Houston Astros Have Shed Significant Payroll This Offseason
The Houston Astros have had a busy offseason and are coming out of the other side with a much lower payroll.
MLB-data focused X-account BrooksGate shared a graph that showed each team's current tax payroll compared to last season.
As of now, the Astros are sitting at just under $228 million. That is nearly $37 million lower than last year's number.
There is still a ways to go before the season, so some players could still be signed, but it would be shocking to see Houston make another move that featured a significant amount of salary.
The biggest change was getting Justin Verlander's money off the books. He had a payroll salary of $43 million, which certainly hurt the team's tax outlook.
Houston traded for Verlander at the 2023 deadline from the New York Mets after he signed a two-year, $86.6 million deal. While the Astros didn't have to pay all of that money, it still counted heavily against the salary tax.
They certainly didn't get their money's worth after his injury-plagued 2024 which saw him post a 5.48 ERA in 90.1 innings pitched.
The two sides are officially parting ways again as the 41-year-old ace just signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.
Houston's largest added contract this offseason has been that of first baseman Christian Walker.
In an effort to finally curb the issues at the position, the Astros shelled out a three-year, $60 million deal with Walker.
Last year, Houston first basemen combined for a slash line of just .226/.291/.360. Having both that spot and the outfielders struggling for much of the season was a huge handicap.
Walker has been red hot over the last few years of his career. Since 2021, he has a slash line of .250/.332/.481 with an average of 32 home runs per campaign.
He is just the second-highest paid player on the team, though, as Jose Altuve is still in the top spot.
Altuve was signed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension that kicks in this season. It is a front-loaded deal, which means he will be making $33 million for the first three years.
Perhaps they can use the leftover money to invest in their future with Framber Valdez hitting free agency next season.
Letting Tucker go to get a haul of younger players is one thing, but Valdez may be the even more important one to keep around as the ace of their pitching staff.