(SportsRadio 610) - While the Astros started with their bid for a record of 11 consecutive Opening Day victories being thwarted, that won’t stop them from trying to make history this season.
Having won two World Series titles within the last six seasons, they’ll try for a third in seven years this season and try and become the first repeat champions since the New York Yankees won three consecutive titles from 1998-2000.
“I tell people we took all the little signs down from the poles out there in left field and we only want big ones” Astros owner Jim Crane said.
“Those are AL championships, as I was looking at it (Wednesday) there’s three of those and two World Series, so we need to level that out, I like things balanced.”
At some point in the not too distant future, Crane and the Astros will have to decide whether to hand out some crooked numbers to marquee players and make even more history as a franchise.
Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker may very well be on the precipice of commanding one of the game’s biggest contracts.
Tucker, just 26 years old and fresh off a second consecutive 30 home run season was MLB’s only 30-homer, 25-steal players in 2022.
If Tucker continues the torrid pace to his career as he enters his fourth straight season as the Astros everyday right fielder, he should be in line for one of those $300M mega-contracts.
Since the conclusion of the 2019 season, 15 of the 20 largest contracts in MLB history have been signed. All but two of them (Nationals Stephen Strasburg & Angles Anthony Rendon signed for 7 years in 2019) are worth at least 9 years and $280 million dollars.
Astros Opening Day starter Framber Valdez is coming off of a breakout season in which he won 17 games with a 2.82 ERA.
The 29-year old Dominican led MLB in complete games (3), shutouts (1), innings pitched (201.1), batters faced (827) and finished 5th in American League Cy Young Award voting.
He too could be in for a hefty pay day, but like Tucker, while both ascending players at their respective positions, there is doubt as to whether or not the Astros will be the team that pays them.
Crane said Thursday the team is going to concentrate on a good start for now, but could revisit negotiations with both Tucker and Valdez down the road.
“We’ve been back and forth, I think those things have been put to the side for now, maybe they’ll fire back up in the middle of the year but for right now, there’s no more progress there.”
General manager Dana Brown, who’s in his first season with the club is on the same page with Crane regarding the window of negotiations remaining open but not active for now.
“We’ve put that on pause for right now,” Brown said. “We’re not going in that direction at this point in time. It could pick up at some point during the season but right now we’re not in discussions at all. There’s no hard deadline set, it’s just at a pause right now.”