The Astros appear to be moving on from Alex Bregman.
There’s seemingly no room for the team’s longtime third baseman after they acquired Isaac Paredes from the Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade and signed Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract to play first base.
These moves came after Astros general manager Dana Brown says talks “stalled” with Bregman, who is represented by Scott Boras.
“The way I view it right now is Paredes is going to play third base and Walker is going to play first base,” Brown told reporters on Monday. “And Bregman’s still a free agent.”
Reports earlier this month said the Astros offered Bregman, 30, a six-year, $156 million contract to stay in Houston.
The two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion clearly wants more.
“I thought we made a really competitive offer, showing that we wanted him back,” Brown said of Bregman. “But we had to pursue other options. We couldn’t just sit there. We locked in Paredes early in that trade, knowing that he could play third or first and then when the opportunity to add another bat came up we just jumped on it.”
Boras offered a message to the Astros Monday night.
“Over time, teams learn if you’re running from leadership and talent, you’re running from the ultimate goal,” Boras told The Athletic.
Bregman won his first Gold Glove in 2024 and hit .260 with a .768 OPS, 26 home runs and 75 RBIs.
He’s hit at least 23 home runs in each of the last three seasons.
Bregman’s offensive peak came in 2019, when he hit .296 with a 1.015 OPS, 41 home runs, 112 RBIs and 119 walks.