Astros GM Dana Brown provided an update on his efforts to extend members of the club’s core while speaking on a radio broadcast this afternoon, as noted by Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Brown acknowledged that the club is in extension negotiations with Casey Close, the agent of Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker, saying, “We’re optimistic. We think we can get something done.” while also acknowledging that any contract discussions would likely be tabled if a deal was not in place by Opening Day. Brown also mentioned that the club has begun discussions with left-hander Framber Valdez and his agent about a potential extension, as well.
Brown has been unusually candid publicly about his efforts to extend several members of the Astros core, having made public comments regarding a desire to extend not only Tucker and Valdez but also Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Cristian Javier. Of that group, only Javier has inked an extension thus far, though Altuve and Bregman are both under club control for the next two seasons, while Tucker and Valdez aren’t expected to hit free agency until the 2025-26 offseason.
Brown’s front office will certainly have the financial resources to get extensions done, as the club’s payroll situation leaves Houston plenty of room to maneuver. RosterResource pegs the club’s 2024 luxury tax commitments at just under $159.5MM, and though that figure does not include salaries due to arbitration-eligible players, even a significant raise on the $23.2MM the Astros spent in arbitration this year would leave them with plenty of room under their expected 2023 payroll, which stands at just under $218MM for luxury tax purposes.
More from around the American League…
- Sticking the the Astros, Brown also provided a health update on left fielder Michael Brantley that Rome also relayed. According to Brown, Brantley is still working his way back from the shoulder surgery that ended his season last summer, and while the expectation to this point had been that he would be ready for Opening Day, Brown has softened that expectation, now saying Brantley will be ready “a week into the season at the worst.” If Brantley does miss regular season time, Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon, and David Hensley are among those who could benefit.
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters today, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and Marly Rivera of ESPN that reliever Tommy Kahnle is on the third day of a 10-day shutdown from throwing due to biceps tendinitis. Boone said that imaging was done and showed that the tendinitis is the only issue Kahnle is dealing with, and he should be ready for Opening Day. That’s excellent news for the Yankees, as Kahnle has been a very successful reliever when healthy, with a solid 3.58 ERA (123 ERA+) and excellent 2.93 FIP in 161 innings since the start of the 2017 season. That being said, “when healthy” is the operative phrase there, as Kahnle has struggled with injuries in recent years, pitching just 13.2 innings combined the last three seasons. Fortunately, Kahnle’s current injury seems to be a fairly minor one.
- Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, that outfielder Wilyer Abreu will “be out for a while” after he sustained a left hamstring strain. Abreu was not seen as likely to make the Opening Day roster given he has yet to play above the Double-A level in his big league career, but as a player on the 40-man roster, it’s possible he reaches the big leagues at some point this year once he manages to return to the field.
Tommy tight pants returns to the Bronx 🙂
The Astros dynasty is coming to a close.
Bruthur, I gotta be honest as a Yankees fan…the Stros are set up to win unfortunately. They’re locking up young talent early and drafting well. A normal team would have been in turmoil by losing stars like Correa and Springer but they rebounded and reloaded. I still hate them for 2017 but we gotta be realistic.
@CravenMoorehead
Bruthur, I am being honest.
Out of their current lineup, they have Altuve and Brantley’s contracts ending after this season. Bregman’s contact ends after the 2024 season. Kyle Tucker & Jeremy Peña are really the only young guys on the team and they aren’t locked in yet. Pitching side, they have only extended Javier at the moment. Add in that they have on of the lowest ranked farm systems in the league right now and I just don’t see the bright spot down the road. Am I suggesting they won’t be competitive and win it all this year? No, I’m just looking down into the near future.
Altuve and Bregman signed for 2 more seasons actually. Yordan until 2028, Tucker and Framber Valdez until 2025, The only major FAs they have after 2023 are Brantley, and 2-3 RPs. I think the dynasty lives on. And who in the AL are talented and young enough to take over? Maybe TOR, BAL, SEA, but they haven’t proven to spend like the big boys (will TOR extend their arb players, who knows). NYY can spend but will Judge and Stanton hold up once their young studs are promoted? The dynasty (in the AL at least) will continue for at least 2 more seasons.
The Astros have proven they’re a developmental powerhouse, regardless of what prospect rankings say. Cristian Javier was never ranked a top 100 prospect. Framber Valdez was also not on any top 100 lists. Luis Grarcia? No top 100 love. Jose Urquidy? Made one top 100 list, and that was Baseball Prospectus at #82. Bryan Abreu was also not ranked top 100 (granted, he was a relief prospect, and relief prospects are never ranked too high). But even then, guys like Ryne Stanek and Rafael Montero had career years and were more or less low-cost pick ups even the Rays or A’s could have made.
Wait until October.
