The last time Christian Javier went off the hill for the Houston Astros, it was in the middle of a no-hitter combo in the World Series.
For this performance and for many other reasons, the Astros extended the right-hander’s contract by five years. the club announced on Friday. Per MLB.comthe total value of the contract is $64 million.
The extension covers three seasons of team control for the Astros, which essentially guarantees its young pitcher $64 million in exchange for two potentially lucrative years of free rein. By the time the deal ends, Javier will be 30 years old.
Javier is finishing the third season of his MLB career, in which he has posted a 3.05 ERA and 378 strikeouts in 304.1 innings of the regular season so far, moving between the rotation and the bullpen. He was even more impressive in the postseason, with a 2.20 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.
His peak came in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series, in which the Astros lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies and were in dire need of a win. The 25-year-old responded with six no-hit pitches, the second most in Fall Classic history. The Astros won the series 4–2, the first championship of Javier’s career.
The expansion is the first major move by new Astros general manager Dana Brown, who has praised the pitcher as a foundational and long-term part of the organization.
From Astros:
“Christian is an outstanding pitcher, so we’re thrilled to sign him to a long-term contract,” Brown said. “We felt he was the perfect candidate for this type of deal as a core element of our rotation. This is in line with our vision to try and ban players to support our success both now and in the future.”
Along with Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidi and Luis Garcia, Javier is part of the Astros’ recent wave of young pitchers who are counting on the team to fight for the World Series even after the departures of Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander.
The team made it clear it wanted to make a significant change when it ditched general manager James Click in favor of Brown, a renowned scouting mind, after winning the championship, but it clearly wants to keep a good deal going.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
