Astros Arbitration Rundown UPDATED

by David Coleman on Jan 19, 2010 1:59 PM CST in News

According to McTaggart's updated story, the Astros have reached pre-arbitration agreements with Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom and Humberto Quintero.

"I'm thankful and I'm happy," Bourn said via Tags.

Bourn will make 2.4 million plus a bonus, while Lindstrom will make 1.65 mill and Quintero clocks in at 750,000. Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez and Tim Byrdak all filed arbitration numbers earlier today. Our go-to guy has more info on Twitter. Pence filed at 4.1 million, while the Astros filed at 3.1. Wandy filed at 7 million while the Astros filed at 5 million. Byrdak filed at 1.9 million while the Astros offered 1.3.

As AstrosCounty notes, if you split all those figures, Houston's 2010 payroll comes in right at 90 million, which is 15 million less than 2009. The filings also show just how crafty Tal Smith is at his job.

Pence was worth 3.3 WAR in 2009 with Wandy at 4.0. As clack recently debated in the comments of this article, the value of one win is somewhere around 3.5-4.5 million. Maybe more, maybe less, depending on a lot of factors. If you look at Pence and Wandy, they were each worth over 10 million last season, but that's a big jump for a team to make in arbitration. I mean, Tim Lincecum only filed at 13 million, coming off back-to-back Cy Young Awards.

No, the value here is in how the Astros played it. By successfully pegging reasonable figures close to that filed by players, the team can win the decision and not face too much animosity. Plus, there is mutual ground if they want to come to a long-term agreement in the future. Just remember, Pence will be 27 in April and Wandy turned 31 yesterday. Committing long term dollars to either right now is a risk.

I think the Bourn deal is pretty reasonable, especially since he's had just one great year. Quintero's contract will make him fungible if the Astros decide to break camp with another catcher while Lindstrom's deal is actually really reasonable considering he may be the primary setup man. Consider that Doug Brocail earned 2.75 million last season, and Lindstrom is a steal.

Biz of Baseball's Maury Brown noted that there have been 50 contracts reached today alone with arbitration-eligible players. Looks like a trend to me. If the Astros can reach a deal with either Pence or Wandy, they will probably consider themselves lucky.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Seems pretty solid

Looks pretty good for the Astros. I especially like the Lindstrom deal considering I beleive he will end up as closer.

Wandy and Pence will be the big ones. Although they do deserve nice raises, just hope they are reasonable.

Also, when will the front office take a stab at locking up Pence for the future?

by baggs on Jan 19, 2010 2:14 PM CST reply actions

I’m probably not the best person to ask that, because I’m firmly of the opinion that Pence’s value is inversely related to his pay-scale. He’s the kind of player who is great at league-minimum salary, good when he’s paid a couple million and increasingly less valuable as he gets older/more overpaid.

Don’t get me wrong, Pence is a good player. I just think his skill set can be found at multiple places in the minors and in free agency. No reason to overpay with a long-term deal just yet.

by David Coleman on Jan 19, 2010 3:06 PM CST up reply actions

I agree

I think Pence needs another year or two of evaluating to see what you have with him before locking him up for the long term.

by Timothy De Block on Jan 20, 2010 9:07 AM CST up reply actions

The idea of signing him to a longer contract now, is to basically base his salary on his performance so far. I can’t see him getting worse over the next few years and I can’t see him playing anywhere else. So why not lock him in sooner rather than wait for for a breakout season where he will be able to demand more per season?

by baggs on Jan 20, 2010 9:52 AM CST up reply actions

I think you’ve hit on the key…whether you think Pence will show improvement over the next few years. If you think Pence is going to have a year where he plays on a higher level, then a lock-in deal makes sense.

I’ve come to feel like the Pence we’ve seen is the Pence we’re going to get for the next few years. Furthermore, the Astros have the most depth in the minors in the outfield…I’d rather not commit ourselves to a contract that might prevent that depth from percolating to the majors.

by AstroAndy on Jan 20, 2010 10:55 AM CST up reply actions

Pence is a fan-favorite and i don’t want to see him wearing any other uniform and i don’t see him regressing in the next 4-5 years. So, locking him up now for that long will save money in the long run possibly and if he does somehow become even better he has even more value. Then after that work him on smaller contracts as he hits his regression years.

by Subber10 on Jan 20, 2010 3:07 PM CST up reply actions

Pence...

I have to agree with Dave here. Pence is a good ballplayer. He is a fan favorite, probably because he is young and energetic, and plays the game the right way. He is not…a superstar. No reason to go all out on a guy who can probably be replaced for 2mill. Now, I am hoping this will be another big year for Hunter. 30HR’s 100rbi’s…all that good stuff. If he can show to be that guy…then when it is time for him to hit FA, then lock him up. But to give a guy who hit .275ish, with 25hr and 80 something rbi’s a huge deal at this point…na…not me. GO ASTROS.

by StaffSgtStrosFan on Jan 19, 2010 3:45 PM CST reply actions

I still think a 3-4 year deal for Pence

$15-20 wouldn’t be a bad way to go on, at all. Sure, it doesn’t give him the greatest surplus value ever. However, for the second half of that deal, surplus value doesn’t really matter to the Astros. What does matter is that the Astros manage to keep a control on costs heading into next year and then manage to save more once the contracts are unloaded. That would free Pence up right as he begins an age related decline, and hopefully the Astros can replace him with someone in house, or just cheaper. Include some kind of an option to hold him for his age 32 season, too, maybe.

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by Stephen Higdon on Jan 19, 2010 5:15 PM CST reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Current Series

3 game series vs Rockies @ Minute Maid Park

Colorado Rockies Purple Row @ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes Friday, Apr 6, 2012, 6:05 PM CDT Minute Maid Park Complete Coverage >
Sat 04/07		6:05 PM CDT
Sun 04/08		1:05 PM CDT

NL Central Standings

	PCT	STRK
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	.000	Lost 0
Cincinnati Red Reporter	.000	Lost 0
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	.000	Lost 0
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	.000	Lost 0
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	.000	Lost 0
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	.000	Lost 0