Astros trade rumor emerges that may signal end of Alex Bregman era

Now that the Houston Astros have traded Kyle Tucker for a handsome haul, attention is quickly turning back to their plans at third base. Clearing Tucker's roughly $17 million in salary while adding Isaac Paredes' ~$6 million gives the Astros some cash to play with, but also creates an opening in the outfield presumably.

Of course, the addition of Paredes creates a question surrounding what Houston will do with Alex Bregman.

Given that Paredes can play third base and is a pretty good player overall, one has to wonder if the news that stagnant negotiations with Bregman could be true. The Astros have a little more cash to possibly offer Bregman, but Houston may have something else in mind.

According to multiple reports, it sounds like the Astros are pursuing a trade for Nolan Arenado with mixed reports existing as to whether or not they are still negotiating with Bregman at all.

Astros Rumors: Nolan Arenado emerges as trade candidate

Houston being a fit for a potential Arenado trade has been discussed this offseason, but it's far from perfect. Not only did the Astros just trade for Paredes, who would slot in nicely at third, but Arenado is making real money through 2027 and has a full no-trade clause. When it was widely reported that he had a six-team wishlist where he would approve a trade, the Astros were not on it (although it is unknown if the list was exhaustive).

There are a couple of options here. One, Houston could be leaking interest in Arenado to create some leverage in talks with Bregman and Scott Boras. Two, negotiations with Bregman have gone so sideways that Houston doesn't want to pay his asking price even after saving a bit of money with the Tucker trade, and this is part of a hard pivot.

Trading for Arenado doesn't come without some risk as his offensive numbers have declined in recent years. However, he is still a very good defender at third, and adding him would free Paredes up to play other positions as needed. What we don't know yet, though, is how much the Cardinals are asking for Arenado, and that absolutely matters especially with the Astros trying to extend their competitive window.

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