I think its entirely presumptious to think they're getting rid of all of them... but if they figure any of them are key components of this team's future strategy to stay competitive, as well as remain popular from a marketing standpoint, they're going to make competitive offers to the players that are hardest to replace. Again worry about this crap in 4+ years... by then the fans may have turned on all the players, including overpaid/overweight Altuve... and may be calling for a fresh start/tanking rebuild... sorta like what happened in KC post 2015.
Where did I say they are getting rid of all of them? In fact, I've had many arguments where I've argued with people on this board that we would retain most of them prior to Altuve being resigned. I'm simply stating we aren't going to keep all of them (FWIW I think we retain 2 out of the 3) and it's my opinion Correa is the most likely one who won't be retained. I don't think it is presumptuous to believe we aren't keeping them all - if you think there is ANY chance we resign Springer, Correa, and Bregman on top of Altuve then I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. Either way, we're on a message board - half the posts on here are presumptuous.
The point is that Bregman is just as likely to leave or stay as Correa is at this point. It’ll take 4 years to declare itself. Stros do have the inside track on extending Springer... this 2 year deal gives them some extra wiggle room to entice him going into the final arb year, and it wouldn’t necessarily be as long as other extensions due to his age.
Betts has been leading the MVP race for a long time but how close do we think Berkman can get? He’s having a better year than Altuve did last season.
It's a longshot but Bregman might still win MVP. I would vote for him if I had a vote And it's possible since the only 2 players Betts and Martinez that are perhaps having as good or better season than him are on the same team, they may cancel each other out in the 1st through 5th voting process. And there is a couple more weeks left and I think Bregman is going to finish the season strong as we still need to wrap up the division and Boston doesn't have as much left to play for.
I’d put J.D. Martinez atop the lead 1. Martinez 2. Betts 3. Bregman (could overtake Betts soon) 4. Lindor 5. Jose Ramirez Merrifield, Trout & Altuve sniffing the outside
Mike Trout and Mookie Betts are both having decidedly better seasons than Bregman. Jose Ramirez is having a similar offensive season with better defensive metrics. Betts OPS is 100 points higher, with far better defensive metrics. There is no legitimate argument for Bregman ahead of him. You can at least use the BS wins argument against Trout (not that its his fault his team is trash). Martinez is 5th in the race, His OPS IS LOWER than Mookie Betts, that's how f**king good Betts has been.
We'll see. I bet Bregman finishes no lower than 3rd. Trout will be 3rd or 4th mainly because like you pointed out he is playing with an average at best team and he missed quite a bit of time in the middle of the season with an injury.
Trout has been on a bad team for a while, and he finished in the top 2 five straight seasons. Last year he missed 1/3 of the season, and still finished 4th. Modern voters aren't slaves to the W/L statistic. If it's not Betts, Trout at the top I will be shocked. He could finish 3rd though, him and Ramirez is pretty much a toss up.
I started following the Astros about 20 years ago, back in the days of Biggio/Bagwell. Alex Bregman is already in the running for one of my all-time favorite Astro players. Not just due to his play, but also due to his personality. He comes across as genuine and not an act. I think Bregman and others like him will be key in making MLB appealing to a younger audience. On another note, while I have one or two reservations about Correa...that post earlier in this thread comparing him to Lance Berkman is one of the most ridiculous things I've seen on this sub-forum in awhile. I mean, lolwut?
I notice of all the Astros, Bregman also gets the most respect from the umpires. He has a feel for the strike zone that is really good particularly for someone his age. And you seldom see him complain when he is at the plate and I think the umpires respect that about him. And when he does swing more often than not he swings at pitches in the zone and crushes them. Does anyone know when his current contract expires? It's going to cost a small fortune to keep him.
I think JD Martinez is the favorite IMO. The only reason I think Bregman has a chance is that Martinez and Betts are on the same team they may split the vote the way the voting system for MVP works. And if Bregman continues to be the only one of our stars that caries the team in the next 2 weeks he will definitely continue to be in the conversation for MVP. And as others have mentioned he has a very likable personality. Even though he is cocky he backs it up when he swings the bat.
