MLB
Houston Astros side to be torn apart by free agency
With the Major League Baseball season over, free agency begins and Houston Astros are preparing to lose 8 players.
With the Major League Baseball season over and the Los Angeles Dodgers crowned with their eighth World Series title, free agency moves begin and teams are already on the hunt for the best possible reinforcements to go one better in the new campaign.
The Houston Astros were eliminated from the 2024 playoffs after being defeated 5-2 in the second game of the Wild Card series; in fact, they ended up being completely swept by the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park.
Which players could leave the Astros on free agency?
With their sorry elimination, their streak of appearing in the American League Championship Series, that they had held since 2017, was over.
The beginning of the campaign was peculiar for the side, since in the first 36 games they managed a terrible 12-24 record; in the end they managed to recover and finish with a record of 88-73.
But now the real test begins, as the Houston Astros are on the verge of being forced into a major squad revamp, as they could lose a total of 8 players to free agency...
The Astros will be without eight players as they become free agents this offseason:
- Alex Bregman | 3B
- Justin Verlander | Starting Pitcher
- Yusei Kikuchi | Starting Pitcher
- Hector Neris | Relief Pitcher
- Jason Heyward | Outfielder
- Caleb Ferguson | Relief Pitcher
- Kendall Graveman | Relief Pitcher
- Ben Gamel | Outfielder
Astros could lose a ‘baseball genuis’
The loss of Alex Bregman would be a hugely significant exit, as the player was just named as the winner of the MLB Golden Glove, beating both alongside Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians.
Bregman becomes only the second Astros third baseman to ever win the award. The last time it happened was when the legendary Doug Rader was crowned winner from 1970 to 1974.
Local reports go further with their analysis of Bregman’s exit, saying that the player is considered to be one of the team leaders, and a baseball genius.
Click2Houston writes that “pitchers credit Bregman with helping them make tweaks due to the extra research he does, while Bregman’s obsession with hitting mechanics have helped his teammates work on their own swings”.