SAN ANTONIO -- Alex Bregman has been an Astros mainstay at the hot corner for nine seasons. The club expects that to continue, even as the star third baseman hits free agency for the first time in his career.

Convening with the league¡¯s top baseball executives this week at the General Managers Meetings, Astros GM Dana Brown indicated that conversations with agent Scott Boras regarding Bregman are ongoing. While there are other needs on the roster, priority No. 1 is to keep Alex Bregman in Houston.

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¡°I¡¯m going into this offseason with the thought process that we¡¯re going to get Bregman back,¡± Brown said on Tuesday at the JW Marriott in San Antonio. ¡°If he ends up going elsewhere, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there. ¡­ Our mindset right now is that he¡¯s not going elsewhere and that we want to sign him. ¡­ Hopefully, we can do it.¡±

The end of the World Series last week brought a five-day ¡°quiet period¡± that serves as an exclusive window for teams to negotiate with their departing free agents. Brown, however, said discussions with Boras about retaining Bregman date back over the final six weeks of the 2024 season. Brown characterized those talks as ¡°optimistic conversations¡± that remain in the beginning stages.

There will be no shortage of suitors for Bregman. The 30-year-old posted a slash line of .260/.315/.453 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs last season. He overcome a slow start to post an .838 OPS from May 9 to the end of the season and was named the American League winner of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award at third base on Sunday.

Bregman recently underwent a procedure to remove a bone chip in his right elbow, according to Boras, who addressed reporters at the GM Meetings on Wednesday.

"He's gonna be back swinging here in a few weeks, so he's all through that process," Boras said.

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Given the likely high demand, Brown is understanding of Bregman¡¯s desire to weigh his value on the open market.

¡°Oftentimes with these players, they get this close to free agency and it¡¯s their right to test the market,¡± Brown said. ¡°Just because they test the market doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t want to play here. He just wants to test the market. We¡¯re going to have more productive conversations with Scott to, hopefully, get something done.¡±

Brown declined to reveal whether an official offer for Bregman has been made yet. He also did not give a specific deadline for when the Astros would like to get a decision from Bregman. (The hope for any team in such a situation is that they get an answer sooner rather than later to avoid being hamstrung the rest of their offseason.)

¡°Ultimately, you want to get guys done as soon as [free agency begins],¡± Brown said. ¡°It lowers my blood pressure to get [Bregman] done as soon as we can get him done. I don¡¯t want this thing to drag on. He knows that we want him back. Scott knows that we want him back. He loved playing here. So, hopefully, we can get it done sooner rather than later.

¡°If it drags out, it makes it more difficult. It¡¯s out of my control if it drags on so far. We¡¯re going to try to put our best foot forward to get it done.¡±

The Astros have extended Bregman a qualifying offer of $21.05 million for next season, which is likely to be rejected as he looks to secure a long-term deal. This ensures the Astros will get Draft pick compensation if Bregman signs with another team. Of course, they are hopeful to avoid that scenario.

¡°The biggest priority is third base, without a doubt,¡± Brown said. ¡°We would love to have Alex Bregman back. That¡¯s our biggest priority.¡±

McCullers, Garcia on track for Spring Training
Right-handers Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia, both of whom missed last season because of injuries, are expected to be ready for Spring Training.

McCullers, who has not pitched since the 2022 World Series, has been playing catch this offseason without any issues.

Garcia, who underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2023, was throwing breaking balls and fastballs up to 94 mph during his live batting practice sessions near the end of the season and continues to progress well.

¡°We hope he¡¯s ready and part of our rotation so that some of these other guys can be part of the depth,¡± Brown said of Garcia. ¡°With these injuries, you never know. ¡­ I¡¯m very optimistic.¡±