Young open to playing in hometown of Houston

HOUSTON -- Former All-Star outfielder Chris Young has certainly found a comfort level hitting at Minute Maid Park, but could it be his home ballpark next year?

Young, who is a free agent after hitting 12 homers and driving in 40 runs with the A's in 107 games last season, said Thursday he would like to play in his hometown of Houston, but he said he didn't know if his agent had been in contact with the Astros.

"Every team is an option," said Young, who went to Houston baseball power Bellaire High School. "I love Houston. I'm from Houston and play well in Houston and always have. Something about being home that's refreshing to me. I love everything about the city and the team. They're growing, and I feel they're going to make some moves here soon. They have a good future. I'm open to all the possibilities."

Young, 30, is a career .235 hitter, with 144 homers and 448 RBIs in eight years, including seven with the D-backs, where he was coached by current Astros manager Bo Porter. In 52 games against the Astros, he's a career .325 hitter with 12 homers and 47 RBIs, including .392 with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 23 games at Minute Maid Park.

"There's quite a few teams I'm in conversations with right now," Young said. "It's an exciting time for me. It's the first time I've been able to have more of an input on where I played and where I end up at, and now it's prime time for me to be able to go somewhere I want to go and help the team win."

Former Astros pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who had a strong year with the Mets last year, says a return to Houston isn't in the cards.

"I've got some teams that are showing a lot of interesting right now," Hawkins, 41, said. "But it's still early. Hopefully things will shake out towards the Winter Meetings next month."