The Houston Astros are at a crossroads—what do they do about Alex Bregman? Hard to believe, but their franchise cornerstone is still sitting tight in the free-agency market. For a while, it looked like the MLB fans in Houston had already started referring to Bregman in the past tense. But it seems like there is a chance he can make it back. Just yesterday, the Houston Astros made headlines when they traded Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs. This trade has turned heads!

Because Pressly was like a stalwart for them, so the Astros know this is a risky move that would weaken their bullpen. However,‌ they shed $8.5 million of the $14 million he owns for the 2025 season. So most think a larger strategy is at play. And if you guessed it right, it’s them going after Alex Bregman yet again. Even Altuve has expressed that he is open to changing positions if that makes the deal possible. However, Ken Rosenthal recently talked about the scenario, and he has a different take. He proposed that the Astros should ask Bregman instead to shift his positions.

Ken Rosenthal calls for moving Alex Bregman from third

Now, as per Ken Rosenthal, the Houston Astros plan to play Bregman at third base and move Isaac Paredes to second base. Also, to play Jose Altuve, their longtime second baseman, in the left field. But this configuration for Rosenthal isn’t sitting right for several reasons. Firstly for him, the Astros are better off with Parades at third and Bregman over at second. Wondering why pitch in moving Bregman, who won his first Gold Glove last season playing in the same position, to shift from third? Ken Rosenthal is looking at the bigger picture.

For Rosenthal, Paredes has less range, so moving him anywhere right now comes with risk. Meanwhile, Bregman is versatile and has shown that he is previously. “Bergman is a guy who came up as a shortstop, played some shortstop in the minors, even the majors, and certainly could handle second. Paredes is a guy with limited range, and you wonder how that’s going to work out,” said Ken Rosenthal. Moreover, he mentioned that Bregman was anyway ready to move to vacate the position for Rafael Devers when talks about him going to the Boston Red Sox were going on.

As far as Jose Altuve goes, Ken Rosenthal was direct: “Altuve is no longer a really good defensive second baseman. It’s been a couple of years since he was that guy.” So putting him in left field has its own risk. “Can he cover the left field in some of the bigger, more spacious road stadiums that the Astros will play in?” questioned Rosenthal. He is not impressed with the Houston Astros’ plan. And while at first, it sounds like something that the Astros might not want to do, it does make sense defensively speaking. However, this isn’t the only loophole Rosenthal has picked in the Astros going into the 2025 season.

Insiders not thrilled with Houston Astros bullpen

There has been plenty of talk already about the Astros not being the team they were last year. MLB Radio host Jeff Joyce straight up said recently, “They’re clearly not the team they were before.” And it’s not without reasons. For him, one of the biggest mistakes the team made was letting go of Kyle Tucker and getting Christian Walker. And as far as Bregman goes, he feels that it just feels like the team is chasing it blindly right now. Because Bregman’s age and his ask are a little too much. And this question about the bullpen is something even Ken Rosenthal raised.

Rosenthal mentioned that Dana Brown revealed that Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. will not be ready at the beginning of the season. Now these two players have not pitched for a long time. Garcia from 2023 and McCullers since the 2022 World Series! So even though they are a good enough group, depth is something the team is lacking. Also for Rosenthal, if Bregman even comes in the lineup again, he says, “They’ll be better offensively with Christian Walker at first.” But he added, “Remember, they’re also losing Kyle Tucker. So it’s a much different Houston Astros team we’ll be looking at in 2025.” 

Clearly, the roster changes have insiders feeling not extremely confident about the Houston Astros right now. Now it depends not just on whether Bregman will return but also on where he will play. Do you think he would be open to a change? Let us know!