Alex Bregman was never going to be the flashiest free agent on the market this year, not the year of Juan Soto and not by a long shot. But Bregman has never been the flashiest player on the field for the Astros, despite being one of the best and biggest winners of his time, on a team that has arguably been even more of a dynasty than the Dodgers have been, which is saying plenty.

Even with Soto off the market, Bregman still isn¡¯t the flashiest guy available. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that he has some resume, that he -- along with Jose Altuve -- has been one of two real constants on the Astros team that won two World Series and went to seven straight American League Championship Series, until that streak ended last October against the Tigers in an AL Wild Card Series. With all the changes that the Astros have seen, and the controversies, Bregman has been there at third base for all the winning, and Altuve has been over at second.

I¡¯ve said this before about him: "Winner" is Bregman¡¯s actual position. He is still just 30 years old, and the idea that he is some kind of risky investment because of his age is nuts.

Truly, there is no contender who shouldn¡¯t be interested in Bregman. The Red Sox should be, and mightily, even if that would involve Bregman moving to second base because of Rafael Devers. So should the Mariners, and Tigers, and Blue Jays. And guess what? The Yankees, who are looking to play tighter and more solid baseball than we saw from them in the World Series, ought to be interested, too, despite all the bad blood there has been between the Yankees and Astros over time because of sign stealing.

The Red Sox sure know who Bregman is, because they went up against him twice in a League Championship Series -- once in 2018, and then again in 2021. Bregman will always wonder how the ¡®18 ALCS would have played out if Andrew Benintendi hadn¡¯t made a sensational diving catch on Bregman with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th of Game 4, on a night when the Astros had a chance to even that series.

The Yankees absolutely know about Bregman, because they went up against Bregman¡¯s Astros three separate times in the ALCS and came away a loser all three times. And Tigers manager A.J. Hinch can¡¯t possibly have any questions about how much Bregman can mean to a good team looking to be great, because Hinch managed Bregman in Houston.

• Where could Bregman land in free agency?

Is Bregman ever again going to hit 41 homers and knock in 112 runs the way he did in 2019, when he finished second in the MVP voting? He¡¯s not. But since then he has remained remarkably consistent, and reliable. He hit 23 home runs and knocked in 93 in 2022, hit 25 homers and knocked in 98 two years ago, hit 26 homers this past year and knocked in 75 despite missing 17 games. And if you think he¡¯s just a product of the Crawford Boxes, think again.

Carlos Correa left the Astros. Kyle Tucker just got traded away. Justin Verlander left and came back. Yordan Alvarez didn¡¯t hit the big leagues until the 2019 season. But the heart and soul -- and guts -- of the Astros have been those two infielders: Altuve and Bregman. There¡¯s a part of me that won¡¯t believe they won¡¯t still be together on Opening Day 2025 until I find out that Bregman has signed with somebody else; that he and Altuve won¡¯t be trying to play in their fifth World Series together, and win their third.

• Has Bregman's status with Houston changed after Tucker trade?

I was with Bregman last spring in the Astros¡¯ clubhouse at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., and he was talking about the upcoming season, having no idea how suddenly and shockingly it would end in the first round of the playoffs against Hinch¡¯s Tigers.

¡°Nothing changes here, this year or any year,¡± Bregman told me that day. ¡°We always want the same thing: To get back to October and then get back to the World Series. It¡¯s why we play the game. It¡¯s why I play the game. And there is no reason for me to change now.¡±

No reason for him to change, and no expectation that he will, wherever he is playing in the upcoming season. Here is something else he told me last March, something that tells you everything you need to know about him:

¡°What I know is how close we¡¯ve come to playing in seven World Series in a row while I¡¯ve been here. How many times we were just one game away. It¡¯s something that drives everybody in this room and makes us want to do it again. ... We¡¯ve all been a part of the machine.¡±

No one has been a more important part of that machine than he has been. Altuve signed a contract extension that will almost certainly keep him in Houston for the rest of his career. Now Bregman has earned the right to decide where he wants to play next, if not in Houston then somewhere else. There are still other free agents out there, of course. Some of them could turn out to be difference makers.

Not one more than Alex Bregman.