HOUSTON -- The door to re-signing free agent Alex Bregman is "cracked" open for the Astros, but keeping the third baseman with the team might still be a long shot, general manager Dana Brown said Saturday.
Speaking at the team's fan fest, Brown talked at length about the possibility of re-signing Bregman, who has spent his entire nine-year career with the Astros.
"The interesting thing is, when we made some trades and some moves this offseason, we never realized that Bregman would still be on the market at this time," Brown said. "We've had some conversation and I could kind of leave it there, but we've had some conversations."
He added those conversations were positive before he was asked whether that means that the door for re-signing Bregman is still open.
"I would say it's cracked, right," Brown said. "The fact that he's still available, it just makes it interesting like, man, this guy is such a good player, he's done so many wonderful things here. And so, we'll stick with the cracked door and see what our conversations lead to."
If Houston brings Bregman back, it would create a crowded situation in the infield. They traded outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Isaac Paredes before signing free agent first baseman Christian Walker this offseason.
"Our group is pretty set," Brown said. "We made some moves and some trades and solidified our top five in our lineup, and so it's a long shot, but the fact that [Bregman's] a free agent, we'll have discussions about him like we have discussions about every other free agent."
The day that Walker was introduced in Houston, Brown said Walker would be the team's first baseman and that Paredes would play third. But Brown said Saturday that Bregman would play third base if he were to re-sign.
"I love watching Bregman play third base, so I can't imagine putting Bregman or having [manager Joe Espada] put Bregman in any other position other than third base," Brown said. "That's his home. He puts on clinics when he's playing third base, and he's just as special as anybody, Gold Glove there, and so I can't picture him playing anywhere else."
Bregman is a two-time All-Star who won a Gold Glove last season and a Silver Slugger Award in 2019 when he came in second in American League MVP voting.
Espada said he has kept in touch with Bregman, 30, throughout the offseason and that while he tries to give him space, he wants to make sure he understands that he wishes he would stay in Houston forever.
"I tell him all the time ... this is home," Espada said. "I understand the process. You sit down with your family, you're trying to do what's best for you, your family and your kids. But this is home, and this is his family."
While Bregman would remain at third base in Houston, it's unclear whether his return would force Jose Altuve to move from second, a position he has played his entire 14-year career.
Altuve was vocal at the end of last season about his desire for Bregman to remain with the team, but Espada wouldn't say whether he has spoken to him about the possibility of changing positions to facilitate that.
"If we get there, we'll have that conversation with him, but his willingness to do whatever it takes to win -- it's important to us," Espada said. "He's a cornerstone of this team. He's the heart of this organization. He understands that ... but if we get to that point, I'm sure that we'll have that conversation and we'll talk about how that's going to look moving forward."
Altuve said those conversations haven't happened but that he would be open to whatever the team needs.
"Alex, he's one of the best players in the whole league, but he's definitely one of the best players on the team, so we want him to stay," Altuve said. "So whatever I have to do for him to stay, I'm willing to do it."
Some believe that Altuve would need to move to the outfield if Bregman returns. He was asked about how difficult it would be to make the transition after never playing outfield at any level of his career.
"For Alex, nothing will be difficult," he said with a smile.
Altuve said he has gone through a range of emotions in the past few months as he has tried to figure out where Bregman would sign.
"I thought he's going to be back for sure," Altuve said. "Then I thought he's not coming back for sure. Now I'm like, OK, in the middle."