The Astros have three 2011 options to consider after the season:
- Lance Berkman has a $15MM club option with a $2MM buyout. Berkman has indicated he might move on if the option is declined; MLBTR's Luke Adams discussed the situation recently. Berkman had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on March 13th and recently had it drained for a fifth time.
- Brett Myers has an $8MM mutual option with a $2MM buyout. As MLBTR's Mike Axisa noted a month ago, mutual options are baseball's new fad and typically don't serve as actual options. It's highly likely that one of the sides will want to decline.
- Geoff Blum also has a mutual option; at $1.65MM it's more plausible the two sides work something out.
The Astros also have Kaz Matsui, Pedro Feliz, Brian Moehler, and Jason Michaels up for free agency after the season. The four are earning $13.3MM in 2010.
Felipe Paulino is projected to enter his first arbitration year. Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, and Chris Sampson will face arbitration for the second time. Wandy Rodriguez and Humberto Quintero will go for the third time, Tim Byrdak a fourth. A few of these players might be non-tendered, though. On the other hand, the Astros could consider locking up Pence, Bourn, or Rodriguez with big '10 seasons.
Raises to under-contract players are insignificant, with Roy Oswalt and Brandon Lyon each getting a $1MM bump in 2011.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
