Dana Brown finally gets wise to the Astros' biggest priority this offseason

Finally, Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown seems to recognize that star third baseman Alex Bregman is and should remain a franchise cornerstone.

Per MLB.com's Martín Gallegos, Brown expressed that re-signing Bregman is Houston's top offseason focus at this week's annual GM Meetings in San Antonio, Texas. Moreover, the Astros' lead executive insinuated that negotiations with the two-time All-Star's representation, baseball super agent Scott Boras, are underway.

"I’m going into this offseason with the thought process that we’re going to get Bregman back," Brown stated. " ... Our mindset right now is that he’s not going elsewhere and that we want to sign him ... Hopefully, we can do it."

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Dana Brown needs to bring Alex Bregman back to Houston

Gallegos cites Brown mentioning that talks with Boras regarding Bregman's future in Houston picked up "over the final six weeks" of the 2024 MLB campaign. Moreover, the Astros personnel chief described the discussions as "optimistic" thus far, albeit in preliminary stages. Nevertheless, any progression in dialogue can be considered a positive development.

"The biggest priority is third base, without a doubt," Brown declared. "We would love to have Alex Bregman back."

Not only did Brown voice a desire to retain Bregman, but he stressed a sense of urgency to do so:

"Ultimately, you want to get guys done as soon as [free agency begins]. It lowers my blood pressure to get [Bregman] done as soon as we can get him done. I don’t want this thing to drag on. He knows that we want him back. Scott [Boras] knows that we want him back. He loved playing here. So, hopefully, we can get it done sooner rather than later."

Bregman is a free agent for the first time in his storied nine-year career. A few months ago, his presumed $200-plus million price tag was thought to possibly exceed Houston's payroll limits. Since then, though Brown (and owner Jim Crane) has seemingly realized how important the hot corner is to the organization, and it's not hard to see why.

Bregman was his usual, productive self after a poor start to 2024. He batted .260/.315/.453 with 26 home runs, 75 RBIs and three stolen bases. Furthermore, as demonstrated by his first Gold Glove, the veteran slugger's defensive efforts continue to shine. The Astros don't have a ready-made replacement for the infielder in-house, and the third-base market, both in free agency and via trade, looks awfully barren behind Bregman this winter. If Houston has designs on starting a new ALCS streak in 2025, it's going to need Bregman in the middle of the lineup.