The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Astros GM Dana Brown Says Alex Bregman Is 'Biggest' Offseason Priority

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

Matt Thomas and Ross Villarreal of "The Matt Thomas Show with Ross" react to the latest comments from MLB's general manager meetings in San Antonio, where Dana Brown addressed Alex Bregman's free agency. "The biggest priority is third base," Brown said. "We would love to have Alex Bregman back." Brown also discussed plans to upgrade at first base, bolstering the bullpen, adding another starter and more.

So the general manager's meetings are happening. Not a lot of things happen, but you do get conversations going. Now, the main kind of free agent signings, trades happen generally at the winter meetings, which are a little bit later. And they're actually, I think before the end of the calendar year, they stay winter meetings, but they're really not in the winter. If that makes sense, I don't know when the exact schedule is. But the GMs meet first.

And again, you talk about things. You can certainly pull off some deals. but when the general manager speaks in which Dana Brown did and Channel 2 cameras were there and we are a partner of Channel 2 so we have to play some of their audio Dana Brown had a chance to discuss the number one free agent

that maybe the Astros have a chance to keep more than any of the other free agents. We'll see. We'll see. Let's play the audio. Again, thanks to Channel 2. Here is Dana Brown positive talks with Scott Boris and the Breggman camp. Yeah, we've had a lot of

A lot of discussions with Scott Moore, multiple conversations. So we'll hope that they've been productive. And we're hoping that some good things happen. We feel like they have a decent chance. I think we have a really good chance. So I think we, it's kind of hard to hear there at the end. He says, I think we have a really good chance. I think we have a really good chance.

Okay. Okay. So at first blush, this is, because I heard the audio yesterday, but we've not had a chance. I had not. Dana does not come across to me. as a I wouldn't say a liar, but a fibber.

Is his glass going to be half full, perhaps, but most general managers, most front office people in sports have glass half-fulls on everything. Like Nick Casario, when he discusses the next time he discusses anything, we'll be asked about why he didn't make any trades and he will give us a

glass-half-full approach to why he feels like the Texas. Yeah. So that's not atypical for people in his position. Although Nick Casario did say, remember guys, we won a lot of one-score games last year. Yeah. He was kind of set up. Do I believe, okay, I am encouraged that they are talking. I am encouraged that he sounds encouraged.

But, however. However, Rossi, because he has always glass half-full-on things, you have to kind of sometimes separate the fact from the fiction. And I can speak to this on. multiple occasions, what Dana will say will not necessarily match what the player's agents have said in other situations. I don't think that Dana's assessment of Kyle Tucker's ailments throughout the course of the year matched what Kyle Tucker's agent thought about the situation about all the time he was gone.

I think there was conflicting thoughts about how everyone approached. when Kyle was going to come back? I'll give you another one. He went on these airwaves in Sports Talk 790 when Jose Abrae was sent to the Florida complexly. Sold it hard, yeah. And he talked about how this was going to be a great move and help him turn things around. I mean, it's not that Dana Brown, it's not that he sees the glasses half full. He sees the glasses spilling over when it's half full.

And to quote Chandler Rome, he put it perfectly in his article, Brown is perpetually overflowing with optimism. And that's just, it makes it, it's a good quality to have, I think. I mean, I like that he's always positive about the Astros and he always thinks they're going to turn it around. Remember he told it they were 12 and 24 and he's like, we're going to turn this thing around. And he was right. He was right. He was right.

But he's all. You say Kikuchi and most people are like, what are you doing? He was right. So that's what I'm saying he should be given some benefit of the doubt on some of this stuff. Not everything, but some. But he's always, no matter what you say, he could have this situation come up 100 times, and 100 times he's going to say, yeah, I think we can get the deal done. Yeah.

So it's hard. You have to take it with a little bit of grain of salt because of that. That doesn't mean that Bregman won't be back here. That doesn't mean that he doesn't believe the talks are positive, but it also means that's always the way that he's going to look at it. So you have to temper this then? I think so, yes. All right.

Let's hear more from Dana. Yes. So he does believe that Alex Bregman could stay in Houston. Here's what Dana Brown has to say about that. Our mindset right now is that he's not going elsewhere and that we want to sign him. So if he ends up going elsewhere, we're across that bridge when we get there. But I'm going into this offseason with the thought process that we're going to get pregnant down. Hopefully, you know, we can do it.

