Rumors linking Alex Bregman to a return to the Houston Astros have increased rapidly over the past several days, but there is reportedly still a significant roadblock in negotiations.
Bregman wants the Astros to improve on their reported six-year, $156 million contract offer before he is willing to sign, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston. The Astros’ standing offer has been on the table since the start of the offseason, but Bregman has not been tempted by it to date.
It remains to be seen how much more Bregman is looking for, and how far the Astros are willing to go to give it to him. Houston just traded reliever Alex Pressly to the Chicago Cubs to clear salary, but any Bregman deal is still going to push them into the luxury tax. The Astros’ current offer would pay Bregman $26 million a year, but reports had indicated that, at least earlier in the offseason, he was looking for closer to $200 million in total value.
Some Astros are willing to go to great lengths to bring Bregman back to the team. The money still has to be right, however, and at least for Bregman, that still does not appear to be the case at this point.
