Friday is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange desired salary figures for the 2023 season, which usually leads to many contracts being settled. The Astros have eight arbitration-eligible players, led by All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez. Tucker, who hit .257 with 30 homers, 107 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 150 games last year and won a Gold Glove in the American League, is going through the arbitration process for the first time and stands to get a substantial raise from the $764,200 he made last season. The Astros have approached Tucker about a contract extension in the past but have yet to work one out. Valdez, meanwhile, made $3 million last year in his first year of arbitration eligibility and backed that up with a terrific 2022 season. He went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA in 31 starts and set a Major League single-season record by throwing 25 consecutive quality starts from April 25-Sept. 18. Valdez led the AL with 26 quality starts and 201 1/3 innings pitched, made his first All-Star team and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting. |
A pair of relievers -- Ryne Stanek and Phil Maton -- are in their final year of arbitration before becoming free agents next year. Stanek ($2.1 million in '22) posted a 1.15 ERA in the regular season, setting a club record for lowest ERA by a pitcher in a season. Maton ($1.55 million) posted a 3.84 ERA, but he missed the playoffs after breaking his hand when he punched a locker in the final days of the regular season. Houston's remaining arbitration-eligible players are going through the process for the first time -- starting pitchers José Urquidy and Cristian Javier, utility player Mauricio Dubón and lefty reliever Blake Taylor, whose 2022 season was derailed by injuries. If the two sides don't come to a contract agreement by Friday, they can continue to negotiate before they take their cases to an arbitration panel, which will pick a side. Well, that's what the rules say. Under former general manager James Click, whose contract expired after the 2022 season, the Astros were a "file-and-trial" team, which meant they didn't negotiate after the filing deadline. |
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Jose Altuve will begin the 2023 season needing 65 hits to become the third Astros player to reach 2,000 hits, joining Craig Biggio (3,060) and Jeff Bagwell (2,314). Which opposing pitcher gave up Altuve's 1,000th career hit? A) Jaime García
B) Alex Reyes
C) Zach Duke
D) Seunghwan Oh |
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The start of Spring Training is still more than a month away, but Minute Maid Park and Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas -- home of the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys -- will whet your baseball appetite in the meantime with some college baseball tournaments. • The 2023 Houston Winter Invitational kicks it off with a three-day tournament at Minute Maid Park from Feb. 3-5, featuring Arkansas Tech, Chico State, Flagler, Montevallo, North Greenville and Central Missouri -- the alma mater of Astros owner Jim Crane. • The inaugural Cactus Jack HBCU Classic will be held at Minute Maid Park from Feb. 17-19. The tournament will feature six historically black colleges and universities in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi: Texas Southern, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Grambling State, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State. • The 23rd annual Shriners Children's College Classic will return to Minute Maid Park from March 3-5 and features some of the top college programs in the nation: Louisville, Michigan, Rice, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and TCU. Rice (Jose Cruz Jr.) and TCU (Kirk Saarloos) are coached by former Astros players. • The inaugural Sugar Land Classic will be held Feb. 24-26 at Constellation Field and will feature Lamar, New Mexico State, Northwestern State, Seton Hall, Stephen F. Austin and Houston Christian (formerly Houston Baptist), which is coached by former Astros star Lance Berkman. Constellation Field will also play host to a four-game series between Purdue and Holy Cross (Feb. 17-19) and five University of St. Thomas games: Feb. 21 (vs. UT-Dallas), March 14 (vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor), April 15 (vs. University of Dallas) and April 16 (doubleheader against Dallas). |
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D) Seunghwan Oh Oh of the Cardinals surrendered Altuve's 1,000th career hit on Aug. 16, 2016, with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Astros' 8-5 loss. Altuve reached the milestone in 786 games, making him the fastest player to 1,000 hits in franchise history. |
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