Astros GM - Door to re-sign Alex Bregman 'cracked' open - ESPN

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 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 Paredes would play third. But Brown said Saturday that Bregman would play third base if he