@Unclenolanrules
Which October? I’m speaking of down the road not this season. They will still be competitive this season.
Why? Because you HOPE it is?
@Valkyrie
All dynasties end at some point. The future doesn’t look bright for the Astros in my opinion.
It’s 100% wishful thinking on your part. That’s it.
And some never begin, huh? Here’s a quarter. Put it with your “opinion’ and see what it gets you.
As the saying goes, if you’re going to dream, might as well dream big.
@StroDawg
Has nothing to do with dreaming.
Hey guys, this is unrelated, but I saw him! I saw a guy sitting in the stands at a spring training game wearing a Marlins hat and jersey! I thought to myself, “AHA! That’s the guy who bought the Marlins stuff. He’s probably the guy you see in the stands at their home games with the other 40 people.” Like spotting Nessie or Sasquatch.
@BPax
I didn’t know Florida baseball fans existed.
And there it is. The irresistible need to make personal attacks. So typical of your kind.
The current Astros dynasty will go on well into the future. And they will continue to be a thorn in the craw of NY baseball fans for years to come.
NYY Fans: We want Houston!
Martín Maldonado: They asked for us. They got us. And they got SWEPT!
Better concern yourself with a NYY team that couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, much less elite pitching. And they did absolutely nothing to address their lack of offense. BTW re-signing Judge don’t count. He hit .065 in the ALCS.
The Yankees are a poorly constructed team. The fact that you swept them doesn’t mean you’re great. The WC Phillies put up more of a fight than the Yankees.
Yankees couldn’t have beaten the Phillies either.
Agreed. Phillies were a much better team.
Unless it’s a great offer, Tucker should go year to year, or at minimum wait until after this season for more serious discussions. He looks to benefit from the reduction in shifting and his SBs should also rise. He’s scheduled to be a free agent at 29. With his skillset, he has a massive payday coming.
He gets better every year. He’s already a great player but he’s going to be an MVP at some point in the next several years.
I’m sorry but with Julio and Trout in the AL, plus Judge, Ohtani (for now) there is probably 0 chance Tucker wins above all of them. Is he top 5? pretty close. top 10? yes.
He’ll probably get the deal Springer got or better if he doesn’t get any serious injures
He’s already better than Springer and will be 2 years younger when he hits FA.
Dana Brown’s approach with the media is quite unique. Talking up which players he’s working on trying to extend is not a common GM tactic.
And….. yet another hamstring issue with Boston. Hate to say I told you so, but….
Another day, a third 40-man hammy injury.
Hopefully the squad is looking at the routines here and tweaking some stuff that isn’t hamstring related.
“Hate to say I told you so, but….”
You told us that the team would have multiple hamstring issues early on in ST? Sure you did.
Also, its a Double A player, Im sure there are a lot of these injuries out there. MLBTR only feels the need to post minor Red Sox injuries for reasons.
The Astros have a pretty darn good team for the next two years, and the fans should enjoy it to the max. The future ? I don’t know right now with the new time clock along with only two throws to first if I’m going to keep my M.L.B.t.v. subscription going forward, I’m not enjoying watching it in spring training. It feels too rushed to me, but I’m not the one playing ,but as a fan, I don’t like it.
I know it’s early, but they are already trying to game the system bringing a outfielder to cover where the extra infielder was playing. You’ve got the little league hurry stay in the box stay on the rubber type of play. You have the bigger bags, and no shift, but want to eliminate throwing to first ? Good grief that makes no sense. Certainly they could do unlimited throws to first, and 25-20 on the time clock without impacting the time of game too much.
The way the Tigers are hitting home runs in Florida, is the ball juiced again ? If so will this be another 2019 ? Well, it’s early yet, but these games feel too rushed for me.
Mprck – Totally agree. Hate the pace of play crap. The game isn’t meant to have more action than Football, Basketball and Hockey. It’s still light years faster than Soccer the most popular and boring sport in the world. Not all fans have ADD or ADHD so relaxing and talking to the person you came to game with while the batter steps out and scratches his nuts isn’t a bad thing. If the temperature is 32 with a wind, sure a 2 hour game is great, but otherwise, who cares if it’s 3 hour or 4 hours if the ball park is comfortable, the weather is great and the teams have good players.
Adjustments to shifts should be what hitters due to combat the shifts but rather than making players more complete hitters, it’s easier to ban shifts for the impatient people in the stands and watching at home. The direction of baseball is to make up crap rules to limit what the defense can do so moron hitters don’t keep pulling the ball into the hands of the defense. It’s pathetic. It’s embarrassing to old time players who understood how to beat a shift.
I’m waiting for the league to put metal in the center of the baseball and huge magnets in the wood bats to ensure strikeouts are reduced!!
