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By now, most Houston Astros fans have come to grips with the fact that Alex Bregman is gone. While there are many that still feel the sting of losing yet another important star to free agency, the Astros at least went out and made some roster additions. Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker, and the surprisingly quick ascent of Cam Smith just to name a few.
Most of the more prominent Astros voices have already chimed in on Bregman's departure. General manager Dana Brown talked about his contributions to the team and how he wished the two sides could have come to an agreement. Jose Altuve continued his praise of Bregman while noting that he is happy his former teammate signed a lofty new contract.
But fans hadn't heard from Astros owner Jim Crane, which was a bit surprising. Crane isn't exactly known for his honest candor with the media, however, he did go on the record with regard to Bregman, and his response was...eye-opening to say the least. Depsite reporting to the contrary, Crane divulged that Houston never increased their initial offer to Bregman.
Astros owner Jim Crane revealed that Houston never upped their contract offer to Alex Bregman
The Astros' front office had to either be extremely confident in their assessment of Bregman's value, or Crane had a hard-cap on how much he was willing to pay Bregman regardless of what the front office or Astros players thought. Fans may never know the full story there, but it is an interesting development.
Astros owner Jim Crane held a 10-minute news conference with local media today. Among the things he said, the team did not alter its original offer to Alex Bregman at any point in free agency.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 27, 2025
One also wonders why the Astros and Bregman reconnected after his market failed to materialize during the offseason. Perhaps Bregman was truly reconsidering Houston's offer or he was at least hoping they would put more money on the table. For the tinfoil hat crowd, it's possible that Bregman and Scott Boras wanted the Astros "involved" in the hope that it would pressure his other suitors to offer even more.
Whatever the case may be, Bregman is in Boston now and could hit the free agent market again after the 2025 season. Don't be shocked if the Astros check-in yet again to see if he is open to a reunion, but the odds of him getting as good an offer as he rejected this past winter might be grim.