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With the Houston Astros in control of the American League West — as they’ve been for the better part of the last decade — the team can be conservative with its stars’ health.
Alex Bregman, for example, will miss the team’s weekend series against the Chicago White Sox with a swollen elbow, the team decided before it kicked off the three-game set on Friday, August 16.
Houston lost the first game 5-4, but knowing the White Sox are on a historic losing pace, it makes sense to not risk Bregman’s health Saturday or Sunday.
The Astros don’t have another off-day until September 3, with every game after Sunday coming against a team vying for a playoff spot.
“He’s going to be back in a couple of days,” Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Friday, per MLB.com. “You want him in there every day, but I like the boys who go out there right now and can compete and give us a chance to win.”
Alex Bregman Looks to Nip Injury ‘In the Bud’
Bregman has rebounded from a brutal start to the season that saw him batting .201 with a .534 OPS on May 12. Since then, he’s hitting .288 with 18 home runs and an .866 OPS to bring his season-long numbers closer to what the 30-year-old did for most of his late 20s.
Despite going 0-4 in his last game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Bregman is tearing the cover off the ball over his past nine games, hitting .390. Any discomfort certainly has not affected his performance.
“It’s just something I’m going to have to take a few days for,” Bregman told Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “Obviously, it’s pretty unfortunate because I’m swinging the bat well right now.”
“It’s not that I couldn’t play through it anymore, it’s just that I need to nip it in the bud,” he added.
Bregman underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed no structural damage and ensured the third baseman would not need a trip to the injured list.
“I feel like a few days and I’ll be able to come back strong and feel good,” Bregman said, per MLB.com. “I have no damage to any of the ligaments or anything like that. Just something I’m going to have to be able to take a few days [off] for.
This Is Alex Bregman’s Free Agent Season
Bregman is in the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract he signed with Houston before he hit arbitration.
With the Astros not signing him to an extension to this point and not trading him at the deadline, the team now faces the decision of whether to invest heavily in their third baseman. As one of the the top players at his position on the market, he will come with a high price tag.
But how high?
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal weighed in on the topic on the August 12 episode of his “Fair Territory” podcast, where he said Bregman’s so-so numbers may cost him dearly in free agency.
“I do believe that Alex Bregman, coming into this season, stood a much better chance of becoming like an elite free agent than he does now,” Rosenthal said. “He’s still going to be right up there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ripping Alex Bregman. It just hasn’t been the season that maybe some expected will this matter in free agency remains to be seen.”
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