4 blockbuster potential trades if the Astros decide to trade Alex Bregman

While it feels unfathomable for Houston to trade Alex Bregman, if the Astros were to make such a crazy trade, here are four possibilities.

Championship Series - Texas Rangers v Houston Astros - Game Seven
Championship Series - Texas Rangers v Houston Astros - Game Seven | Rob Carr/GettyImages
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#4 Alex Bregman and Framber Valdez to Detroit for Colt Keith, Kerry Carpenter and Jackson Jobe

This deal would represent a changing of the guard in the AL. The Astros would be passing on 2024 and conceeding they have no interest in extending Bregman or Valdez. Breggy would reunite with A.J. Hinch and Valdez would get to pitch in the pitcher friendly Comerica Park.

If the Tigers can find a way to move off of Javier Baez contract as they are believed to be attempting to do, they could easily extend both Bregman and Valdez and become powers in the Al Central for the foreseeable future.

If the Astros aren't going to extend Valdez, they should consider moving him. And they should now rather than wait. It may be an unpopular take, but Valdez may never be the same with the new pitch clock rules and shift bans. His stock will never be higher than it is now.

Pairing Bregman and Valdez would land quite a haul, and this would be precisely that.

The Astros meanwhile would land one of the best hitting prospects in the MLB in Colt Keith, a 2023 breakout piece in Kerry Carpenter, and the #52 prospect in the MLB in Jobe.

Keith flat out rakes. He would be a seamless replacement for Bregman. 10 prospects under age 25 posted a .300 average, .380 OBP and .550 slugging percentage. Keith did so as a 21 year old across AA and AAA. Some defensive questions could limit is ceiling, but he'd be a lineup staple for a decade.

Carpenter hit .278 with an .811 OPS in his breakout 2023 campaign, and the numbers would have been even better had he not finished with a dreadful September. He hit 20 home runs on the year, but that number would easily jump going from the cavernous right field in Comerica Park to the short porch in Minute Maid. He'd provide another lefty threat to balance the lineup with Tucker and Alvarez.

Jobe looked great in 16 starts ranging from rookie ball to AA, posting a 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 11.8 K/9. He has great stuff, and his plus-plus slider make him a #2 in waiting on a contending staff.

It would be a punt on 2024, but the 2025 Astros would look lethal with a lineup consisting of Altuve (assuming he is extended), Alvarez, Carpenter, Diaz, Keith, McCormick and Tucker. They'd still have a dynamite starting rotation with Brown, Garcia, Javier, Jobe, McCullers Jr. and any other additions they make.

It would be an unpopular move across the fanbase, but it would be a move that would take a dwindling championship window and prolong it for years to come.

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