HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Signing players to long-term extensions has been a staple of how the Atlanta Braves run their organization. In the last four years they've handed out five contract extensions that will last for at least seven seasons, while the Astros, on the other hand, have never guaranteed a player more than six, but with former Braves executive Dana Brown running baseball operations that philosophy could be changing.
"Fasten your seatbelt, cause it's time," Brown said he told owner Jim Crane. "If you don't want players to walk out the door, you have to really be locked in to how good this player is. what do you project this future to be, and try to get them locked up."
The Astros have allowed an All-Star to leave in free agency five straight offseasons. Dallas Keuchel was not re-signed after the 2018 season, Gerrit Cole left after 2019, George Springer followed in 2020, Carlos Correa went to Minnesota last spring 2021, and Justin Verlander left for New York this winter.
Despite the defections, the Astros keep plugging away thanks to a tremendous player development program and robust farm system, but at some point, the well dries up.
Due to pick forfeitures from the sign stealing scandal, trades, and multiple bad drafts, the Astros farm system ranks near the bottom of most public rankings, so keeping the players already on the Major League roster is imperative, and one way to make that happen is to lock a player before he even hits free agency.
"I think the players are motivated to get it done," Brown said. "Sometimes the agents are motivated to get it done, and I think we could meet somewhere in the middle that you can continue to sustain the winning if you could continue to sign good players."
Brown, who has been on the job for two weeks, said at a media luncheon on Thursday that he's already talked with representatives for multiple players who are candidates for extensions, a list that includes but isn't limited to Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman.
In order to get deals done with those players or anyone else Crane will probably have to leave his five-year comfort zone, which he's done only on Yordan Alvarez's six-year extension last summer, but Brown doesn't think he'll have to too far out of that zone because players will be motivated by the financial security the team is willing to give them.
"Let's say if you don't sign and you get injured, your career could be shorter, right? But if you sign you know that you're locked into that contract. It's a risk on both sides, and I think relationships is a big part of this, and I think that you have to put the fanbase first, and you have to go after these players, and you have to try to sign them."
With his contract due to expire after the 2024 season, Bregman told Fox 26 his agent, Scott Boras, and Brown have already started talking. Boras also represents Altuve, who is also a free agent after the 2024 season. Tucker, Valdez, and Javier are under team control for three more seasons, but keep an eye on the Astros getting extensions done for pre-arbitration players Jeremy Peña, Luis Garcia, and Hunter Brown.
Ronald Acuña Jr, Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider, and Michael Harris signed extensions with the Braves before hitting arbitration.
