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Houston Astros agree to sign the sensational ace for $125 million on a five year contract due to…
José Altuve and the Houston Astros agreed to a $125 million, five-year contract that covers 2025-29
Houston announced a new multiyear deal for Altuve on Tuesday without disclosing financial details.
Altuve has a $26 million salary for 2024 in the final season of a $163.5 million, seven-year deal. The eight-time All-Star second baseman would have been eligible for free agency after this year’s World Series.
His new agreement includes a $15 million signing bonus, payable upon the contract’s approval by Major League Baseball, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not announced.
Altuve will have salaries of $30 million annually from 2025-27 and $10 million apiece in 2028 and ’29.
A three-time batting champion and the 2017 AL MVP, the 33-year-old Altuve hit .311 with 15 homers, 51 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 90 games last year. He broke his left thumb when hit by a pitch from Daniel Bard while playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and didn’t make his season debut until May 19.
Altuve helped the Astros win their first two World Series titles in 2017 and ’22. He was voted the AP Male Athlete of the Year in 2017.
Altuve became the first second baseman guaranteed to top $300 million in career earnings.
Bregman is going to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season but the Astros are not likely to offer a contract that would be able to keep him from testing the open market, according to Bob Nightingale of USA TODAY Sports.
Nightengale writes the following: “The Houston Astros plan to make All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman a contract offers before he hits free agency, but it’s not expected to come close to the $300 million over 10 years it likely will take to keep him. No Astros player has ever received a contract longer than six years or more than $150 million.”
Bregman’s agent, the one and only Scott Boras, said recently that Bregman and Altuve being at different stages in their careers led to a different contract for the second baseman than the one it would require to retain the third baseman. Houston’s aversion to spending could cost them a homegrown star.
The 29-year-old Bregman remains a sensational hitter, recording more walks than strikeouts for the second straight season with an OPS of .812, 191 RBIs and 48 home runs over that time. The Astros may be becoming the team of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Yainer Diaz and Jeremy Peña but the veterans still make them one of the most dangerous teams in the sport. With Bregman just now approaching his 30s, he’s someone Houston should absolutely keep around.
