Former Dodgers reporter talks chances of LA acquiring Astros star at trade deadline

Let's go over the laundry list of players who've been floated as Dodgers trade candidates at the deadline next month. Bo Bichette, Paul DeJong, Garrett Crochet, Luis Robert Jr., Randy Arozarena, and Tarik Skubal. And...Alex Bregman? One of these things is very much not like the others.

Dodgers writer and Dodgers Territory host Alanna Rizzo risked taking on the ire of millions when she said on the podcast's newest episode that Bregman being of interest to the Dodgers wasn't actually a total impossibility.

She expounded that it would depend on how the Astros are looking in about three weeks' time and they may not be sellers at all, but that it was unlikely they were targeting Bregman as an extension candidate after failing to secure his services long-term this offseason. If Houston tanks further approaching the deadline, Rizzo believes the Dodgers' former enemy could be a possibility in LA.

"I know, Dodgers fans, every time you hear 'Houston' you think of 2017 but, you guys, we have to move on," Rizzo noted.

The likelihood of that happening is slim to none, and fans in the live chat quickly made their displeasure with that hottest of takes known.

Could the Dodgers really trade for sworn enemy Alex Bregman at the deadline?

Rizzo ended by saying that she didn't think that Astros owner Jim Crane would let Bregman go, especially if Houston looks like they're in fighting shape ahead of the deadline.

But let's engage in a little thought experiment for a second. Bregman is in a walk year. He's only gone up from a bum start to the season and has hit .379 with a .921 OPS over his last seven games. He's a well above-average third baseman, and it doesn't look like Max Muncy is trending in the right direction from his oblique strain at all, having recently been moved to the 60-day IL. If the stars managed to align — no Muncy, Astros tanking — would the Dodgers pursue a trade for Bregman?

The answer is still almost definitively no. The Dodgers care about winning, and there's always the possibility that Bregman could help them do it, but there are few other acquisitions their fans would hate more than Bregman (only José Altuve and Carlos Correa might top him, and even then it's a toss-up). They also know that decidedly no one is moving on from 2017 anytime soon, and they could risk isolating the fanbase if any member of that Astros team were to come over to LA.

There is, as is pretty much always the case, a dearth of position players expected to be on the market at the deadline, but if the Dodgers really want another third baseman, they should steer very far away from Bregman. Anyone else, just not him.