Astros star open to holding extension talks during season
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman spoke to reporters, including The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Saturday afternoon and revealed that his camp has not yet received an extension offer from the Astros and that he does not expect to receive one before Opening Day this week. Bregman made clear, however, that he would be willing to negotiate during the season if the club were to approach him with an offer.
That Houston hasn’t made an offer to Bregman at this point is something of a surprise, given comments from both club owner Jim Crane and GM Dana Brown earlier this winter indicated that the club has every intention of making Bregman an offer before he hits free agency this November. That Bregman is
willing to negotiate in-season keeps the door to the sides making progress on extension talks at some point this season open, though spring training is generally regarded by both players and club officials as the ideal time for contract negotiations, lest they become a distraction during the season.
Brown has long been candid about his desire to lock up the club’s core players long term and since then has successfully extended the contracts of both right-hander Cristian Javier and more recently, second baseman and franchise face Jose Altuve. The club reportedly explored extensions with both southpaw Framber Valdez and outfielder Kyle Tucker last offseason along with Javier, though those talks ultimately did not result in a deal. This winter, club officials have outwardly interest in retaining Bregman long-term in their public
comments, with Brown even indicating last month that the club plans to reopen negotiations with Tucker but will likely prioritize Bregman for the time being.
Despite those comments indicating the club hopes to retain Bregman long-term, the club appeared to prioritize extending Altuve over Bregman this winter with reports indicating that the Astros were skeptical of their chances regarding a deal with Bregman. Crane’s comments on the matter earlier this winter even acknowledged this, as the owner admitted that Bregman’s age makes him “a little different circumstance” to Altuve, who would have hit free agency prior to his age-35 season in contrast to Bregman, who will play the 2025 season at just 31 years old.