And as I said, you know, the conversations with Scott have been together. Okay, that one gives me a little more optimism. Can I give you an analogy? Because if you're new to the show in this time slot, I do this quite a bit. Matt, you've been here for 15 years. People know who you are. I don't know. You never know these things.

You and I are college coaches. Okay. And we have been recruiting this kid. Okay. And we are selling them hard on, we have great academics, we have great facilities. Hot ladies. Hot ladies. We have NIL money for you.

And you and I as coaches are like, we're going to get this kid. Mm-hmm. And we're like, this is going to be awesome. And the kid's like, I like this place. It's kind of cool. Okay. The kid's not going to tell you that he's being talked to by three or four other schools to say.

Well, you know he is. You know. But it also means that you don't have to believe it and say that maybe what you're offering is better. I'm a little afraid that Scott Burroughs may be saying all the right things to Dana knowing in the back very well that maybe three or four other teams are going to jump in at the very last second and try to scoop him up. By the way, Scott Boris is going to speak today at the general manager's meetings. Oh, really? Is he going to be wearing a Boris hat?

Well, the channel room just put on his Twitter account, there is a backdrop of the Boris logo. Yeah, yeah. He's been doing that for a while. By way, do you like my analogy or no? I've had better? It's okay. It's not your worst. Okay.

See, I'll choose to be Dana Brown positive. I'll accept it. It's not your worst. Thank you. Because I think whatever any deal that he gets from anywhere else, the Astros will have the right to refuse. I think if he says, hey, the Mariners are going to give me seven years, 189. Can you match that?

And then the Astros will have a decision to make. And I mean, Dana Brown's optimism, there's reasons to be optimistic. Suarez is gone. The third base market is terrible. you have a championship window that's only going to be open for a couple of more years. Signing Alex Bregman extends that or helps prop up, I should say, that championship window. And he's a legend of your organization. All right.

So what I want you to do right now is play those two cuts again real quick without us commenting. I think just the second one. Whatever. The first one's hard to hear. Play the second one. And then we want the audience to jump in and say, how do you feel after you're hearing what dinner? Brown just said. I feel a lot better after this one. Listen.

Our mindset right now is that he's not going elsewhere and that we want to sign him. So if he ends up going elsewhere, we're across that bridge when we get there. But I'm going into this offseason with the thought process that we're going to get pregnant done.

Hopefully, you know, we can do it. And as I said, you know, the conversations with Scott a bit productive. I'm going into this offseason with this mindset that we are going to get Bregman back. How do you feel, Houston? How do you feel, AstroFans?

How are we feeling? 713-213-212-5-790. 7-1-3-212-5-790. One hour from now, shut your bomb ass up. Emaidoka at 1 o'clock. These are the airwaves what we call Sports Talk 790. Coach Sark here. Touchdown, Texas.

You've got Sports Talk 790. Houston's home of Longhorn Football. The Matt Thomas show continues now. All right. We just heard Sark. We're going to go through the NCAA football first playoff seedings that were announced. Yesterday. The biggest news of yesterday.

And we'll do that in about 15 minutes from now. Yes. So I think you're happy, would you say? Well, we'll find out. It's fine. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Yeah. All right. So Alex Breggman's agent will be speaking today.

Dana Brown spoke yesterday. again i like dana i i don't really know him that well um you know i i had a very good relationship with jeff leno i had basically a zero relationship with james click and that's fine he went there very long even jim crane had zero relationship with him that's probably reason why he's not here but and dana you know maybe we'll break bread sometime i don't know we're i'm ready because i i i do think he did a good job he was brought here for the most important reason was to replenish the farm system and make some deals. I don't think he's intimately involved

in the serious, serious negotiations. I think when Dana speaks, what he spoke yesterday, he was speaking as obviously a guy that was going to be, he's got Jim's checkbook, but he can't sign it. He can fill it out, but he can't sign his name. He can't have the signature to it, yeah. Yeah, it's like when you were a kid and you,

well, this is way back in the day, folks, and it was something you needed for school and you guys got to bring it to your mom and have her sign it. Like a progress report. Yeah, like a progress report. or if it was, I don't know, like a check for something at school. Right.

