Retaining Alex Bregman in free agency this winter is the top priority for Astros fans in the Bayou City. One Houston legend made his own plea to keep Bregman home on Monday.

Former Astros ace and three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt issued a simple demand on Twitter with regards to free agency. Oswald’s remarks were short. They also represent the feeling en masse throughout the city.

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Oswalt isn’t the only Houston luminary to plead with Astros’ ownership on social media. Rapper and Houston native Paul Wall issued his own set of decrees throughout October, noting early this month that keeping Bregman should be the Astros No. 1 priority. Neither Wall nor Oswalt sport the power nor the cash of Astros owner Jim Crane. Still, their input certainly can’t hurt, especially at such a crucial time for the franchise. Keep Bregman, and a trip to the 2025 Fall Classic is very much in play. Let him sign elsewhere, and consider next season something of a reset campaign.

Houston’s two-time champion and two-time All-Star sports no shortage of likely suitors this winter, with both New York clubs, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox all standing as sensible landing spots. But a free-agency departure a la Carlos Correa and George Springer is anything but a fait accompli.

Bregman is effectively the emotional heartbeat of the organization, a baseball savant who has a tangible positive impact on teammates (just ask second-half surger Hunter Brown). As for the dollars and cents of Bregman’s free agency—the true chief concern this time of year—I’m not so sure Bregman is in any way out of Houston’s price range. This isn’t a player seeking a Juan-Soto-level mega-contract possibly surpassing $500 million. Instead, Bregman’s context will likely nestle in around $150-$225 million, with a manageable average annual value around $30 million.

The latter figure here is the most important one. Bregman earned $30.5 million last season, not exactly chump change thanks to the $100  million extension signed before the 2020 season. For Crane, the concern with a Bregman deal isn’t exactly his impact on the 2025 salary sheet. Instead, this is more likely a number-of-years proposition. Crane already handed out a five-year deal to retain the then-33-year-old Jose Altuve before last season. A similar situation could soon emerge with Bregman, even if the contract is stretched to a less-comfortable seven seasons.

Losing Springer and Correa stung. Losing Bregman would be devastating. Both Wall and Oswalt recognize the urgent matter at hand. Now it’s time for Crane and Astros ownership to do the same.