I'm not at all sure he wants to come back.

His Houston "brand" has been damaged...maybe, irreparably. Damage control will be a tall task.

Mathguy64 said:

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I think Alex is doing some of this himself. He turned down the offer and that's fine. So did George and Carlos. This feels like he's using the club in a way they didn't.

I don't care where he ends up as long as it's not NYY or LAD and I don't expect him back here.

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I read something Bregman said last year about not worrying about an extension and letting Boras deal with contract matters. He'll be financially set either way, so he may be content to let his agent do his thing. I'm sure he's aware of the possibility of losing out in musical chairs and taking a short-term deal like Montgomery last year. He appears to be ok with that prospect for now. I'd give it another two weeks and then he will likely tell Boras to pull the trigger on the best option. He's a baseball playing dude, so I don't expect him to be out of camp. So, I don't hold that against him- although I do think he's wrong for demanding an increased pay for decreased results. That's every vet, though.

I'll ride his ass... and Cintron... for every pop up and grounder, regardless of his contract. Do your thing and I'll do mine, Alex (lol).

MaxPower said:

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I don't get why people get so bent out of shape about it. If he wants more $ then more power to him. I am not optimistic with how his bat will trend over the next 2 or 3 years, moretheless 6, so if he leaves it might ultimately be a favor.

Really Crane is who fans should be questioning. Why is Alex the only guy you will go over the luxury tax for? So arbitrary. Either you have the money or you don't. Santander or Teoscar were better fits a month ago. Did Crane's accountants find the $156M slush fund account last week?

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Simple, people get emotional about sports and conflate the team with the people; forgetting the athletes are humans like themselves

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Lance McCullers Jr posted a video on Instagram that shows his MPH on his pitches. Just a training session and his numbers are ticking up on the curveball and fastball pic.twitter.com/G9h4UKEgue

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) February 1, 2025

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89 aint bad. Hopefully he can get it up to 93 like he used to

spadilly said:

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New Hooks uniforms this season. I like em! They did a FANTASTIC job on all of the hats.

A new era of Hooks baseball. pic.twitter.com/1EMEbdAlGQ

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) February 1, 2025

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So very well done

So biggest updates/changes in the #Astros Bregman news today:
- Houston hasnt budged from its 6/156 offer, and it was a 'take it or leave it' offer
- Houston may not have officially put the offer back on the table
- #Tigers have an offer that is either 5 or 6 years on table
-…

— Patrick Creighton (@PCreighton1) January 31, 2025

Mr.Bond said:

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He's hung up on an amount of money that he will never spend. That's the wild part to me. Yes I know I've never been in his position and never will be. But it's the equivalent of someone making 100k a year taking a new Job for 101k a year

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The thing is, what you spend your money on changes with what you have. I could find a way to spend $250M easily over a lifetime. Not saying I would, but I could definitely do it.

Again, we go back to investing - $1K invested for us isn't all that much. $20M turns in a heck of a lot more without doing anything. We don't know his future goals. Maybe he wants to try to get in position to own part of a sports team 20 years down the line. He has interest in horse racing - very expensive sport. Maybe real estate. Who knows. Maybe angel investing. But the level of money he has opens doors to things to buy the common man can't fathom buying.

$4M difference for 6 years is $20M. That goes a long way when invested properly in 20 years.

Anyway - the problem is he isn't living in reality and isn't accepting he's not a $30M/yr guy. Until he faces that reality and accepts it, he's going to continue to hold out.

If he's holding out for the reported difference in what the Tigers offered and what the Astros offered, than he has accepted the reality he's not a $30M/yr player and is just getting really bad advice a that point.

Good thing is the Astros and are not in a position where they have to have him I commend Dana for that.

Ag_07 said:

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Dana has brass balls if he's sticking to his guns over $2M per.

I like it. That's what they think he's worth and they're not budging.

