Jose Altuve isn’t prepared for his time as Alex Bregman’s teammate to come to an end after the Houston Astros were swept out of the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers in the American League Wild Card Series.

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s 5-2 loss, Altuve publicly appealed to Astros management to re-sign Bregman as he prepares to enter free agency for the first time in his career.

“He gave a lot to this organization,” Altuve said of Bregman. “Now it’s time for us as a team, as an organization, to get back at him and make sure he stays here.”

Bregman posted a message on X after Wednesday’s game:

This isn’t the first time Altuve has openly advocated for the Astros to keep the two-time All-Star. He spoke about the situation on Sept. 19 before the team’s final home game of the regular season.

“I don’t see a chance of him leaving,” Altuve said this week. “That could just be me. I truly believe our front office people, GM and ownership will make a deal for him at the end of the season. I don’t think – I’m sure – that with him we are not only a better team but also a better organization. We really have to do it.

ESPN’s Alden González noted that the Astros are expected to make a formal contract offer to Bregman “in the near future.”

This season marked the end of Bregman’s five-year, $100 million contract signed in March 2019, which bought out his three arbitration years and the first two years of free agency.

It will be interesting to see what type of contract Bregman receives this offseason, either from the Astros or another club. He’s still a good player, but his offensive production hasn’t been at the level of 2016-2019 for most of the last five seasons.

Bregman hit .260/.315/.453 with 26 home runs in 634 plate appearances this season. His OPS+ since the start of the 2020 campaign is 122, which will be boosted by a mark of 134 in 2022. He still has elite plate coverage and ranks in the 94th percentile or better in strikeout rate, whiff rate and squared-up rate.

Considering Bregman is represented by Scott Boras, it seems unlikely that he signs a contract with the Astros before at least exploring what the market has to offer. But another Boras client, Matt Chapman, signed a six-year, $151 million contract extension with the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5 rather than wait to see what the offseason had to offer.

Bregman and Yusei Kikuchi are Houston’s top free agents based on their performance in 2024. Justin Verlander, Ryan Pressly and Jason Heyward will also hit the market, but given their struggles, they don’t seem to be as high a priority.

There’s a chance Wednesday’s loss marked the end of a significant period in the Astros’ history. Bregman and Altuve have been fixtures in the lineup since the team’s winning streak began in 2017, leading to seven straight ALCS appearances and two World Series titles.