The Astros have made no secret about their hope of retaining Alex Bregman. General manager Dana Brown reiterated that optimism when speaking with reporters at the GM Meetings this afternoon.
“Our biggest priority is third base, without a doubt. We’d love to have Alex Bregman back. It’s our biggest priority,” Brown said (links via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and Chandler Rome of the Athletic). The GM added that the Astros have had “productive conversations” with the Boras Corporation, though he didn’t elaborate on the status of talks or specify whether the team has actually made an offer. ESPN’s Alden González wrote in early October that Houston was preparing to do so in the near future.
The Astros don’t have many options to step in at third base if Bregman walks. Re-signing him will almost certainly require the biggest investment in franchise history, though, which casts real doubt about whether they’ll be able to get anything done. Brown himself acknowledged a few weeks ago that the team may need to be “creative” in managing payroll. The Astros haven’t gone beyond six years under owner Jim Crane. Bregman would probably require breaking that precedent. MLBTR predicted a seven-year, $182MM deal in ranking him as the offseason’s #3 free agent.
Brown suggested the Astros were open to going beyond six years in the right circumstances, though it’s clear the organization tends to shy away from those contracts. “I don’t think we’re going to be in the business of giving multiple seven-year deals or multiple eight-year deals. But if there’s an opportunity to sign a guy that we feel is going to be good for six or seven years, I think Jim would do it,” the GM said.
Houston faces questions in the opposite corner infield spot. First base was an issue all season. The Astros pulled the plug on the ill-fated José Abreu deal a few months into the year, but Jon Singleton didn’t perform well either. Brown acknowledged the team needed better production at that spot. It’s unclear whether they’re willing to go back into free agency for someone like Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt or Anthony Rizzo as they remain on the hook for the final season of the Abreu deal.
Brown pointed to Zach Dezenzo as a potential internal option. The 24-year-old hit well in a small sample in Triple-A. That didn’t translate in an even briefer MLB look. Dezenzo slumped to a .242/.277/.371 slash over his first 19 MLB contests. He’s a career .295/.377/.499 hitter over parts of three seasons in the minors. Dezenzo has experience at both corner infield spots and could factor into the third base mix if Bregman walks, though he’s probably a better defensive fit at first.
Turning to the outfield, Brown indicated the Astros planned to tender an arbitration contract to Chas McCormick (X link with video from Ari Alexander of KPRC 2). The right-handed hitter had a rough season, hitting .211/.271/.306 in 94 games. McCormick had posted very strong numbers through his first three big league campaigns, so it’s not much of a surprise that Houston plans to bring him back on a relatively modest salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.3MM sum. Brown added that the Astros could look for a left-handed hitting outfielder to potentially spell McCormick (and presumably Jake Meyers) against righty pitching.