In The Loop's John P. Lopez, Reginald Adetula and Figgy Fig react to Alex Bregman being introduced as a Boston Red Sox and question whether he ever wanted to return to the Astros.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Um, let's talk about the Astros in a way, because it seems like there's a question worth
00:06asking on whether or not Alex Brevman was actually going to be ever going to return
00:13to the Astros.
00:14It was very will they won't they from our perspective.
00:16We got reporting here and there where, you know, at times it felt like the Astros were
00:19more more like, you know, more likely than before to possibly bring him back.
00:24Some of the moves that happened then seem like they opened up doors at times.
00:27Even at one point that break or the Altuve to left field was kind of positioned as a
00:31potential way to bring Bregman back.
00:34But all all those things now aside, it seems like that might have never really been a possibility
00:40as the we had thought from the outside looking in.
00:44I don't think there will.
00:45And of course, I'm not trying to, you know, now that he's gone, whatever, as as a texter
00:49said, don't let the door hit you in the back.
00:51I'm just being won't you anyway, I'm just being honest.
00:53We wanted him.
00:54I don't think there was any chance he was going to come back to the Astros.
00:57No, I don't either.
00:58Especially when you Jim McCaffrey, who covers the Red Sox for athletics in recent piece
01:06while the Red Sox felt good about their approach.
01:08There was still a significant uncertainty in weeks and days leading up to Bregman signing
01:12the free agent.
01:13Wade offers from Detroit, Toronto and the Cubs period.
01:19Someone's missing there.
01:20Wait, what?
01:21That'd be your Houston Astros, right?
01:24I mean, look, I mean, I don't know.
01:26I don't know if that's just, oh, well, you got incomplete or whatever.
01:28But I'm willing to believe that that's a fair accounting what happened because that fully
01:34establishes a ironclad trend with Jim Crane in this organization, which is when it comes
01:41to their big ticket players, they'll put out there.
01:44They'll do that.
01:45And I got to give Adam Spillane his credit because he called this.
01:48They'll put out.
01:49They'll they'll let it through the back channels be known.
01:50This is the offer that we have out there.
01:52But it's not an offer to be said.
01:53It's an offer to take it seriously.
01:54And we've saw that on the back end of this.
01:55And when it comes to we saw the same number of years, six for 171 and a half from what
02:00was that Detroit?
02:01Was that and you had six for 156 that was out there early and that we knew was not the
02:08best offer and that it never changed.
02:10And this is in the same line that we saw with Correa in the same way that we saw George
02:14Springer walk out his door.
02:15And it feels like this is the way that they handle things when it comes to their big ticket
02:19free agents.
02:20And I don't think that's acceptable.
02:21No, I don't either.
02:23And I think the reason that it has been sort of ignored, not ignored, but sort of you cope
02:29with it is because they've continued to win at the highest level.
02:33Like if this is a season where it doesn't happen, it's all going to come back down on
02:38the Astros.
02:39And specifically, if we're being honest, I mean, it's very obvious.
02:41It's Jim Crane.
02:43You know, he gets his people and Brown is saying, yeah, we're still having discussions
02:47even though they're not, you know, and then there was times he was like, oh, we haven't
02:51talked to Boris.
02:52We're having internal discussions.
02:53Yeah.
02:54But, but it's going to bite them eventually.
02:57They've just been very, very fortunate to be always either have the pieces in place,
03:02you know, like Jeremy Pena to replace a Carlos Correa, or they've just managed to continue
03:06to win or add smart pieces here and there.
03:09But this is, this is a strategy that it, I mean, it couldn't be more obvious right now.
03:13Like they, they, they, they will not pay.
03:15They, they will not pay what the market tends to say these guys are worth.
03:20And for the first time, it seems like they actually moved away from it a little bit with
03:23Kyle Tucker getting ahead of that.
03:25Because if that one felt very obvious that that was not going to get to a place and they
03:28traded him on in order to bring on Isaac Paredes, but more probably more importantly, you also
03:34got in Cam Smith, who was a prospect that looks like he can do something in the relatively
03:38near future.
03:39And then of course, don't forget Hayden Wesneski comes through in that, in that trade.
03:43But that then turns my attention a little bit to the next big free agent that's coming.
03:47I'm looking at it right now.
03:48You knew exactly where I was going here.
03:49Yep.
03:50I remember Valdez.
03:51Yep.
03:52He hasn't even, he said, I believe Thursday or Friday that they haven't even had discussions
03:57yet.
03:58Yeah.
03:59And he's, I don't know if this was a fake quote or not, but he say, looking forward
04:02to free agency.
04:03They got to trade him at the trade deadline.
04:06If they're going to do this.
04:07That's going to happen.
04:08They have to.
04:09Like you just, and that's wild because that is your ace right now, but I just, I will
04:14be so sick.
04:15And I look, I understand I'm getting myself riled up for something that's going to happen
04:18a year from now.
