Houston Astros Trade Rumors: Package Alex Bregman For Chris Sale?

The Houston Astros need to put all eyes one of the most-talented and youngest players available for a trade.

The Houston Astros need to put all eyes on one of the most-talented and youngest players to available for a trade.

Who am I talking about?

I’m taking about starting pitching ace Chris Sale.

Yes, the World Series is over and the Houston Astros are hot to trot in light of hopefully an eventful off season in terms of improving this baseball team.

As I watched the Chicago Cubs secure their first championship in 108 years, I thought to myself as far as when it’d be OUR turn.

I know it’s coming but will it be soon?

That remains to be seen.

The Astros have been quite aggressive on the free agent market signing outfielder Josh Reddick, catcher Brian McCann and right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton thus far.

The Houston Astros need a cure for the starting pitching woes and Sale would be what the doctor ordered.

But here’s a new development.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports talked about the possibilities of what it would take to snag someone of Sale’s value.

He mentioned the Astros along with the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves as potential trade partners because of the extraordinary young talent that they have.

Coincidentally, it’s no secret that the Astros want to beef up their starting pitching.

Hell, it’s one of the reasons why we underachieved last season despite the team eking out an 84-78 campaign.

But what would a Bregman departure mean for the Astros?

More from House of Houston

For starters, it would be hard to replace the production with another player of his value.

This means that the Astros would have to move Yulieski Gurriel to third base and throw A.J. Reed to the wolves at first or find a cheap band-aid to man third base while Yuli stands pat.

Would you put Marwin Gonzalez at third?

I love Marwin but he’s not an everyday player and is more a reserve spark when one needs it.

He’s ambidextrous, he’s available, he works extremely hard but I just don’t see him there.

This is certainly why I’m not a proponent of such a spectacle — it would create more harm than good in the infield but our starting pitching would be rock-solid.

Rosenthal also notes that Sale has sky-high value because of his being under team control for three more years — a thing the Astros love — and his salary will be on average of $13.1 million per over that time span.

That’s well below market-value for a player of his stature.

But is dealing Bregman worth the return?

I’d kindly say “no” at this point.

But if someone were to talk about including George Springer in such a deal, then I’d lend my ears, especially if my club were to get a little extra in return.

And what I mean by extra, how about Adam Eaton?

It makes one think.

Bregman has plenty of upside and coming along just fine after a 1-for-34 batting stint following being called up to the majors July 24.

He did finish the season with a slash line of .264/.313/.478 with a .791 OPS, 53 hits, 34 ribbies through 49 games and 217 plate appearances.

And since he’s fresh out of the minors, he still has seven years of team control before becoming a free agent in 2023.

I’m sure that would be appealing to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for the five-time All-Star.

Next: Make A Play For Mike Napoli?

Lest we not forget that a late-season hamstring injury marred his upward momentum into the stratosphere so the best is yet to come for this young stud.

But there will be a bidding war for Sale and it remains to be seen if the Astros plan to immerse themselves into the fray.

We’ll have to see.

Sale, 27, finished 17-10 with a 3.36 ERA, a rock-solid 3.46 FIP and excellent 1.037 WHIP through 32 starts in 2016.

Go Astros.

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