SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Most teams use MLB ’s annual general managers’ meetings to lay the foundation for the winter, meeting with every agency about their available players or beginning cursory trade talks with rival clubs. The Houston Astros are no different. Third-year general manager Dana Brown and his lieutenants spent most of the week touching base with all corners of the baseball world at the sprawling JW Marriott in San Antonio.
Nothing Brown said on Tuesday raised many eyebrows, though the bullishness with which he talked about Alex Bregman accentuated how serious the club is taking its pursuit of a reunion. Advertisement Bregman and third base remain the team’s “biggest priority,” but there are far broader questions about the state of Houston’s roster and how it can best balance its present and future. Brown has repeated that “nothing is off the table.
” Here are some observations and information about what that may entail: Pressly on the move? The Astros have had internal discussions about trading setup man Ryan Pressly , according to two people briefed on the conversations, perhaps a signal that Brown is exploring avenues to get further away from the luxury tax. Most outside approximations put the Astros around $10 million below the first threshold when accounting for their projected arbitration salaries. Pressly will make $14 million next season, but his contract contains a full no-trade clause, giving him autonomy to veto or approve any potential d.