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Alex Bregman back to Houston Astros fans and well wishes celebrated Done Dael….. The two-time All-Star might not find the market he’s hoping for this winter, and he’s a uniquely excellent fit for this team. It sounds faintly laughable, but don’t laugh: the Milwaukee Brewers would be a sensational fit for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman this winter. The erstwhile Astro is due to become a free agent for the first time, and in everything from the position he plays to his offensive profile, he suits this organization beautifully.
Heading into the offseason after a heartbreaking playoff loss, the Crew’s sights should be set on solidifying their hold on the NL Central for the next half-decade. They’ve already run the place for about that long, however imperfect their dominance has been, but they have every chance to sustain that state of affairs. Jackson Chourio is a magnificent cornerstone for any franchise. The trades of Josh Hader (William Contreras and Joel Payamps, eventually, plus Robert Gasser) and Corbin Burnes (Joey Ortiz and DL Hall) have netted them two controllable, sturdy position players with All-Star upside, plus ancillary depth. They figure to make a similar move this winter with Devin Williams, backfilling the bullpen with Payamps, Trevor Megill, and upcoming rookie sensations Jacob Misiorowski and Craig Yoho, and Williams could net them yet another piece for a puzzle that isn’t missing many pieces, anyway.
Holding over a pick they’ll get for not signing Chris Levonas this summer, receiving their usual compensatory pick according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and getting another when Willy Adames departs as a high-dollar free agent, the Crew would lose less than almost any other potential suitor in terms of draft capital by signing Bregman. Either way, they’ll amass talent as well as teams a half-dozen slots higher than them on next July’s Draft board, so their farm system figures to remain fecund, even after their slew of graduations over the last two years.
The one thing the team really needs, though, is a consistent, durable offensive contributor. They had hoped that would be Rhys Hoskins, and he might return to form in 2025, but he wasn’t the thunderous presence they might have hoped for in 2024. With Adames on the way out, a vacancy is opening up on the infield. Brock Wilken, last year’s first-round pick, is not ready to fill it, and Tyler Black, Sal Frelick, and Oliver Dunn are all various flavors of underwhelming as potential holders-down of the hot corner. Ortiz will slide to short in Adames’s stead, or to second if Turang takes short, so the clear area of need is at third. Why not just re-sign Adames, instead? Well, firstly, Adames’s track record is less consistent than Bregman’s, and his skill set is inherently more volatile. Secondly, though, Adames is a shortstop. He’s unlikely to be happy about sliding down the defensive spectrum even in a new home, but it’s hard to imagine negotiating a reunion with him that includes the proviso of demoting him to third. Yet, he had a rough season afield in 2024, and Ortiz is markedly better, in addition to being younger.Specifically, Bregman would be a brilliant addition to this team, because he does all the things they already prize on offense. Last year was the first time his walk rate sagged over a full season, but even with that small crack in the armor, he looks to have considerable staying power as a productive hitter. He had his highest hard-hit rate since 2019 last year, and his strikeout rate is perennially one of the lowest in the league. He doesn’t expand the strike zone, and you can’t beat him often within it.The 25-homer power he’s shown over the last three years probably wouldn’t survive the move to Milwaukee, where the corners are deep. He hits line drives, though, and would get plenty of doubles down the line even at Miller Park, in addition to some extra homers in the friendlier areas from gap to gap. He uses the opposite field more often than most hitters, but not most Brewers hitters: his profile in that regard is very similar to those of William Contreras and Jackson Chourio.Nor should it be lost on anyone that Bregman, who will turn 31 just after Opening Day next year, already has six seasons with at least 626 plate appearances under his belt–not to mention his 434 career postseason plate appearances, with a .789 OPS. He’s durable, available, and a primetime playoff performer, and at this stage of their battle with the ghosts of Octobers past, the team could probably use a swaggering two-time World Series champion who isn’t afraid of those ghosts.