The direction of baseball keeps getting impacted by fads. I remember when Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz were reminding baseball fans that chicks dig the long ball. All Selig had to do was swap out the dead ball that existed in baseball until 1993 to the super juiced ball of 1994 to 2010 and POOF chicks were happy because there were more long balls and the fan base grew. Then, Selig nearly destroyed the game by diverting the attention from his juiced ball to steroids and POOF he became the savior of baseball and wrongfully threw the great players of a generation under the bus..
These rules are for Manfred not the betterment of baseball. He wants a spot in the HOF just like Selig (the little weasel). Bigger bases? How about making them with a synthetic substance that when wet will allow a player to step on it without skiddding? Maybe a new way to make the shoes so they don’t slip on wet bases. So many non baseball rules are now being implemented to hurry the game and create action rather than improving the skills of the players to adjust to changes made by the other team. It’s laziness and ignorance on the part of the MLB to keep tweaking things that aren’t broken.
Basketball did similar goofy things. No zone defenses, a certain number of players in the paint on defense and how close they must be to a player. It’s all so the teams can have more offense or action in the game. It’s not about the game at that point, it’s about the business just like the MANFRED RULES.
The juice in the baseball over the last decade accounts for the HRs in the game.
2013 – 0.959
2014 – 0.861
NEW BALL IMPLEMENTED
2015 – 1.010
2016 – 1.155
2017 – 1.256
2018 – 1.149
2019 – 1.395 *** Highest in the history of baseball
2020 – 1.283
2021 – 1.224
2022 – 1.073
When you consider the peak number for Bonds, McGwire and the wrongly accused HOF players from the 1990s was 1.172 in 2000 you can understand why guys making the majors since 2016 have hit so many home runs. It’s got nothing to do with launch angle it has everything to do with the baseball.
I agree that Spring Training may suggest a higher juice level in 2023. That will lead to new inventions by the pitchers to improve velocity and break on their pitches.
The current generation of fans are far more simulation oriented than in the past. They want to know whether Trout could hit against Sandy Koufax. What never gets mentioned in these fictitious what-if scenarios is the juice in the ball during different eras. There is a reason May and Aaron hit so many home runs compared to the batters in the 30s and 40s, the juice in the baseball. There is a reason Bonds started slowly and finished with huge HR numbers, the juice in the baseball grew 50% from the start of his career to the end of his career. The opposite happened to Aaron so his big numbers in the 50s fell back in the lower juiced era of the 60s.
Your point about the baseball was outstanding. More people need to comprehend how radically different the ball has been over time. The MLB controls the sourcing of the baseballs, the storage of the baseballs, the distribution of the baseballs and by doing so has full control over the juice in the baseball.
Just look at the last decade and recognize the juice growth from 2014 to 2019 was
62%!!!! That is more percentage growth than from Ruth’s era to Aaron’s era. That’s double the growth rate from Aaron’s era to Bond’s era!! Nobody was shouting steroids in the 1970s when they were frequently used, nobody was shouting steroids in the 1980s when they were prevalent in baseball and nobody was shouting steroids before Selig’s introduction of a juiced ball in 1995!! Today, nobody is shouting steroids when the ball is the most juiced ever. For all you who believe steroids had a significant impact on HRs, take a mathematical look at the facts.
The HRs/Game/Year did not grow during the first 20 years of steroids but when the ball changed in 1995 the HRs jumped by over 20%. They stayed at a new plateau until the late 2000s then a new ball was introduced that dropped the juice below the levels that existed in 1994 before the new ball was introduced.
The baseball accounts for the misconception that steroids impacted the HRs. The data shows conclusively that IT DID NOT AFFECT HRS!!! The new baseball did just like in every year since 1871.
Mprck – Thank you so much for pointing out the juiced baseball. People need to educate themselves and dismiss the fallacy of the steroid era..
Fantastic comment, I really enjoyed reading it. Keep them coming in the future. You made so many great points. Excellent.
Two thirds of fans like the new rules. I’m one of them.
There will be tweaks to improve the new rules. But, they are for the betterment of the game not the commissioner’s ego.
Interesting how all the Red Sox haters are slowly disappearing. Only the die-hearts remain.
1) Best record in ST.
2) Some young players are putting up great numbers
3) Team is relatively healthy, other than minor injuries
Where are all the “guaranteed for last place” trollls? Id take that bet in a heartbeat.
Rsmith – yes, lol, IMO the Red Sox have more trolls than any other team…. I have muted over 100 haters (no reason to waste my time on their personal baggage). They can wallow in it…
The Red Sox needed to turn over the roster, but it has taken several years. They have a lot of good young prospects of the way!
rsmith and JC# – Seriously? This article had next to no Red Sox content. The reason nobody bothered to speak the truth is that there was only mention of a worthless player and an even more worthless manager.
Best record in ST? hahahaha what a joke. Check who they have played.