04:20But it seems like this, this is a trend that it's like, it's impossible to ignore.
04:25And I'm going to be, it's like, well, we offered him for, for something that's like, what are
04:29we doing here?
04:30Yeah.
04:31We know now.
04:32I mean, it's too obvious.
04:33We should have known before.
04:34We should have.
04:35And Adam Splane, who is our insider.
04:36And I should have trusted him as such.
04:37I just let the hope, the hopium get me high.
04:39He said it, man.
04:40Not real, not real offer.
04:42And it was, it was Thursday, Jason Bristol quoted him saying that, or paraphrased saying
04:47that he had, his people have not been approached by the Astros about an extension.
04:52I mean, that's what they've been doing.
04:59It's kind of hard to be mad at the Astros, but it's also, it's okay to be mad.
05:04Like the Astros continue to win, but I'm mad that they still continue to do this.
05:08And I think it's going to come back.
05:09It seemed like they kind of operate knowing how the Patriots used to operate whenever
05:13it comes to players.
05:14And they'd never really paid nobody huge like that.
05:18And it's kind of like, do you want to come here to win or not?
05:21Yeah.
05:22Right.
05:23But at least in instances where it felt like you had somebody of value, send them somewhere
05:25and get value back.
05:26And this is like, the talent drain is what gets you in.
05:29Look, maybe I am being, it's possible.
05:32It's very possible that I'm just being greedy here.
05:35And you know what?
05:36I'll be greedy in this instance.
05:37Like, I feel like, yes, you've gotten a decade of, you know, really great baseball, but why
05:43not two?
05:44If you have an opportunity, keep, keep that, keep that value in house and, you know, trade
05:49that player on a little bit early in order to make sure that you continue to return value.
05:53Like, I'd much rather that.
05:54And you were still dealing with losing these great players.
05:56Yes.
05:57We're still dealing with it.
05:58Yes.
05:59I'd rather deal with it.
06:00I mean, in the way that, Hey, we're dealing with Cal Tucker and at least now, you know,
06:03you have any separate as, and you can look forward, come in and add more to what you're
06:08doing.
06:09You didn't get an opportunity to do that in various instances.
06:11You're not getting an opportunity.
06:12And you know what really did it for me?
06:14Like Alex Bregman had his availability with the Boston Red Sox.
06:17Okay.
06:18And we knew that was coming.
06:19Keep in mind, Alex Bregman, iconic in this city, drafted number two overall by the Astros.
06:26All these, you know, two world championships, all these AL, you know, a big ALCS championship
06:33moments.
06:34So we asked him about leaving Houston, what was it for you at the end to leave an organization
06:39that you had been with your entire career?
06:43Oh, definitely.
06:44Definitely difficult.
06:45They, I have so much respect for the organization, top to bottom, all the players.
06:53Yeah.
06:54That doesn't sound a guy that was, that's a glowing endorsement, ain't it?
06:59He goes, uh, yeah, that's it.
07:03That sounds more like a guy that was, was frustrated.
07:06You know, that, that, that, that wouldn't, it didn't even come close.
07:08It sounded like he was frustrated, but he also sounded like your phrase, it is what
07:13it is.
07:14It is what it is.
07:15This happened to all the players that, that was here when I was here.
07:18I mean, I interpreted that.
07:19I don't know about you guys.
07:20That's a shot at the Astros because like nine years, all the memories drafted number two
07:24overall.
07:25And he's like, yeah, I got a lot of, you know, respect for him.
07:28You know, got a lot of friends over there.
07:30Yeah.
07:31Okay.
07:32Yeah.
07:33Yeah.
07:34I mean, what more is to say?
07:35And I mean, honestly, considering that we never got to a place where the offer actually
07:39really and truly rose.
07:40I think the only thing that happened was Ari Alexander's written a kind of that they had
07:43raised the offer, increased the useful.
07:46Right.
07:47What does that actually do?
07:48What does that do?
07:49Right.
07:50Um, it, I think it might be fair to assume that this thing drug out in part because like
07:54Bregman wanted the opportunity to maybe find something that maybe just, maybe they come
07:58through for him.
07:59I think that is a place that way that you could interpret that.
08:01I don't know that I'm willing to say that that's definitively the interpretation that
08:04you can take away, but I think there's room for you to maybe hypothesize that that might've
08:08been the way that this went and they ain't come through for him to be able to be an astro
08:12for us.
08:13I also wonder, look, Jose Altuve, you know, another icon, maybe the most iconic astro
08:18ever.
08:19Probably so, but he was bending over backward.
08:23He was very, very public.
08:25He was adamant.
08:26He put his foot down publicly in a way that I just did not realize.
08:31I didn't realize that he was capable of doing or willing to do.
08:34He's fantastic in every way for this organization.
08:37I find it very hard to believe that this doesn't bother him.
08:40I mean, I, he's human, you know, he, he, that's his guy.
08:43He was, he was on the record.
