Jeff Bagwell admitted he's ready and hopeful to rejoin the Houston Astros after breaking ties with the organization four years ago.
Having spent his entire 15-year career in Houston, the franchise leader in home runs and RBIs unceremoniously left the team after one season as hitting coach in 2010, claiming that he "didn't like the direction it was going."
At the urging of his agent, and of former teammate and current Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, Bagwell is ready to get back into coaching.
"Yes, actually I am," Bagwell told Jorge de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle when asked if he's serious about a return. "But I need to talk to [manger] AJ [Hinch] first. I want to know exactly how he feels. To me I’m an outsider coming in, which is really weird for me."
Bagwell, who retired following the 2005 season, reiterated that his intentions are serious and that he's concentrated on coaching again.
"I don’t want to go to spring training to put a jersey on my back if they don't want my input," he said. "I don’t want to just go to put a uniform on. I'd want to help."
