Alex Bregman has been one of the best players in baseball since his first full season with the Houston Astros in 2017, helping them to eight consecutive trips to the playoffs and two World Series titles. He ranks 10th among position players in WAR since 2017, he's a two-time All-Star, an MVP runner-up and just won his first Gold Glove.
He's the kind of player every team and every manager would love to have, not just for his production but for the intangibles he brings. A.J. Hinch, then the manager of the Astros, once told ESPN: "I've never been around a player who enjoys playing baseball as much as Alex Bregman."
Bregman has been a consistent performer the past three seasons, averaging 4.5 WAR, 25 home runs and 89 RBIs. While that doesn't match his 2018-19 peak, that's still good enough to make him one of the top 25 position players in the sport. And there are teams that need a third baseman: 14 teams in 2024 received an OPS under .700 from third base.
Going into the offseason, Kiley McDaniel had him at No. 5 in his free agent rankings with a projected contract of six years, $187 million.
Yet, it's February, with spring training just around the corner and Bregman remains unsigned, a little perplexing for a player with his credentials. Of course, teams are paying for what Bregman is going to do in the future -- and there are some red flags for a player who reportedly turned down a six-year, $156 million offer from the Astros in December. Those have perhaps made teams hesitant to match Bregman's asking price.
We've detailed the All-Star veteran's strengths, so let's dig into those red flags and which teams are a best fit.