2) Houston Astros
Would the Houston Astros pay another first baseman big money? The Jose Abreu free agent signing turned out to be a disaster. Jon Singleton ended up as their primary first baseman. He had a very average year with 13 home runs and a .234/.321/.386 slash line in 405 plate appearances.
C’mon now. We were supposed to think the Astros were serious about competing again in 2024 with this in place? They managed to fight hard in the latter part of the season after a slow start. Ultimately, they were bounced from the playoffs in one round. They’ll need to regroup before opening the 2025 season where they’ll conveniently play the Mets. Will Alonso be in attendance and in what uniform?
The Astros’ offseason can go in a couple of directions. They can take a step back from signing any major pieces. There’s a possibility they keep as much intact as they possibly can. Third baseman Alex Bregman is their biggest free agent for teams to fight over.
Alonso is probably a little more out of their price range with one exception: what if he goes for a short-term deal with a high AAV? This would make him much more desirable for a competitive team that tends to shy away from any ridiculously big contracts.