Latest Alex Bregman contract rumors tell a familiar story for Astros

The Houston Astros had two players set to reach free agency after the 2024 season. The Astros took care of Jose Altuve by locking up the former AL MVP on a five-year, $125 million deal that would make the second baseman an Astro for life.

Alex Bregman, however, is slated to hit the open market following this season. While Astros GM Dana Brown has maintained that the club plans to offer the third baseman a contract extension, it's unlikely to meet Bregman's demands.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Astros and Bregman are far apart in negotiations. Heyman goes on to state that the belief is Houston would like to keep things in the five or six-year range. That sound about par for the course, doesn't it Astros fans?

Latest Alex Bregman contract rumors tell a familiar story for Astros

In all likelihood, Bregman will be looking to cash in on mega-deal this offseason. One can assume that the All-Star infielder will be in search of something akin to what Trea Turner (11-year, $300 million) or Xander Bogaerts (11-year, $280 million) signed before the start of the 2023 season. It would stand to reason, however, that Houston might be looking at something more comparable to what Dansby Swanson (seven-year, $177 million) agreed to sign.

The Astros have a long history of offering contract extensions, but nowhere near the number of years that their players are searching for. Players like Carlos Correa and George Springer come to mind. Bregman already agreed to a five-year extension pre-arbitration deal, and even Altuve's first contract extension was only for four years guaranteed.

Yordan Alvarez was able to secure a six-year, $115 million extension that will keep the slugger in Space City through 2028. The Astros also have Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez approaching free agency in the near future as well, and those figures no doubt factor into the Astros' decision-making when it comes to Bregman's contract negotiations.

Sorry, Astros fans, but it would seem that a deal between Houson and Bregman isn't happening anytime soon, if at all. The biggest problem that comes with having so much talent on one team is that there's not enough money to go around.

Not enough that the Astros' ownership is willing to spend, anyway.

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