There’s no way the Angels are the mystery team for Alex Bregman, right?

With Arte Moreno, anything is possible!

Houston Astros v Los Angeles Angels
Houston Astros v Los Angeles Angels | Harry How/GettyImages

Arte Moreno moves in mysterious ways, as Angels fans are well-aware. The Angels also can move in secrecy, attempting as best they can to mask their interests in free agents. After all, Perry Minasian graduated from the Alex Anthopoulos school of running a ballclub -- meaning Minasian does the best he can at keeping his cards close to his vest. Well, there is a mystery team in on Alex Bregman. There's no chance that team is the Angels, right?

Robert Murray put it best when recently describing Moreno in the context of the ongoing Alonso-to-the-Angels rumors:

"I would be very surprised if they ended up signing Alonso. Doesn't mean it's guaranteed to not happen, but I would be pretty surprised unless...Arte Moreno wakes up one morning and decides that he wants to end up doing this"
Robert Murray

Moreno is a deeply erratic owner, one who can operate in unpredictable ways while assembling a roster. He calls the shots, and his front office must fall in line. It would not be surprising if he developed an abiding fascination for Bregman over the years, as the soon-to-be 31-year-old has posted a .286/.388/.500/.888 slash line against his organization over the span of his nine year big league career. Ron Washington would also welcome Bregman with open arms, given his outstanding infield defense, penchant for game planning, and second-to-none leadership abilities. Lastly, what do the Angels need most? More reinforcements offensively and defensively in the infield, specifically at second and third base. Bregman would bring both in spades.

Who is in the running for Bregman? He will go back to the Astros for sure, right?

Houston's own general manager, Dana Brown, gave an awfully unenthusiastic quote about retaining Bregman. If Houston punted on Kyle Tucker for payroll purposes, why are they a lock to give Bregman the largest deal in franchise history? As for the Red Sox and Cubs, the Angels have already out-spent both of them this offseason and they appear unlikely to meet Scott Boras and Bregman's much-coveted terms of a six-year deal. They both have plenty of internal options to consider. Whether it's Matt Shaw, Marcelo Mayer, or Kristian Campbell, they have top prospects waiting in the wings they undoubtedly do not want to block with a bloated Bregman deal. The Tigers? The Angels should, in theory, out-bid them.

Pure conjecture here, but a six-year deal with an opt out after the first year feels like it would come from a big market club that is down on its luck -- like the Angels! Come play with us for one year at a high AAV (they have $35 million more to spend before hitting the luxury tax line Moreno will not cross), and if you hate it then you can hit the open market again! Yes, this is reaching for straws.

It's a fun pipe dream. If it's not a 0% chance the Angels land Bregman, then it's very, very close. The Angels, from the outset, were not anticipated to make a big free agent splash of this magnitude. If they do, it will likely be for Pete Alonso or Jack Flaherty. It's fun to imagine though right? The mystery team is probably the Dodgers anyway.

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