08:44He was doing everything he can to, to sort of lobby for Alex Bregman.
08:49And he knows what happened.
08:50You know, he had to have been out there just going, this is frustrating, you know, and
08:54maybe not telling the world, but he's got to be frustrated.
08:57Yeah, I think it, I think it is.
08:59Also, I feel like the Astros, like, even though I'm frustrated too, but they always
09:05still been in contention, man, they still been pretty good.
09:09So it's hard to really complain about that now, but I think it'd be really bad if, if
09:14they let somebody like this go and then they just fall off a cliff where it's just like,
09:19man, like we, like we could have kept the core together and probably won another world
09:24series.
09:26You spoke about losing Bregman today, and also about being in the outfield.
09:30Yeah, we lost a big player, obviously, but you know, we got to focus on the guys that
09:34we have here.
09:35He's obviously one of the best that I ever played in Houston, and we're all going to
09:42remember him and we're going to miss him.
09:46But we're also happy for him.
09:47He's done a great deal, man.
09:48He's, you know, the $40 million is, you know, not a lot of players can get to that and he
09:53got it.
09:54So we're all, you know, happy for him and same thing, we've got to move on and focus
09:59about, you know, the players we have here, keep moving.
10:02We have great talent here, great players that are definitely going to do everything to win
10:07and we'll see Alex down the road when we play him in Boston or Houston.
10:13That's about as candid as you'll ever get from L2 because, man, he got his.
10:16He got a great deal.
10:17He got a great deal.
10:18And that's one thing when it comes to players, no matter what, right, no matter what the
10:20sport is, kind of the thought is, hey, don't get between a dude and his money, right?
10:24Like, don't hop in those places.
10:26And ultimately, right, there's a kinship when it comes to teammates, but there's also a
10:30kinship when it comes to like being a part of the union and being friends or whatever.
10:34And they looking up like, hey, you did right, like you went and got yours.
10:38And I appreciate that.
10:39And I think that you could hear that from that aspect.
10:41And then just like, that's clearly a dude who, that's my friend over there and I'm happy
10:45that he got what he was able to get.
10:47Do this kind of worry you a little bit?
10:48Because I know we got some time to think about Jordan hitting free agency or when that time
10:54comes.
10:55Do that kind of worry you that they're going to have the same approach with him?
10:58He's going to be one of the most expensive players.
11:01That's what I'm saying, man.
11:02I had not even gotten to that point.
11:04Yeah.
11:05I know we got some, but when it, when that time.
11:08All right, go ahead and trade numbers.
11:09That's how I'm going to come in.
11:12This ain't about to be no cheap little six years, 156 type deal.
11:17One of the best examples we've seen of, of that level of player, you know, you can bring
11:22him back, but you're gonna have to pay through the nose is we've already seen two, uh, Carlos
11:27Correa.
11:28I mean, they were talking about numbers that were outrageous, you know, when, when he was,
11:32you know, approaching that.
11:34And then Kyle Tucker, Kyle Tucker is the closest.
11:38He's the closest thing to, and even with Correa, you Correa, you had the injury conversation
11:44where you like, Oh, I wouldn't pay him that much.
11:46And you know, there's always something, but when they come to your dime, man, you know
11:51what the, you know what it might be?
11:52Cause you have them locked up contra contractually through his age 31 season.
11:57They might just go.
11:58Yeah, that's cool.
11:59Yeah.
12:00Yeah.
12:01We got the good years.
12:02Yep.
12:03But of course that is not till what?
12:042029 when he's a free, we got some years to talk about that, but that is something to
12:09think about, man.
12:10I mean, at the very least they do have them locked up for that time period.
12:13Right.
12:14That's, that's, that's where you rock with hell as a team.
12:16I don't know.
12:17You might not even be in the same kind of portion of the, of the natural cycle of a
12:21team.
12:22They got a really good deal for them right now too.
12:24They pretty damn good deal.
12:25I gotta, I gotta admit, but yeah, Alex Bregman officially not in, not in Astro, but Astros
12:30are in West Palm beach getting themselves ready there.
12:33And you mentioned how Tuve still in left field, still working on his field and seeing how
12:38that works, how that's going to go.
12:39He went straight out there.
12:40You want to hear that real quick?
12:41Him talking about the outfield.
12:42Oh, sure.
12:43I'm excited to play.
12:44You know, I want to be in the lineup, you know, kid helping this team win, kid hitting
12:51doubles and triples and homers for this team.
12:53So it doesn't really matter what I play.
12:55I'm going to try to do my best and you know, we have a lot of talent.
13:00We have a great new players that definitely going to help this team.
13:06And so that's what I'm excited about.
13:09I want to make it in the lineup.
13:11I just want to play, man.
13:12Hey, sounds like there wasn't an opportunity to be in a lineup, to be a second base every
13:16day.
13:17Yeah.
13:18Interesting.
13:19Interesting stuff from the Astros.