Well the Rockets are very close to building a juggernaut themselves. I just hope the Rockets don’t get seduced by trading away their elite talent for tail end of their career veterans. A fella like GM would have already traded away half of the youth movement for an in his twighlight years all-star. And I’m a huge Morey supporter, but he was adverse to any sort of youth movement. But the Rockets defense is looking championship caliber. Now we just have to see if their offense follows suit. But going back to the Astros, Crane has definitely maintained an elite team for about a decade spending smartly. Most would agree that Bregman though a core of the Astros dynasty, isn’t likely an all-star any longer. So 200 million though feasible for his demands is too steep for the way the Astros are built. My opinion is try and snatch up Tucker for an extension. He’s the guy that is still an MVP caliber talent.
Truth is the Rockets are the team that plays hard, but cant shoot straight. Until they can find a guy that can get a bucket at the end of games or to end runs they will remain what they are, a nice little team that's far away from the Celtics of the world.
I disagree that Bregman is no longer potential All Star. He had a terrible start to the season (as he typically does) but still finished tied for 3rd in fWAR and 5th in wRC+ among all 3b. And he won a gold glove. There is no doubt that he is still a top 5 3b in MLB, and top 2-3 in the AL. I can't think of an explanation for his poor starts, so would be very happy and not surprised if he has a good start and is an All Star any of the next couple of seasons. However, even if 2024 Alex is the real Alex moving forward, there are very very few options that are even close to as good, so that makes resigning him more crucial than Astros FAs of the recent past.
Realistically Bregman is more likely to fall off more every year from here on out. You should expect less from him in 2025 than he produced in 2024, and even less in each successive year. That is just how it goes with ageing players. Sometimes it is hard to accept but it is always true.
He also hasn’t made an all-star team since 2019… yet some will say he is still a perennial all-star. That being said, he’s needed if this team wants to try and win it all in 2025 or one additional Yordan prime year (and whatever is left of Altuve’s prime).
You are correct. As of now they are in that 2nd tier of title contenders. The first tier is likely Boston, OKC, and Cleveland. But the Rockets with their top shelf defense are on the verge of getting into the conversation - especially if their defense gets even better and/or their offense starts going on all cylinders.
I think there is always that possibility. I don't expect Bregman to be better than 2024, except maybe his walk rate ticks back up some. And I know Father Time is undefeated and do not expect Bregman to have 4 WAR seasons 5 years from now. However, I think Bregman's skill set, body type, and defensive ability lead to a lesser reduction than the average. Fangraphs says average us about 1/2 WAR reduction per year starting at age 31. I expect a 0.4 WAR reduction starting at age 32. 2025: same 4.1 fWAR as 2024 2026: 3.7 2027: 3.3 2028: 2.9 2029: 2.5 2030: 2.1 2031: 1.7 2032: 1.3 2033: 0.9 2034: 0.5 2035: 0.1 2036: -0.3
The shooting by Fred VanVleet has improved because he got healthy. Jabari Smith fixed his shot because his legs look balanced. Jalen Green had a Flu for 2 weeks, he had 41 points and looks recovered. Dillon Brooks is either Hot from 3 or Not putting up bricks Game of Shooting. Lateral quickness against Speed guards is his weakness. Defense went to hell against Philadelphia when he checked back in, fouled Maxey for 3 FTs. Stay Focused Dillon. Amen Thompson shot a clutch 3 at Philadelphia. Tari Eason had a tough fall on the court, hopefully he is fine. Reed Sheppard is looking to shoot more 3s. It is a start. Cam Whitmore hopefully fixed his 3 point shot in the G League. Team wise the Rockets is going towards average.
I'm not sure who any of those people are. Any chance any of them are an option for 3b or can hit RH pitching?
That's messed up. I get Ramirez has been the best 3B in the AL, but Bregman not to have an all star appearance, even as a backup, since 2019 seems weird even with his slow starts.
Amen Thompson would have some elite range at 3B. Granted, I don't know if he could throw a baseball well.
Slow starts, every team needing a rep, isn't winning the popular vote... Bagwell only made 4 all star teams despite being the best first baseman of his generation, so I guess it does happen (to Houston infielders...)
But Altuve has been an all-star pretty much every season. Bregman is a very good 3rd baseman but he's not the a top 2 3rd baseman in the AL.
Look at the other 2nd basemen in the AL the past 8 yrs vs the 3rd basemen. Altuve has had a better career, but he's also 4 years older and made his MLB debut about 3/4 of a year earlier. Age 22-30 seasons PA= Altuve 5434, Alex 4832 R= Altuve 740, Alex 694 H= Altuve 1549, Alex 1132 2b= Altuve 298, Alex 265 HR= Altuve 131, Alex 191 RBI= Altuve 544, Alex 663 BB= Altuve 372, Alex 576 OB%= Altuve .364, Alex .366 SLG= Altuve .463 , Alex .483 OPS= Altuve .827, Alex .848 wRC+= Altuve 127, Alex 135 fWAR= Altuve 37.6, Alex 39.7 bWAR= Altuve 36.3, Bregman 39.6 Alex doesn't get the respect Altuve gets on this site, but when you compare apples to apples he has been just as good. Let's see how they end their careers. Hopefully they are both life long Astros.
The question is will Bregman put up the production Altuve has put the last 5 years in his next contract. If that's nearly a guarantee, then you pay him.
Of course this is the obvious question. And some of this is on Alex. If he was willing to take Altuve's last deal (7 / $163.5M) we wouldn't be having this conversation. Some of that is the huge increase in salaries in the past 7 years, but also remember that contract was for Altuve's age 28-34 seasons and Alex is 3 years older. I don't blame Alex for chasing the money. He has worked his whole life to get into this position and already agreed to an extension giving up 2 years of FA. He has given Jim Crane and the Astros 2 World Series championships in his prime years and made significantly less money in his career than many of his peers have and that his production has been worth. I'm not saying give him crazy money that kills any chance to compete in the second half of the deal, but like Altuve, he has earned a deal that is b8gger than just what he will be worth on the field the next 6-7 years. It just sucks that in order to get a total package that represents his value for the entirety of his career, the contract needs to be as big an overpay at the end as it was an underpay at the beginning.
No one deserves to be paid more than they are worth. It happens to be sure, but for either side to begin a contract negotiation on that fallacy is plain stupid.
I agree that nobody deserves to be paid more than they are worth. Does anyone deserve to, intentionally, be paid less than they are worth? Nearly every star player got paid peanuts compared to tenured players for 6-7 years while performorning at a level that lined the owners pockets. Then when they finally earn the ability to get reasonable money, most owners say they are too old and no longer worth it. The system refuses to pay them when they are worth it then kicks them to the curb when they finally achieve some control.
