Houston – The conversations between the Astros of Houston and the third goal player of the free agent Alex Bregman have resumed in recent days, according to three sources of the league, reviving a certain hope of a meeting between the franchise and the one of its cornerstone.
This possibility seemed dead in December, when the director general Dana Brown said that the talks between the two parties had “blocked” and that the team pivoted the first goal Christian Walker.
A lack of clarity on the Bregman market in the last month may have allowed astros to enter the fray. According to three sources, the disorders of the Astros club on the possibility of the departure of Bregman – and Brown declaring the “point” negotiations – also contributed in part to Houston in return.
USA Today reported on Thursday that the astros “kept the door ajar” so that Bregman returns. The Red Sox of Boston, Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers also had different levels of interest for Bregman, the Gold Glover by reigning the American league with the third goal and the undisputed leader in the Houston clubhouse.
The long-standing offer of the team in Bregman remains on the table, said a source on Thursday afternoon, but it is not clear if the Astros will have moved for six years and 156 million dollars it contained.
The owner Jim Crane has never given a free agent agreement over five years or more expensive than $ 95 million. Throughout the winter, team sources said that Crane did not want to reduce the luxury tax for a second consecutive year – and the club’s actions equaled this position.
Trading Kyle Tucker and the Shopping Ryan Presly Shopping Configuration Man are the most apparent signs that Houston tries to control a mass of pay, in part, by the disastrous contracts that Crane gave to José Abreu and Rafael Montero.
Astros seek to exchange Ryan Presly, who has a complete clause without exchange. (Jerome Miron / Imagn images)
COT contracts estimate that Astros are already around 2.5 million dollars compared to the first luxury tax threshold. The Pressly market moves quickly, the Chicago Cubs being among the most interested clubs of the veteran configuration man, which is expected to win $ 14 million next season. Pressly has a complete clause without exchange and must approve any agreement. Thursday evening, he had not done it.
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The question of whether the calculation of the luxury tax of Crane will change because of the place of Bregman in the tradition of franchise and the importance in the current clubhouse is a mystery-and perhaps the point of support on which this situation is based. It is the same owner who, last season, authorized a contract of $ 95 million for Josh Hader, closer to the free agent, after having expressed private hesitation to cross the luxury tax, of kind that another impulsive decision would come without surprise.
Throughout October, the second goal player Jose Altuve pleaded with Crane and the Astros front office to keep Bregman, a player he said “made this organization better than where we were before him.” In November, Crane recognized Altuve’s comments “(carry) a little weight with me and bear weight with Dana”.
If Bregman is back in Houston, team sources have indicated that he would play the third goal in place of Isaac Paredes, which the Astros acquired as part of the three -player package to Tucker. In this scenario, Paredes and Altuve could face a change of position.
Altuve has never played a major round everywhere, but the second goal or the stop stop, but its range and its defensive metrics have gradually decreased to the second goal in the last two seasons. PARDES, which has nine years younger than Altuve, has 53 major league departures to the second goal.
According to several sources, Moving Altuve to Left Field is under study if Bregman returns to play the third goal, a theory was launched by USA Today on Thursday afternoon.
This would represent a radical decision for one of the faces of the franchise, but would help the ultimate goal of Altuve – having Bregman by his side as a teammate in the foreseeable future.
(Top Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
