Dana Brown pours cold water on potential Alex Bregman return but doesn’t close door completely

The Houston Astros have had a fascinating offseason thus far. Early on, their No. 1 priority was to re-sign Alex Bregman, but with his asking price being out of their comfort zone, they quickly pivoted. Not only did Houston trade for Isaac Paredes, but the Astros also signed former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, essentially ruling them out of a potential Bregman return.

To the surprise of virtually everybody, the two-time All-Star has lingered in the open market all offseason, opening the door for Houston to see where Bregman's head is at when discussing a possible reunion. After all, the Astros reportedly never rescinded their initial six-year offer.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said on Saturday that the team has spoken to Bregman about a return, but was very clear about where things stand on that front.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Alex Bregman Astros return sounds unlikely, but not impossible

Brown could not have been clearer. The Astros have been in touch with the star third baseman and there certainly is a possibility that he will return, but he also said it's a long shot. Bregman is hoping to beat Houston's offer, and Brown seems to think that's the likely scenario. However, until Bregman leaves, you can never rule the Astros out.

Something notable about Brown's quote is that he was adamant that Bregman would slot in as the team's third baseman if the team re-signed him. This would add validity to a recent report which suggested Paredes would move to second base and Jose Altuve would move out to left field where he has never played.

Re-signing Bregman would obviously be massive for an Astros team that traded Kyle Tucker away earlier this winter. In a weak AL West division and a notably weak AL as a whole, the Astros could easily have a path to make a deep run in the postseason if they added Bregman to a roster that is already good enough to be a playoff team.

All Astros fans can do right now is wait and see what's being reported. If a team approaches Bregman with an offer that exceeds what Houston is comfortable with, he'll almost certainly elect to leave. Until that happens, though, as long as Houston's initial offer is on the table, there's at least a puncher's chance that he'll return. Fans shouldn't be overly optimistic but shouldn't be preparing for a tribute video, either. It's anyone's best guess as to what will happen.