Houston Astros Star Free Agent Appears Unwilling To Sign Short-Term Deal

The Houston Astros have seemingly moved on from a possible reunion with franchise icon and star third baseman Alex Bregman, but the free agency drama continues to rage on surrounding the veteran.
Early in the offseason, Bregman was reported to have declined a six-year offer worth over $150 million from the Astros. At the time, it wasn't shocking given the figures being speculated as to what he was seeking, potentially a deal creeping into the $200 million range.
Of course, Houston moved on and traded away Kyle Tucker with a presumed new third baseman in Isaac Paredes included in the return before signing Christian Walker to fill the gap at first and practically squashing the possibility of Bregman returning.
Looking at things now, the offer Houston made was competitive, and it may be the type of deal the two-time World Series champion and his agent, Scott Boras, get this winter.
Over the last week, it's been widely reported that teams who are still interested are trying to gauge Bregman's interest in a shorter term deal which contains opt outs, but according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, that's not going to happen.
"While [Pete] Alonso may be willing to accept a short-term deal with the ability to opt out after the 2025 season, Bregman is not going down that path," Nightengale wrote. "He has no desire to accept a short-term contract, and remains engaged with several teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox."
The insider went on to share a quote via Boras with the super agent stating there is interest from teams in lengthy contracts, and the possibility of Bregman taking a short-term deal is not why he remains unsigned.
"Bregman’s a championship player, teams know it,’’ he said. "It’s really a matter of his decision-making and theirs, about how you can close up that gap. There’s substantial interest (in long-term) deals."
At this time, it feels more likely than not Bregman will end up signing a deal similar to what he was offered by the Astros. If a team was willing to meet his lofty expectations on a contract both in terms of length and total value, he would not remain unsigned this late in the game.
The two-time All-Star is clearly still capable of being one of the best third basemen in the game.
But with offensive numbers which have ever so slightly begun to decline, and him turning 31 by the time the season gets going, teams are understandably going to be hesitant to put him on their books until he's starting to approach 40 years old.
What seems clear is that both Bregman and Boras vastly overestimated how willing teams would be to meet their demands.
Seeing him play elsewhere will sting, but it doesn't seem like it was ever realistic to bring him back on a deal that made any sense for the Astros and their payroll.