Juan Soto fallout reinvigorates previous threat to Astros-Alex Bregman negotiations

Juan Soto is off the board. The Mets were the big winners in the Soto sweepstakes, but it cost Steve Cohen $765 million. Soto's pacts with the Mets could reach upwards of $800 million over the life of contract, making it the richest deal in Major League Baseball history which is a deal that the Houston Astros would never even consider handing out.

While the Houston Astros were never part of the discussion, the fallout from the Soto signing could greatly affect their negotiations with free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. The Astros have already made an offer and are expected to increase it, but two teams who missed out Soto will now look to Bregman as Plan B this offseason.

Juan Soto fallout reinvigorates Red Sox & Yankees to interfere with Astros-Alex Bregman negotiations

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Boston Red Sox are now prioritizing Bregman after missing out on Soto. If that weren't bad enough, Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that the New York Yankees are expected to make a run at Bregman. No matter which way you slice it, this is bad news for the Astros.

Houston reportedly offered Bregman a six-year, $156 million deal already this winter, but those two AL East clubs who just missed out on their white whale will surely look to beat that offer. If the BoSox and the Yanks were willing to go upwards of $700 million to ink Soto, one has to assume that Houston's outstanding offer is mere peanuts for those high-spenders in the Northeast.

With the MLB Winter Meetings underway, these things have a way of materializing rather quickly. The Astros would be wise to put their last, best, and final offer on the table. Fans have been told all offseason that Bregman would prefer to stay in H-Town, but if the Red Sox or Yankees come in with a strong offer, that loyalty will be put to the test.

One can only hope Houston sees the writing on the wall and increases the number of years and money from their initial offer. Perhaps the Red Sox and Yankees will become somewhat distracted by top-end starters like of Corbin Burnes and Max Fried still on the open market. Regardless, the Astros need to up their offer to Bregman and get this thing done.

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