Like you need to buy your gym clothes or something. I have written one check in five years in the last, and I wrote it within the last couple months. My old apartments used to take check for rent, and I used to do that, but that's it. But I mean, when I was younger, I really had to worry about it. Like, I was down like 25 checks. I'm like, I got to order these checks quick. Yeah.

And then you figured out if you want to put a sports logo on it or your school logo or something in the backdrop. but now I'm like, like, I think I know where my checkbook is in the house, but I'm not completely sure. You want to hear some funny. When I did my first checks when I was like 17 years old, I did old English. I did my name in old English because I thought that was cool. How stupid is that? I was like, yeah, I'd be cool. I'm getting my name in old English on my checks.

I mean, that doesn't sound ridiculous. I will say this. The coolest thing I thought as an 18-year-old was getting my first credit card. That was much to my detriment. I didn't realize I had to actually pay the bill. And those bills came for the Columbia House CDs. Yeah, when you're a freshman at college and get sent these, hey, get your first credit card, 19% interest. I'm all right with that.

I'll pay it off every month. That sounds good. We're happy to do that. All right. So we've determined that Jim Crane has the checkbook. He's giving it to Dana, but he has to sign it. Yes. It's his money.

Okay. So I'm going to paint with a broad brush on this. my guess is when at the end of the day, the most competitive offer the Astros will make will be one that will have much more validity to it than say Carl's Correa's offer, much more validity to what Garrett Cole's offer may or may not have been, much more validity to it than what George Springer's contract was. Here's the thing. If Washington, we mentioned this yesterday, if the nationals are a team that's been long rumored, does Alex say, man, I have two World Series rings. I have a gold glove. I was a part of excellent team year after year after year. I'm going to go finish my last half or the last third of my major league career. I just getting a big ass check.

And you know what? I got news for your sports fans. A lot of athletes do that. A lot of athletes will chase the check, especially after they turn the age of 30. Two-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, Glover. Runner up to MVP. Silver Slugger.

What does he have left to chase? Winning is fun. It would be just winning is fun. And who's to say the Nationals can't win? That's true because he says, I'll come here and make you relevant again. I think they have some really good young, up and coming prospects.

I've not done a deep dive on the Nationals just yet. I mean, I could. Yeah, don't quote me on that if I'm wrong. I think they do have some stuff in the pipeline. Yeah. Oh, I think No one's ever said They were a horrific organization

They just had a Really frankly since the World Series run They've been a terrible team I mean what guarantees do Let's say he stays here You're still not better than Yankees You're still not better than the Orioles I don't think

Guardians is close And I don't And while I give a Very super slim chance That Alex stays And I mean I'm putting it at about 1% I think the thought of Kyle Tucker staying here is at 0%

I think I think we're still close to on Breggman. I got swept up in the optimism 10 minutes ago. Wait a minute. You just were optimistic at 1026. How could you have changed your mind at 1037? They're going to be on the tax again if they sign them, aren't they? Yeah. Because, oh, by the way, we forgot to mention this. Guess who's talking? Who? Justin Verlander's agent and the Astros. Is this a crane white belt deal?

What is a white belt deal? When two dudes have the white belts, they want to hang out with each other as long as they can? They bump them together or what happens? No, when they play golf, they play with white belts. It's the white belt club. That's better than the White Hood Club. The White Belt Club is undefeated. Is it?

He signed away with New York the last time. He drew a line in the sand there. Well, yeah, and then everybody got hurt, and well, Astros needed starting pitching. Yeah. He signed away once. He can sign away again. So let me ask you this. Why are they talking to Justin Verlander?

You're exploring all your options. they should be talking to you say Kikuchi's people. Oh, by the way, Scott Boris. Oh, really? Okay, well, let's go. That's one meeting. One less meeting. One less sandwich you got to buy.

I wonder if you can do, if you sit down and do both guys in one conversation or if Boris is so regimented. He's like, we're only here to talk about Breggman or we're only here to talk about Qas. Yeah, he probably has a system, I'm sure. He's got all the big free agents every year. One of the most successful agents in the history of agents.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's got it down. Yeah. That may be bothered me more. Look, I love Justin Verlander. He's one of the greatest astro pitchers of all time. Yes. But it took him forever to ramp up, and he never really got ramped up. No.

