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It turns out the door might not really be closed on an Alex Bregman reunion with the Houston Astros.
Will Kunkel of Fox 26 Houston caught up with manager Joe Espada and asked him about the third baseman who has spent his entire nine-year career with the Astros.
Astros Manager Joe Espada on Alex Bregman:
“Our arms are still open. The door is still open. There’s always a chance.”
pic.twitter.com/537oKIgsSO— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) January 20, 2025
“He has not signed with anyone, so we are still open. Our arms are still open. The door is still open,” Espada said. “There’s always a chance. But right now we are still in conversations with not only him but with other free agent players, so we’ll see.”
The Astros have fallen out of the perceived race for Bregman over the last couple weeks as negotiations between the two sides broke down and Houston publicly pursued other third base options like Nolan Arenado. Just days before Christmas, Astros GM Dana Brown said he believed the team made a “competitive” offer to Bregman and that their talks had “stalled.”
“I know Dana and his staff are always having conversations and always looking for ways to improve our team,” Espada continued. “We still have a couple weeks until Spring Training starts so I think time will tell.”
Espada added that he has been in touch with Bregman, who he considers a friend, throughout the offseason.
“I’m always reaching out and making sure that he knows we’re here for him and our players are always asking about him so I like to remind him of that as well,” he said.
The Astros' competition for Alex Bregman is clear
As more free agents have come off the board, the noise around Bregman has grown louder. The Chicago Cubs have removed themselves from consideration, but the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers could all land his services.
The Red Sox' top priority remains finding another right-handed bat. Manager Alex Cora, who has a relationship with Bregman from his days as Houston's bench coach, said he could envision Bregman playing second base while Rafael Devers stays at third.
As for the Blue Jays, they made a splash on Monday by signing Anthony Santander, but rumor has it they're not done yet. Toronto has been interested in Bregman, along with Pete Alonso and Jurickson Profar, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
The Tigers were also in the running for Santander and need another bat to bolster an offense that was one of MLB's worst last year. If Bregman put up identical stats to last year, he would lead Detroit in home runs and rank second in OPS+.
