Will Alex Bregman return to the Astros after trading Kyle Tucker?

HOUSTON – After the Astros traded right fielder Kyle Tucker, one of their cornerstones, to the Cubs on Friday afternoon, attention now turns to the future of free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who may also have played his final game in Houston.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Monday he is optimistic the club can re-sign Bregman, who received a six-year offer from the Astros worth about $156 million. Among the players the Astros acquired from the Cubs is Isaac Paredes, an All-Star last season who has played most of his career at third base but has also spent time at first and second base. He could be Bregman’s replacement.

The trade marked a significant change in direction for the Astros, as they gave star players like George Springer and Carlos Correa free rein and continued to win. The club felt that it was unable to do this with Tucker because there was no chance of re-signing him after 1925 and because its farm system lacked major league-ready talent be.

If the Astros re-sign Bregman, which some in the organization say is a lost cause, they could move Paredes to first base, a position at which he appeared in 71 games in the major leagues. If Bregman doesn’t return to Houston, Paredes could start at third and the club would look to move up to first base, where the Astros had the fourth-lowest OPS in the major leagues last season.

“Alex Bregman’s status remains largely what it is,” Brown said Friday. “Nothing has changed since the last time I spoke to you. We were busy doing a lot of different things as I think he was probably busy trying to find a place to land. It’s still pretty much the same as where we were on Tuesday.”

By trading Tucker, who would likely make more than $15 million in arbitration next season, the Astros have additional financial flexibility that they could use to trade for free agent first baseman Christian Walker or free agent right Fielder Anthony Santander to compete. Whatever the case, the consensus is that Houston needs to add another hitter, be it Bregman or another player at the corner infield or right field spots.

The Astros have talked about trading Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado — if the Cardinals can eat up a significant portion of his contract — but Brown isn’t eager to cut more players from the big league roster to get a deal done.

“We said from the beginning that we weren’t going to take anything off the table,” Brown said. “If there is a way to keep this club strong in 2025 and become even stronger in the future, we will listen. By and large, we are not moving aggressively in that direction, but we are listening.”

Bregman and Tucker were selected with the Nos. 2 and 5 overall picks in the 2015 MLB Draft. Bregman, drafted out of LSU, reached the major leagues in 2016 and became a key part of the Astros’ dominance in the AL over the last decade. Tucker, drafted out of Plant High School in Tampa, made his debut in ’18 and became an everyday player in 1920.

Astros owner Jim Crane doesn’t believe in signing free agents to long-term contracts, and a deal to keep Tucker after next season wouldn’t happen in Houston. Tucker could command $300 million or more in free agency, which would be double what any other player in Astros history has received.

That’s why there remains a strong chance the Astros can keep Bregman, who became the top free-agent player on the market after Juan Soto signed his 15-year contract with the Mets earlier this week. Bregman won’t get Tucker money considering he’s three years older and not at his level, but it’s looking increasingly likely that he’ll find a suitor elsewhere.

“You have to be aware of that because the longer the contracts are on the back burner, the harder it becomes to sustain them and you lose competitiveness if you have a lot of money tied up,” Crane said earlier this year. “As you know, we need to take some money off the payroll next year. We run it like a business and make good decisions.”