agency.
Boston is also on the rumored list of teams Nolan Arenado would waive his no-trade clause for, so the Red Sox are a candidate there while the Yankees aren't.
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