The Houston Astros season is finally over after shockingly being swept by the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card Round.
After an interesting 162-game campaign, the Astros were a tough team to get a feel for. However, because there wasn’t much of a clear-cut favorite in Major League Baseball, it wasn’t the wildest suggestion to say Houston would win the World Series.
Instead, they failed, and did so in horrible fashion.
With the questions about their pitching staff, it was the Astros’ offense that didn’t do their part, scoring just three runs in 18 innings.
As they look towards the offseason, there are multiple ways for them to improve. Focusing on the offense, the bottom half of Houston’s lineup simply wasn’t good enough in 2024. For them to be the team they want to be, that has to improve.
However, as it stands, that issue might only become a bigger one. Alex Bregman hits free agency this winter and could be on his way out.
Bregman went 3-8 in the two games played, which was better than most other hitters in the lineup.
Still, it wasn’t enough, and with the possibility of him getting nearly $200 million in a new deal, that money might be better spent elsewhere.
Cody Williams of FanSided expects that to be the case, writing that the tenured star “definitely won’t be back” next year.
“What might make it a bit easier to swallow is that the two-time All-Star third baseman had a slightly down year by his standard, posting a .768 OPS, the lowest mark of his career, in the regular season, though he still had 26 home runs. Despite that, he figures to be one of the most lucrative free agents on the market this offseason with no shortage of suitors. Subsequently, we get to why it was an Altuve or Bregman question for Houston. Whichever player they extended, that would only give the other more leverage in free agency to get an expensive contract that the Astros simply might not be able to afford. “
“Definitely” seems to be a strong word, but Williams isn’t far off on his assessment.
As he alluded, Bregman’s rough showing for parts of the campaign won’t help his case. However, there’s a near decade-long sample size that shows he’s one of the top hitters in the sport.
The Astros will now have to face this reality sooner than they hoped for after failing to win the World Series once again.
