Unsurprisingly, the Houston Astros superstar continues to pop up in trade storylines

It’s been an ugly road trip so far for the Houston Astros, who were crushed 19-7 in the first two games of their series against the New York Yankees.

There was some hope that this stretch could be a turning point in their season as the starting pitching staff began to get healthy, but it’s the same story seen during the first part of the year.

Heading into Thursday’s finale, the Astros have twice as many losses as wins, putting them last in their division by a game and a half and 8.5 out of first place.

It’s been ugly.

General manager Dana Brown isn’t ready to give up hope yet and believes there will be a turnaround at some point that will have them challenging for a playoff spot.

But if they continue to play like they have, Houston’s front office may have no choice but to become a seller and recoup their assets in what would essentially be a lost season.

The player who continues to be touted as the most logical trade chip is their superstar Alex Bregman.

He is playing out the final year of his contract and no official contract extension has been offered to the third baseman. All signs point to him testing free agency and eventually leaving when given high-end dollars by a team desperate for an elite player like him.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report was the latest to include Bregman in his list of potential surprise trade deadline candidates, but it really shouldn’t be that surprising if he was moved.

The Astros risk losing the star for nothing.

And sure, it’s always tough to sell a franchise as big as Bregman after playing an integral role in winning two World Series titles and building this dynasty, but front offices have to do what there is better for the long-term health of the team.

If they can get some loot, and they probably can, then it would be a no-brainer to trade Bregman.

The only surprising thing about this scenario is that Houston would already be in a bad enough situation as they would be able to become sellers at the deadline.