HOUSTON ¨C Free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman rejected the Astros¡¯ $21.05 million qualifying offer Tuesday, a decision which was a formality. Bregman remains a free agent and can negotiate a contract with any team, including the Astros.

The decision means the Astros will receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of next year¡¯s MLB Draft if Bregman signs with another team.

• 12 decline qualifying offer; N. Martinez accepts

A mainstay on both the Astros¡¯ World Series championship teams (2017 and 2022), Bregman slashed .260/.315/.453 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs last season and won his first Gold Glove as the best defensive third baseman in the American League. Astros general manager Dana Brown said earlier this month that Bregman was ¡°without a doubt¡± the biggest offseason priority for the club.

Astros owner Jim Crane said Monday that Brown had been talking frequently with Scott Boras, the agent for Bregman, but said there was nothing else to report.

¡°We know Scott,¡± Crane said. ¡°He¡¯s going to do the best he can to get the most for him if it¡¯s a place he wants to go. ¡­ At some point, we would have to make a decision. We¡¯re looking now at a backup [options]. You¡¯re exploring all the options, so that¡¯s what¡¯s happening now.¡±

• Astros 'exploring all the options' in weighing Bregman's free agency

Crane isn¡¯t a believer in signing free agents to mega deals, which could make Bregman¡¯s return to Houston difficult. Crane has never guaranteed more than five years to a free agent, and the biggest deal he¡¯s given to any player is the $151 million second baseman Jose Altuve received with his extension in 2018. The baseline for a Bregman deal may be the six-year, $151 million deal third baseman Matt Chapman ¨C also a Boras client ¨C received from the Giants in September.

¡°You have to be cognizant of that because the longer the contracts on the back-end, it gets difficult to carry it and you decrease your ability to be competitive when you got a lot of money tied up,¡± Crane said. ¡°We have some money coming off the payroll next year, as you well know. We run it like a business and we make good decisions.¡±

Taken by the Astros with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft out of LSU, Bregman made his Major League debut a year later and advanced to the ALCS in each of his first seven full seasons. That streak ended with this year¡¯s loss to the Tigers in the AL Wild Card Series.

After that loss, Bregman was asked if he¡¯d like to return to Houston: ¡°I hope so. We¡¯ll see what happens. I¡¯m going to let Scott and the team handle that. Obviously, it¡¯s free agency, and I¡¯ve never really experienced that before.¡±

On the Astros' all-time hitting charts, Bregman ranks sixth in homers (191), seventh in doubles (265), eighth in runs (694), ninth in RBIs (663) and 11th in hits (1,132). His 19 career postseason homers are tied for the sixth most all-time.