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They're so close to the luxury tax he has to play it that way. I'm glad he put himself in a position where he doesn't HAVE to sign Breggy.

They're going over if they sign him regardless.

But that doesn't mean they should be OK with paying a guy more than he's worth.

And Dana is right...That is spot on what he's worth.

Beat40 said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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He's hung up on an amount of money that he will never spend. That's the wild part to me. Yes I know I've never been in his position and never will be. But it's the equivalent of someone making 100k a year taking a new Job for 101k a year

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The thing is, what you spend your money on changes with what you have. I could find a way to spend $250M easily over a lifetime. Not saying I would, but I could definitely do it.

Again, we go back to investing - $1K invested for us isn't all that much. $20M turns in a heck of a lot more without doing anything. We don't know his future goals. Maybe he wants to try to get in position to own part of a sports team 20 years down the line. He has interest in horse racing - very expensive sport. Maybe real estate. Who knows. Maybe angel investing. But the level of money he has opens doors to things to buy the common man can't fathom buying.

$4M difference for 6 years is $20M. That goes a long way when invested properly in 20 years.

Anyway - the problem is he isn't living in reality and isn't accepting he's not a $30M/yr guy. Until he faces that reality and accepts it, he's going to continue to hold out.

If he's holding out for the reported difference in what the Tigers offered and what the Astros offered, than he has accepted the reality he's not a $30M/yr player and is just getting really bad advice a that point.

Good thing is the Astros and are not in a position where they have to have him I commend Dana for that.

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Bregman considers his market rate to be 15% above what the Astros offered, if the $30M rumor is true.

While I'm sure some people would leave their current jobs, especially if unhappy, for a 15% bump, it seems absurd to me for anyone to leave a job they are happy in for a mere 15%.

There's a lot of risk in moving jobs, especially ones that people enjoy. The new work environment could be terrible, you have to rebuild your reputation with new coworkers and superiors, you could risk not getting better raises/promotions in the years ahead of you.

A higher number isn't always better, and there's a lot of advantages of his legacy in Houston, the business relationships he has with the local community, the tax advantages, the fact that the ballpark is tailor made for his swing which helps his career accolades, the list continues....

To so eagerly dismiss the Astros offer over a petty 15% increase suggests to me his heart isn't here, and that's fine, but if that's the case I don't think we should be bending the knee hoping and praying he comes back.

I don't blame Alex for taking his time or for signing elsewhere since this is his last chance for a big contract, but no one can say the Astros are being cheap this time around. Looking at you, Boras.

Seems like not everyone has been on the same page as Dana about this.

at this point I'm afraid Bregman will accept the 6 years $156 MM offer

the Astros should be down to 5 years max

I truly think the players are brainwashed into thinking they must accept the HIGHEST offer because if they don't they are somehow screwing over the next generation of players because they've lowered the median price of contracts.

It's ridiculous and something the agents LOVE to slip into conversations so the players don't feel guilty about it.

Yes, it's their right, but at some point your legacy should mean more to you than a bottom line dollar amount.

it is interesting looking at Springer, Correa, and Bregman...

free agency did not go smoothly (and dare I say successfully) for any of them

they could not get a big deal locked in with a big spender

as for example...compared to Anthony Rendon who signed on December 11th is his free agent offseason

for a ridiculous amount of money

I wonder if we pivot to Arenado if we don't get Bregman

His bat is worrisome but the Astros want his glove at 3B and do not want Altuve at 2B much it seems

I will die on this hill. No matter what the benefits of the trade may be to other parts of the roster, I don't want to relive the Jose Abreu experience at third base for the next 3 years.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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I will die on this hill. No matter what the benefits of the trade may be to other parts of the roster, I don't want to relive the Jose Abreu experience at third base for the next 3 years.

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Abreu was garbage at 1B though and had an atrocious OPS

Arenado is 33 and his OPS last season wasn't much worse than Bregman.

I doubt he'll turn into an Abreu disaster