Alex Bregman back in play for the Blue Jays?

While Bregman's a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, recent reports indicate that the Houston Astros (his former team) are out of the running, which means that's one less team the Blue Jays have to worry about.

Bregman came into the winter as one of the top free agents available.

He has hit .260/.349/.449 over the past three years while also getting strong grades for his third base defense.

There was a bit of concern in 2024, as he got out to a slow start, slashing just .216/.283/.294 through the end of April.

He eventually corrected and finished the year with a .260/.315/.453 line but his 6.9% walk rate was a career low.

The Houston Astros have pivoted to other players this offseason.

They acquired Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker deal and then signed Christian Walker.

Those two, along with Jeremy Pe�a and Jose Altuve, seemed to fill the Astros infield and block Bregman's path back to the club.

Now that the Astros are out of the Bregman sweepstakes, there's no better time for the Blue Jays to pull out all the stops to try to sign him.

The list of teams in on Bregman could shorten out, especially since his market has stalled out a bit over the past couple weeks.

The Cubs, Red Sox, and Tigers have are all dragging their feet, which is another reason why the Blue Jays need to be all-in on Bregman.

There was a little bit of clarity on what that market could look like on Tuesday when Rob Bradford reported that some teams in on Bregman have floated shorter deals with higher average annual values, and that the Blue Jays are an outlier and have offered a longer contract.

With Pete Alonso off the board the market for offense has shrunk considerably.

Ross Atkins should be doing all he can to work toward getting a deal done with Bregman since adding his bat to the lineup would turn the Blue Jays into a legitimate contender.

It would also answer the lingering question of who will play the hot corner for the Blue Jays this year.

Considering Bregman just won a gold glove in 2024 at that position, he checks off a lot of boxes.