Astros frothing over 6 more seasons of Yordan Alvarez – Houston Chronicle

For a franchise that often bids farewell, Monday offered a refreshing reprieve. Seven Astros and one coach entered a conference room, sat below a cadre of cameramen and focused their attention toward the man towering over the dais.

Yordan Alvarez did not anticipate the support of so many teammates on the day his life changed. He arrived in Houston amid relative anonymity, a throw-in player in a trade few will ever forget. He is now among the next faces of Astros baseball.

I feel very happy, Alvarez said through an interpreter. That wasnt something I was expecting to see all of them there. Im really grateful from day one, the day I was called up, that they gave me the opportunity and trusted in me. I felt I was in the majors for a while with the trust they put in me. Im super grateful.

The Astros have sacrificed some cornerstones in the name of sustainability, a franchise-building buzzword repeated by both general managers Jeff Luhnow and successor James Click whove guided this team through its golden era. George Springer and Carlos Correa are elsewhere after failed extension attempts and the Astros aversion to long-term free-agent deals.

The six-year, $115 million contract extension Alvarez signed Monday will keep him in Houston through 2028, his age 31 season. Its the sort of deal Houston could not entice some of its former faces to take.

Pre-arbitration extensions sacrifice short-term financial gains for long-term security. Alvarez will make a $7 million base salary next season. Had he gone through the salary arbitration process this winter and continued on his current pace of production, he had a chance to reach Cody Bellingers salary record for a first-time arbitration-eligible player. Bellinger received $11.5 million in January 2020, the winter after winning National League MVP honors.

Arbitration salaries increase during all three seasons. Performance dictates how much. Alvarez could have positioned himself to pile money through the process before reaching free agency and perhaps landing a megadeal.

For me, that was something I thought about a little bit, but obviously, the extension came up, Alvarez said through an interpreter. I talked about it with my agent, and we thought it was the right decision to be here.

After making $10 million in 2024 and $15 million in 2025, Alvarez will be paid $26 million in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the three free-agent years this deal bought out. Whether it is a bargain or a bloated deal might not be known until those years arrive and the market for Alvarezs counterparts manifests. Still, the Astros commitment cant be questioned. The deal trails only Jose Altuves five-year, $151 million extension for the largest in team history.

Owner Jim Crane did not attend the news conference celebrating the second-largest contract of his ownership tenure, thus making him unavailable for comment. Crane has not taken questions in a news conference or scrum setting since November.

He has, however, overseen extensions for starter Lance McCullers Jr. and closer Ryan Pressly over the last calendar year. Pressly, McCullers, Altuve, Alvarez, third baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder Kyle Tucker are all under contract through at least 2024.

Around the same time they approached Alvarez, the Astros tried to extend Tucker, but negotiations fell apart. Tucker has not ruled out the possibility of re-engaging during the season. Click on Monday declined comment about the possibility in hopes of keeping the focus toward Alvarez.

This is a conversation weve been having for quite a while, Click said. Sometimes it would pick up, sometimes it would slow down a little bit, but certainly over the last week or so it became clear that both sides were motivated to get something done.

At 24, Alvarez has already separated himself as one of baseballs most feared hitters. He debuted on June 9, 2019 and unanimously won American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Since the day he entered the majors, no American League hitter has a higher OPS or slugging percentage. If not for two knee surgeries that sidelined him for most of the 2020 season, his numbers might be even bigger.

Alvarez entered Mondays game against the Mariners as Houstons leader in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and, somehow, triples.

I think hes the best hitter I ever played with, Altuve said. Its amazing what he can do. He can hit the ball the other way. He can get triples, homers. He walks. Hes a really good hitter. Im happy about this deal. I know how hard he worked for it. Just knowing were going to have Yordan six more years means a lot.

The Astros commitment signals a thought Alvarez will only improve. He started in left field Monday for the 21st time this season, keeping him on pace to play more defense than over his first three major league seasons combined. Uneasiness about his knees contributed to the teams hesitancy, but Alvarez can now claim a clean bill of health.

Everyone else didnt think he was a good outfielder, outfield coach Gary Pettis said. Ive seen Yordan play the outfield. What hes doing now is not a surprise to me at all. Ive seen him go through the workouts. Its just most people didnt get to see it because he was injured. He couldnt do as much. Im not surprised.

Few expect elite defense from Alvarez. Average would be welcomed but still increase his value and afford the team much-needed flexibility. This deal suggests he can provide it, but still, almost all of Alvarezs value is tied to his bat. Pigeonholing him as a pure power hitter is foolish. His career chase rate and whiff rate is below major league average. His 23.2 percent strikeout rate is just 0.2 above it.

Whos at the top of their game at 24? Most guys are just getting there. Hes just scratching the surface, manager Dusty Baker said.

Theyre still throwing him bait. Hes still going for a little bit of the bait. Hes still learning about the outfield. Hes still learning about baserunning. Hes a man-child, but you look at him as if hes a 10-year veteran. Hes not. Thats why you sign a guy to multi years: because you realize he is going to get better.

This current group of Astros doesnt need anything better, just the bludgeoning version of Alvarez thats already here.

Its a cornerstone player, Click said. It allows us to build the roster around him, build the lineup around him. That sort of security both for him and for us as we try to compete for World Series championships is huge. Were going to have a player of that caliber anchoring our lineup for the foreseeable future.

chandler.rome@chron.com

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Astros frothing over 6 more seasons of Yordan Alvarez - Houston Chronicle