It’s a bit hard to believe that one of the best available players at the start of the winter remains unsigned just days before most teams report to spring training, but here we are.

Alex Bregman has been a borderline superstar during his 9-year career, helping the Astros to two World Series titles, while appearing in 2 All Star games and twice finishing top-5 in AL MVP voting.

Despite that, most teams seem unwilling to give Bregman the long-term deal that he’s reportedly been seeking this winter.

MLB Trade Rumors had him pegged for a 7-year, $182 million contract, which is exactly what shortstop Willy Adames wound up signing for earlier this offseason.

Adames has been good but he’s just a year younger than Bregman, and the latter has been a better player throughout the course of their careers. So it’s a bit surprising to see Adames ink a deal for 7 years while Bregman is still waiting for the right contract offer.

Alex Bregman is reportedly holding out for a long-term contract

As Bob Nightengale recently reported, Bregman hasn’t drawn back from that demand at all. He’s reportedly still searching for a long-term deal.

How many years exactly is unclear.

He turned down a 6-year offer from Houston earlier this winter, though it was also recently reported that the Astros had increased that offer and have left it standing on the table in the event that Bregman wants to return.

We’ve also gotten reports that Bregman has received short-term contract offers from Detroit, Toronto, and Boston, those presumably being in the 3-4 year range.

It’s certainly possible that Bregman is trying to talk one of those front offices into upping their offer and either matching or beating the one he received from Houston.

But from an Orioles’ fan’s perspective, we’re left hoping that those teams hold their ground and he winds up taking the deal offered by the Astros.

It would be a brutal outcome for the O’s if Bregman were to land in the AL East and they were forced to face off against him for the next handful of years.

Wherever Bregman winds up, he’s going to be a difference maker. He’s an exceptional hitter and has some of the best plate discipline in the entire league.

The Orioles will be lucky if neither the Red Sox nor the Blue Jays are wise enough to up the ante and give him the long-term deal he’s seeking.