Astros general manager says team not trading 'pillar' third baseman Alex Bregman

HOUSTON, Texas -- Alex Bregman will be a free agent after the 2024 season, but that doesn't mean the Houston Astros are willing to trade their star third baseman now to try to recoup assets in case they can't re-sign him.

"I think most teams understand that we're not moving Bregman," Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Monday from the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. "I don't know where this whole Bregman rush is coming from, but it's certainly not coming from us because we need Bregman. He's a pillar for this club."

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Brown, however, also said there haven't been recent negotiations on an extension with Bregman, who hit .262 with 25 home runs and 98 RBIs last season. He said the same for outfielder Kyle Tucker and second baseman Jose Altuve, who both will be free agents after the 2025 season.

Brown said he was "sure at some point we'll circle back" with the agents for the three players, "but we haven't had any talks."

Bregman will be paid $28.5 million this season to conclude a five-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Astros in 2019.

Bregman, a 29-year-old two-time All-Star, has a .274 average, 165 home runs and 588 RBIs in eight seasons with the Astros.

With Bregman, Altuve and Tucker as key members of their lineup, the Astros reached their seventh consecutive American League Championship Series last season, falling to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers in seven games.