Despite there being no update on where the Houston Astros stand regarding the re-signing of their superstar third baseman Alex Bregman, they are still getting some deals done.
According to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, they have signed left-handed reliever Steven Okert to a minor league deal. He’ll be a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, but will have a chance to make the roster where he’ll earn $1.2 million if that does happen.
This will at the very least add more depth to the Astros organization if he doesn’t get the call on Opening Day, but with only Josh Hader, Bennett Sousa and Bryan King as lefty options out of the bullpen right now, he could be in the mix.
Okert was originally a fourth-round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants back in 2012, and after four years in the minors, he made his Major League debut in 2016 where he posted a 3.21 ERA across his 16 appearances.
After he struggled the following campaign, the Giants primarily used him in Triple-A throughout 2019, and not at all during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Okert then opted to become a free agent in 2021 and signed with the Miami Marlins where he was for three years.
He spent last season with the Minnesota Twins, posting a 5.09 ERA across his 44 appearances, struggling with his command as evident by his 1.500 WHIP.
Houston is taking a flyer on someone with 272 games of Major League experience under his belt, hoping they can help him become the swing-and-miss pitcher he was with the Marlins when he struck out 176 batters in 146 innings pitched.
The Astros have shown an ability to do that, most recently turning Yusei Kikuchi into a dominant strikeout pitcher with them when he recorded the highest K/9 rate of his career.
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Astros superstar predicted to cut ties with Houston in favor of Yankees
As the Major League Baseball offseason begins, the New York Yankees are expected to be one of the more active teams on the market.
While the Juan Soto sweepstakes will have plenty of say in terms of how much the Yankees can ultimately spend on other players, they still have other needs to check off the list this offseason.
One of those spots comes at third base where the expectation is that Jazz Chisholm will move over to second base with the likely departure of Gleyber Torres.
Filling that void won’t be easy, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today predicts the Yankees will make a huge addition in the form of Houston Astros star Alex Bregman.
“Bregman has always loved the spotlight, dreamed of playing on the big stage, and what’s bigger than New York. He’ll have both New York teams bidding for him but the Yankees will be the ultimate winner,” Nightengale wrote.
It should be noted that Nightengale predicted the Yankees would lose Soto to the Toronto Blue Jays on a 14-year, $630 million deal. While it seems unlikely the Yankees would be outbid at that mark, it poses the hypothetical scenario of what the market will look like if New York fails to retain the superstar.
Bregman is coming off a down year by his standards, but he’s still an incredible weapon to have in the lineup on both sides of the ball. He would immediately upgrade the hot corner defensively, and he has the type of approach that can work at any spot in the lineup.
In 2024, Bregman slashed .260/.315/.453 with 26 home runs, 75 RBI, 44 walks and a 118 OPS+, all of which were slightly below his career averages.
If the Yankees re-sign Soto, it’s difficult to make a case for Bregman ending up in The Bronx. But in the even Soto signs elsewhere, Bregman instantly becomes a potential addition.
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