HOUSTON — Pitcher Cristian Javier and the Houston Astros agreed Friday to a $64 million, five-year contract that avoided a salary arbitration hearing.
Javier gets a $2 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office, and salaries of $3 million this season, $7 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025 and $21 million in each of the following two years.
His salaries in the final two years can increase based on Cy Young Award voting, by up to $6 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. He would get a $2 million boost for each first-place finish, $1 million for second and $500,000 for third through fifth,
Javier has the right to block trades to 10 teams without his approval in 2026 and 2027.
A 25-year-old right-hander, Javier went 11-9 with a 2.54 ERA in 25 starts and five relief appearances last year, striking out 198 and walking 52 in 148 2/3 innings. He set career bests for wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings.
Javier won both his postseason starts, pitching 11 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Yankees and Game 4 of the World Series against Philadelphia.
He started a pair of no-hitters, pitching seven innings at the Yankees on June 25 and six innings in the game at the Phillies — just the second no-hitter in World Series history.
Javier had asked for $3.5 million in arbitration and had been offered $3 million. He made $749,100 last year.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.