Astros’ nightmares could come true with latest possible Alex Bregman landing spot

After a prolonged stretch of rather mediocre play, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is playing out of his mind right now. There were signs that Bregman could turn things around as the warmer months arrived, but Bregman's scorching month of August has seen him take things to a whole new level as he has slashed .340/.375/.717 with five homers in just 12 games so far.

Bregman's heater has sadly highlighted an unfortunate truth. Despite the Astros saying that they were going to give him an extension offer and Bregman being open to talks, there has been nothing in the way of public progress towards making that happen. Bregman hitting free agency was likely from the jump, but his recent surge has made it all but certain.

That doesn't mean the Astros won't re-sign Bregman, and it seems at least somewhat likely that they will try. However, some of the potential landing spots for Bregman this coming offseason were discussed by Ken Rosenthal and one of them, the Yankees, is actual nightmare fuel.

Astros losing Alex Bregman to the Yankees might be a worst-case scenario

Rosenthal wasn't intimating clear interest here, but his logic does make sense. New York has a long-term void at third base as it does seem likely that Jazz Chisholm Jr., assuming his injury isn't serious, is very likely to get shifted to second base once the Yankees finally rid themselves of Gleyber Torres. For all of their faults with how that organization is run, the Yankees are willing to spend, and you know that Boras' first phone call this offseason is going to be to Brian Cashman.

There is a problem with this scenario, though, and his name is Juan Soto. The Yankees want to keep him around badly and for good reason. Soto has thrived in New York, and pairing him with Judge for years to come is a strong recipe for success. That means the Yankees will have to commit around $500 million to Soto and doing so might mean shelling out for Bregman will be a bridge too far.

One advantage the Astros will have is that they can slap a qualifying offer on Bregman, which will give other teams at least some pause before signing him. With Bregman's age and potential cost however, it is feeling more and more like his playing days in Houston are coming to an end and his potential suitors are going to be painful.

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