Astros radical lineup change could hurt their chances with Alex Bregman

Few teams, if any, have gotten off to more of a disappointing start than the Houston Astros. The Astros have gone just 6-13 entering play on Wednesday and are sitting in last place in the AL West. Yes, they're 1.5 games back of the Athletics. It's that bad.

There have been some positives like the play of Jose Altuve and the emergence of Ronel Blanco, but it's been mostly bad for Houston.

It's gotten so bad to the point where rookie manager Joe Espada is already making a pretty big lineup change for their game on Wednesday, slotting Alex Bregman in between Houston's big left-handed bats Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.

Astros lineup change could hurt their chances with Alex Bregman

The idea behind this change is to wake up an Astros offense that is just 14th in runs scored. Sure, 14th isn't horrible, but this Astros lineup should be in the top five in runs scored, yet they're just a tick above average.

Part of why Houston hasn't scored as many runs as they'd like is because their star third baseman has been largely invisible. Bregman is slashing .242/.299/.323 and does not have a home run in 62 at-bats. He has just three RBI, and two runs scored. It's been a slog for Bregman who simply has to get going. Perhaps being sandwiched between two of the best left-handed hitters in the game will help.

There's every reason to believe that this change will help wake him up, and assuming that happens, we could see Bregman go on a tear. While that'd be outstanding for the short-term, it could cost them long-term with Bregman.

The 30-year-old is set to hit free agency at the end of the season and will be in search of a massive contract. Assuming his season turns around, his demands will only increase, making it harder for Houston to retain him. Remember, both Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker are set to hit free agency at the end of next season, and they already have substantial amounts of long-term money committed.

Perhaps the short-term gain of Bregman and the team turning the season around is worth the risk of him potentially pricing himself out of the team's plans. The long-term implications of a move like this can't be ignored, though.