The DIEHARD FANS who hate what has happened don’t hate the young players they hate what the ownership, Bloom and Cora have done since DD was fired.
Relatively healthy? hahahaha Do facts matter at all to you guys? WOW.
GUARANTEED LAST PLACE. Everything is still true but it’s hard to get fired up about a blurb on Abreu and Cora.
JC# – muted over 100 haters!! hahahaha That means all the diehard fans get muted so the guys paid to compliment Bloom are the only things you get to read!! hahaha
You two high school kids belong on Over the Wall. You need a website that is a cocoon to protect you from reality. The Red Sox suck this year based on talent level, Managerial skills and GM skills. Those are the facts. Sorry but hiding from them doesn’t make them wrong. Calling people names doesn’t change the situation.
The real Red Sox fans will let you know when something good actually happens. Winning the first few games of Spring Training is about as irrelevant as what color uniforms they wear each day. The opposing line-ups haven’t had the other team’s star players. They typically play against the competitive teams early in ST. The Red Sox have played the Astros with no Bregman, Altuve, Alvarez and you think that win is important? Significant? Seriously, are you guys even in High School or grade school? No adult fan is that naive. These games are meaningless.
At the end of April when they are 10 games out, let me know what you think then..
“Best record in ST? hahahaha what a joke. Check who they have played.”
The teams they have played so far, had a .522 winning percentage last year. It includes 2 games against the WS champions, and 1 against the WS loser. And for every Bregman substitute playing theres a Narcisco Cook, Niko Goodrum, Nick Sogard or Daniel Palka playing for the Red Sox.
Heres one for you:
Which group would you want your team to be associated with?
Royals, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Cubs, Astros
or
Marlins, Athletics, Giants, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Nationals
-The first set have the best records in Spring Training, along w/ Red Sox.
-The second set have the worst records in Spring Training.
Big difference in talent right there, showing ST games are meaningless in the standings, but still relevant. And the Red Sox are hanging in the right neighborhood.
rsmith the spin doctor – Dude, seriously?. Do you even read the comment before you respond?
March 1 – Tied the Astros – Who played? Altuve, Pena Who didn’t play? The rest of the starters from the World Championship team FINAL = 4 -4
Is that a good tie? Nobody played for Boston so this was like two AAA teams playing each other except for 2 players. Most of the pitchers in the game were minor league pitchers.
GAME – IRRELELEVANT
March 2 – Beat PHILLY = Who played? Schwarber and Bohm. Who didn’t play? The rest of the team that played in the WS and lost. Is this a noteworthy win?
Boston started it’s normal line-up and Philly treated it as a B Game that day.
Does this count and indicative of the season? NOPE.
GAME – IRRELEVANT
March 3 – Beat the Twins – Who played? About half the Twins starting fielders and most of Boston’s starting fielders. Who pitched? Sonny Gray for Twins and 0 ER by Boston off him. The 9 runs came off minor league pitchers. Boston pitched Paxton for 1.2 innings. The rest of the pitchers were like the Twins, guys hoping to make the team.
GAME – IRRELEVANT
March 4 – Tied Astros again – No box score
March 5 – Beat Miami = No box score
A lack of box scores makes these games IRRELEVANT. A tie with HOU is good if their starters played. Beating Miami is something we should expect during the regular season just like Detroit. The two teams are bottom of the barrel teams like Boston.
March 6 – Beat Detroit – Sale threw 2 good innings and Boston played its regular players. Detroit pitched youngster Manning and played Baez from their regulars. This team is really bad but Boston did beat a bad team.
Yep. Some ST they’ve had. Haven’t played starters on good teams but did beat a really bad team with their ace.
So impressive!! hahahaha Next time read the comment. I pointed out that they hadn’t beat any good teams playing their starters not that they hadn’t beat any good teams.
ST games are irrelevant except for injuries. The top hitters out of ST seldom end up the top hitters for the season. Your comments are very naive. As if you haven’t seen 60 or more spring trainings and have a complete understanding of it’s significance.
So far the hitters with the most at bats show the following:
Tapia 17 at bats .412 avg .412 OBP
Arroyo 15 at bats .267 avg .267 OBP
Casas 15 at bats .400 avg .438 OBP
Fitzgerald 15 at bats .333 avg .412 OBP
This shows who Cora is giving playing time to but it’s against mostly minor league pitchers. Is that any indication of how the season will go? NOPE.
Enjoy spring training but don’t read much into it except tracking the injuries and seeing if players coming off injuries look ok. The season is a much different animal.
“A lack of box scores makes these games IRRELEVANT.”
You dont even know how to look up boxscores? I can find EVERY BOXSCORE. Altuve went 0-3 in the second game.
Lacking the ability to look at stats makes your opinion IRRELEVANT. You are a moron.