The Yankees bypassed previous pursuits of big-money free agents Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado and a host of others in prior offseasons. They acquired infielder Jazz Chisholm in a marquee trade this summer. Adding Bregman is possible, and even potentially sensible. I'd still deem it unlikely.

Alex Bregman's long tenure with the Houston Astros could be coming to an end, but longtime teammate Jose Altuve is urging the franchise to "pay back" the veteran third baseman for his contributions with a new contract.

Jose Altuve on Astros free agent Alex Bregman: "I don't want to get into anything about last game with Breggy. Like I said, he's going to be our third baseman next year... In my mind, there's no chance this was his last game." pic.twitter.com/QCu3X4uZpf