Perhaps he was thanking the fans for supporting the team throughout the season and in the home playoff series.
Or maybe this is his farewell greeting.
Free agent Alex Bregman's future is uncertain after the Astros lost 2-0 to the Tigers in a best-of-three wild-card series in Houston on Wednesday, eliminating them from the 2024 MLB Playoffs.
And the 30-year-old third baseman, a member of the team's 2017 and 2022 World Series-winning squads, posted a simple message on his X account that could indicate he is preparing to move elsewhere.
“Thank you, Houston,” Bregman wrote Wednesday night.
Despite the fact that Bregman is coming off a relatively weak season by his standards, there should be a solid market for him, and the Astros tend not to re-sign some big stars.
But exception Jose Altuve, who just completed the first year of a five-year, $125 million deal, hopes the organization will do whatever it takes to keep Bregman.
“We're not the same organization without him,” Altuve told reporters after the Astros' loss. “In my opinion, there is no chance this will be the last.”
Bregman finished the 2024 season with a career-low OPS of .768, hitting .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Before the All-Star break, Bregman had 12 home runs, 47 RBIs, a .256 average, and a .730 OPS in 92 games. He has played in 53 games since the hiatus, hitting 14 home runs, 28 RBIs, a batting average of .266, and an OPS of .833.
“I really haven't had a chance to process this,” Bregman said. “I was planning on coming here. [Thursday for Game 3.]”
He hasn't shown the same MVP potential in recent years as he did in 2018 and 2019, when he was an All-Star selection and totaled 72 home runs and 215 RBIs, but he did have some hits. The bat still has some thunder left in it. Over the past three seasons, he has hit 74 home runs, 96 doubles and 266 RBIs.
Bregman went 3-for-8 in two games with the Tigers and had a .238 batting average, .789 OPS, 19 home runs, and 54 RBIs in 99 playoff games.
Astros GM Dana Brown told ESPN that he thinks “things will work out” between the team and Bregman.
