HOUSTON — Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown says the team isn't exploring trades for Alex Bregman, even though the All-Star third baseman’s contract is set to expire after the 2024 season.
“Alex Bregman, he’s had a great career here. We’re not interested in trading him,” Brown told reporters Monday at baseball's winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. "I think Alex knows that and understands that based on our conversations.”
Brown addressed Bregman’s status amid speculation the Astros were looking to move him before he reaches free agency.
“I’m not worried one bit about the articles and the rumors and I’m not sure where it’s coming from,” Brown said. “But at the end of the day, Alex is a pillar here. You can’t replace that type of defense and that type of bat. So where not interested in (a trade). We’re trying to win here."
Brown added that there have not been any negotiations recently on a possible extension with Bregman. He hit .262 with 25 homers, 28 doubles and 98 RBIs last season as the Astros reached the AL Championship Series for a seventh straight year before falling to the Texas Rangers in seven games.
Bregman will make $28.5 million this season in the final year of a $100 million, five-year contract he signed in 2019. The 29-year-old has a .274 average, 165 home runs and 588 RBIs in eight seasons with the Astros.
He’s a two-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger award in 2019.
He isn’t the only star Astro whose contract is ending soon. Second baseman Jose Altuve and outfielder Kyle Tucker will both be free agents after the 2025 season, and Brown said he hasn’t had any recent contract talks with them, either.
Brown said he was certain they would “circle back” with agents for the three players but that “we haven’t had any talks.”
