Astros Admit To Rocky Negotiations With Reported Red Sox Target

The Astros have been busy this offseason, but their proactive nature has made it extremely unlikely they will retain a franchise icon.

Houston officially signed first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract on Monday, just more than a week after acquiring infielder Isaac Paredes in a trade that sent outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs.

Alex Bregman doesn’t have a spot anymore, huh?

Astros general manager Dana Brown addressed that reality Monday, sharing that negotiations stalled over the last couple of weeks.

“The way I view it right now is Paredes is going to play third base and Walker is going to play first base,” Brown said, per ESPN. “Bregman’s still a free agent… I thought we made a really competitive offer, showing that we wanted him back, but we had to pursue other options. We couldn’t just sit there. We locked in Paredes early in that trade, knowing that he could play third or first, and then when the opportunity to add another bat came up, we just jumped on it.”

Bregman is obviously still looking for a home, which brings up the question of where he’ll eventually land.

The Red Sox have been floated as a potential landing spot, as have the Detroit Tigers.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand believes it will come down to those teams, as Bregman has played under both A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora. The Red Sox could be the leader in the clubhouse, as their need for a right-handed bat and second-base defense is very clear.

Boston has money to spend, as well, having creatively filled other needs by trading for one starter (Garrett Crochet) and bargain-hunting for two others (Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval).