These Are the Four Worst Houston Astros Contracts on Next Season's Payroll

While the Houston Astros are still a dynasty, that does not mean they are immune to bad contracts.

Nov 1, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) receives a new ball after conceding a home run to Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber (12) during the fifth inning in game three of the 2022 World Series at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have been the most recent dynasty in MLB, a run that started in 2017 and has yet to come to an end.

As the run grows longer, the chance of bad contracts begins to increase with aging stars who helped lead the charge beginning to decline and underperforming players on the edges impacting the success and failure of a team.

The Astros have not been immune to that, and these are the four worst contracts currently on the club's payroll for 2025.

SP Cristian Javier

Three years, $53.2 Million

Cristian Javier took the world by storm with what he was able to do on the mound for Houston, a team that prides itself in their pitching.

In his first three years in Major League Baseball, the starter carried a 3.05 ERA across 304 1/3 innings in 78 games (44 starts) with 378 strikeouts and a 134 ERA+.

That led the club to sign Javier to a five-year, $64 million extension ahead of 2023, erasing his years of arbitration and keeping him under team control for two extra seasons.

The starter has shown his appreciation by pitching to a 4.44 ERA across 196 2/3 innings in 38 starts since, with 186 strikeouts and a 95 ERA+.

Javier also underwent Tommy John surgery in June and will miss most, if not all of 2025, while making $10.4 million.

OF Chas McCormick

Arbitration Projection of $4.8 Million

Chas McCormick has spent his career with the Astros as a fourth outfielder, filling in when guys need days off or are injured.

That worked for the first three years of his career, but in 2024, McCormick's production took a massive nosedive.

From 2021 through 2023, the outfielder batted .259/.336/.449 with 50 home runs, 164 RBI, and a 117 OPS+ across 1,184 plate appearances in 342 games.

In 2024, McCormick batted .211/.271/.306 with five home runs, 27 RBI, and a 66 OPS+ across 267 plate appearances in 94 games.

McCormick did still provide top-tier defense in the outfield in 2024, but when filling for guys like Kyle Tucker, players cannot perform at such a poor level.

Utility Mauricio Dubon

Arbitration Projection of $6.5 Million

Mauricio Dubon's value comes in his defensive flexibility, being able to man every position in the field but catcher, something he has done in two of his three seasons with Houston.

The downfall is the lack of offensive production Dubon provides, batting just .262/.294/.371 with 17 home runs, 109 RBI, and an 87 OPS+ across 1,136 plate appearances in 352 games.

He is a more than capable defender at each position, posting a zero or better in Outs Above Average for 2024, but with a current arbitration projection of $6.5 million, the club needs much better offensive production from someone who will be in the lineup so frequently.

SP Lance McCullers

Two years, $35.4 Million

Lance McCullers and the Astros went through the entirety of his club control before signing his five-year, $85 million contract.

From 2015 through 2021, the starter pitched to a 3.57 ERA across 671 innings in 122 games (119 starts) with 750 strikeouts and a 116 ERA+.

McCullers never pitched in more than 28 games in that span, missed all of 2019 due to injury, and qualified for the ERA title only once, in 2021.

Since signing the contract, McCullers has pitched to a 2.27 ERA, which is great, but it has come in only 47 2/3 innings across eight starts, which is not great.

All eight of those starts came in 2022. The pitcher has not stepped onto a Major League mound in a meaningful game since Oct. 3 of that year.

Injuries have kept McCullers off the field for two full consecutive seasons while he has accounted for $33.6 million on the team's payroll in that time.

The starter is still owed $35.4 million across the next two years on a deal that could go down as one of the worst in franchise history.

All figures accurate as of Dec. 3.