Houston Astros permanent contract offer to free agent Alex Bregman revealed

The Houston Astros are still trying to bring back fan-favorite free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who hit the open market this winter following the completion of his five-year, $100 million contract from 2019 after the 2024 season.

While the team has stated time and time again that they want to do something with the cornerstone of the franchise, Jim Crane and Co. certainly have a history of letting their big-name free agents go and still succeeding without them. With Bregman’s previous contract being one of the better bargains in baseball of the last half-decade, it’s understandable that he would want to cash in as much money as possible for what may be the soon-to-be 31-year-old’s last real chance.

Reports in recent weeks suggested that Houston’s offer to Bregman was already on the table, but this week MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reported on the dollar figure he believed the Astros had presented to the two-time All-Star.

“The Astros have offered Bregman a six-year contract worth about $156 million, a source told MLB.com this week,” McTaggart wrote. “That would be a club-record contract for the team in dollar terms, but Bregman is believed to be seeking a deal closer to $200 million, which would likely pay out the Astros and force them to lose their cornerback to give up as a third baseman.”

If Bregman is truly hoping for $200 million, as McTaggart believes, it will likely be the end of an era for Houston. In his nine-year career, Bregman was instrumental in the incredible streak that included seven consecutive ALCS appearances, four World Series appearances and two championship titles. That fact alone makes it desirable for the Astros to keep him, but the reality of the business side of all sports is that you have to pay a player for what he will do in the future, not what he will do in the future has done in the past.

There’s a chance the $200 million offer isn’t available for the veteran, and if that’s the case, he would definitely like to stay in Houston.

But if someone is able and willing to screw up the Astros’ best offer, as he and agent Scott Boras apparently believe, it wouldn’t be surprising and probably better for both parties if he played somewhere else for the first time in his professional career .