Astros Predicted to Spend $297 Million on Two Top Free-Agent Sluggers
The Houston Astros overcame a slow start this season to reach the postseason for the eighth straight year. However, their streak of playing in the ALCS ended at seven after getting bounced in the AL Wild Card Series. Could they go on a spending spree this winter to reload for 2025? The Athletic’s Jim Bowden shared 25 predictions for the MLB offseason, one of whichs has the Astros spending $297.5 million to land two star sluggers via free agency. The insider thinks Houston will lure longtime third baseman Alex Bregman back to the only club he’s played for with a seven-year, $185.5 million contract.
He also thinks general manager Dana Brown will reel in outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger for four years and $112 million after he opts out of his three-year, $80 million pact with the Chicago Cubs. Keeping Bregman in Houston would lock down the hot corner for the foreseeable future. That’s something he’s done since debuting with the Astros in 2016. His production between 2022
and 2024 has been consistent, too. The 30-year-old slashed .260/.349/.449 while averaging 25 home runs, 32 doubles, 89 RBI, 92 runs scored and 4.5 bWAR per year.
Signing Bellinger would fill a huge void at first base the Astros dealt with throughout 2024. Houston first basemen combined to post a .651 OPS this past season. According to FanGraphs, that was the fourth-worst mark in baseball. Bellinger produced a .751 OPS with the Cubs in 2024, but that number has settled in at .815 since the start of 2023.
To say that Houston Astros first basemen struggled would be an understatement. Astros first basemen ranked tied for 24th in the majors with an 87 WRC+ and 28th in the majors with -1.4 fWAR.
Jose Abreu was supposed to be the solution at the position in the second year of his three-year deal with the Astros, but he struggled so mightily to the point that he was released in mid-June. Eight other players saw time at first base over the course of the season, but nobody stuck.
With that in mind, upgrading the position in the offseason with an external addition would make the most sense for the Astros. Signing a player like Pete Alonso or Christian Walker would obviously be the most ideal scenario, but with the Astros still needing to re-sign Alex Bregman and with a substantial amount of money having to go to players like Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker in the not-too-distant future, it isn’t as if the Astros have an insane amount of money at their disposal.
