One of the toughest things the Houston Astros had to do this offseason was say goodbye to one of their homegrown stars, third baseman Alex Bregman.

A free agent, he decided to sign a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox instead of returning to the only organization he has known as a professional baseball player.

It was one of many major changes the team made to their roster this winter.

Not bumping up their offer is something the Astros may benefit from long-term since Bregman is already 31 years old. There is certainly a chance a long-term deal wouldn’t have aged well, but for right now, it has hurt not to have him in the lineup.

Compensating for not only his loss but also right fielder Kyle Tucker being traded to the Chicago Cubs was going to be a near impossibility.

That is a lot of production to lose in one offseason with both players being All-Star-level performers.

Tucker is playing at a high level for the Cubs and looks like he will be in the mix for the National League MVP award. The same goes for Bregman, who is in the midst of the best offensive season of his career.

His replacement, Isaac Paredes, has been solid, but nowhere near the level of the man he is replacing thus far in 2025.

Through 44 games and 199 plate appearances, Bregman has an impressive .314/.392/.589 slash line with 11 home runs, 15 doubles and 33 RBI. He has produced an OPS+ of 171 and already has 2.7 WAR, on line to surpass the seasons when he was top five in the MVP voting in 2018 and 2019.

Those numbers make him a no-brainer to be featured on the top 10 candidates for AL MVP, shared by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report.

The Red Sox slugger is listed at No. 3, behind Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

This level of production from Bregman after he settled in as a very good player the last few years with Houston was unexpected.

But, he does have some extra motivation and a chip on his shoulder.

Teams weren’t willing to meet the asking price Bregman and his representatives had set. Boston offered him a unique deal with a very high yearly salary and opt-outs after the first two seasons so he could hit free agency again.

Should he keep up this pace, he will be a front runner for a spot on the AL All-Star Team, All-MLB Team and in the mix for Silver Slugger and MVP Awards, setting himself up for a massive payday should he re-enter the open market after the 2025 campaign.