He was hurt on two different occasions. He's going to be even older. When he was out there, he was bad. He was giving up home runs like crazy. It's not getting swing and miss. Stuff's not there. Do not sign. Do not sign Justin Verlander, Jim Craig.

Well, the reality is this. If you're signing Justin Verlner, I don't even know if he believes in a discount, but my guess is that you would maybe get a Jim Crane semi-discount because he likes the Astros. Yeah, he owes Tommy John discounts. He owes. I was crappy last year discounts. He owes. Well, it means that he doesn't want to go chase. Some veteran players, Hall of Famers, don't want to bounce around towards end of their career. Some are built differently. In the NBA, you see it all the time. Chris Paul's been with six teams. Chris Paul's going to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Chris Paul don't care where he goes.

He just wants to collect a check. some guys are like, you know what, I've been a Met, I've been an Astro, I've been a Tiger. Do I want to finish the last three years of my life going between Toronto and Washington and Arizona? You know, maybe some guys like familiarity. I think Justin Verlander takes the highest offer possible that he can get, no matter where it is. But maybe, and maybe this conversation between Dana and Justin's agent was just, here's the courtesy year, I was on your payroll last year, where are we at now? and maybe

Dana sets the market for where Justin may go if he wants to pitch somewhere in 2025. I don't know. All right. So there you have it on that. Yeah, I'm trying

to buy into the optimism. I just brought myself back to Earth once I thought about how it's going to be luxury tax again. And then it's just the 20% penalty, the first year, 30% the second year. That's a lot of money.

And once they get everybody through arbitration, they're going to be basically already nudged up against the time. And here's a little reality that nobody can, well, I guess some people can control. You don't have TV money coming in anymore because the Space City, now the Space City Network was owned by a group of people. Now it's owned by the team. So you don't have the automatic revenue coming in to the likes of what it was before. You got a World Series pop from attendance and that waned.

You didn't draw as many regular season that you did the previous couple of years. You took a little dip on that. And then you had the tax threshold. hold the issues. Now you do, see, you don't even really lose that much on JV's contract as most of it was paid for by the Mets. The guys you also got rid of,

the Arquitties of the world and the tray cabbages, they're blips on the radar when it comes to your salary. And oh, by the way, if you sign Bregman and you figure out a way to sign, if Verliner wants to come back and, you know, Vernliner ain't going to come back, I don't think on the cheap, where does that leave you for even talking to Kyle Tucker.

If you're already over the threshold on a second time in two consecutive years, you know, this is why baseball executives get the big money because what Jim is saying is that, you know what, Dana, here's my checkbook and here's my puzzle piece. You need to configure it for us here. But I'm giving you a number that you cannot go over on certain guys. And if it isn't what it is, we're going to move on. Problem is there's just nobody ready to play third base right now. Zach DeSenzo might be a starting first basement.

for this team. It sounds like third base isn't really an option. Shea Whitcomb. Yeah, we've been saying that. We've been saying Zendove didn't profile defensively third base. I don't know if Shea Whitcomb, again, I don't even want to use a small sample of what he saw during the course of the year. Yes.

Let's let's just erase that for memory. Eliminate the four-erer game. It never happened. I don't think anybody in the organization thought Shay Whitcomb was the heir parent, phenom. No. Just a very nice, solid. Yeah.

But going from. Bregman to Whitcomb would be losing tremendous power. Defense. And tremendous glove. And leadership. And leadership. Because Jose Altova, for as great as the leader he is, doesn't say much. He leads by example.

Who's the next greatest leader on the Astros, not named Jose Altuve. Yor Don talked about taking up a leadership role. I don't know if that really materialized because I don't know. I'm not in the clubhouse. It's a question for more for a beat reporter or something. But maybe Yordon. maybe Verlander. I mean, he's going to be gone.

Bregman, I think, was probably the big dog in terms of that type of leadership. Yeah, the squad. 713-212-5-790. 7-1-2-2-5-7-9-0. The college football playoffs were announced yesterday, at least the first round of them. We'll run through the list, see what you think. And if you're a Texas A&M fan, right now you're on the outside looking in. We'll discuss that next.

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