Alex Bregman kind of has a point leaving Klutch Sports over Astros documentary

It’s not great optics, but Alex Bregman can’t be blamed for leaving an agency that was about to bash him.

No baseball fan can defend the Houston Astros for stealing signs in their quest for the 2017 World Series. Such a banner is forever tainted, with the rings destined to wind up on EBay rather than Cooperstown.

In the aftermath of Rob Manfred’s rather lenient punishment of Alex Bregman and his teammates, the Astros have rightfully received high heat from the baseball community, and the 2020 season hasn’t even started yet. Bregman added more fuel to the fire recently due to his conspicuous timing in leaving Rich Paul’s agency Klutch Sports.

Paul is one of LeBron James’ closest associates, and the LBJ-led media company Uninterrupted will embark on a project aimed directly at the Astros sign-stealing scandal. Bregman’s decision has baseball fans furious, as they’ve deemed he has yet to take his medicine for his role in Houston’s debauchery. But how fair is that conclusion?

Yes, Bregman can and should be held accountable on the field and in the media, but in terms of his own finances, he has every right to choose his friends carefully. Despite the asterisk next to his name. Bregman remains one of the best players in all of baseball. Just last season he finished second in AL MVP voting, and he’s still just 26 years old.

Bregman’s current contract carries him through 2024 in Houston, making this move look extremely personal, rather than professional. Still, an agent is one of the most important people in the life of a professional athlete, and that’s not just Jerry Maguire talking.

For a perennial MVP candidate to prefer a yes-man of his choosing is nothing new. In Bregman’s case, the timing is merely suspect, and that’s just something the pundits have to deal with.