Houston Astros: Arbitration Negotiations Could Begin For Castro, Gattis

As the weekend comes into full swing, the Houston Astros worked fast and furiously before the noon deadline yesterday to get deals brokered for all players that were eligible.

With the exception of two players.

Those two would be catcher Jason Castro and infielder/designated hitter Evan Gattis who did not quite come to terms with the Astros.

These two players had submitted their requests for a higher pay than what the Astros were expecting.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported the filing amount for Castro:

He also reported the filing amounts for Gattis:

If a pact is not made, a hearing is scheduled.

Then an arbiter freely independent of both parties involved will take over and decide what each player is worth in terms of salary.

I honestly see both players getting a pay raise above what the Astros originally offered but just short of what they’re asking for.

Unlike last year, there’s a strong chance the Astros are going to negotiate these two players salaries in court.

According the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich, the Astros have decided to go with a “file-and-go” mantra meaning that there will be no side negotiations but they’re just going to “go” straight to court.

But here’s the kicker — he mentions that the Astros can still be selective with that mentality but has confirmed with a source close to the negotiations that Castro’s case will go to court.

The Astros are just $250,000 below what Castro filed and $850,000 below what Gattis filed for.

I honestly think that they’d should just give the money to Castro — since they’re so close — because it’s probably going to cost that much in attorney’s fees to prepare their case.

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But nonetheless, the Astros are prepared to go to court as Castro’s offensive production is nowhere near what it was in 2013, a year where he had career highs, hitting .276 with 56 ribbies and 18 homers and was an All-Star.

Meanwhile, the Astros have agreements with Dallas Keuchel, Luis Valbuena and Marwin Gonzalez for one-year deals each at $7.25 million, $6.125 million and $2 million respectively.

No word on what they’re going to do with Gattis.

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It remains to be seen if all what’s transpiring will go all the way to an arbitration hearing that would begin sometime next month if there’s no deal.

It’s important to note that Astros’ general manager Jeff Luhnow has never had to go to an arbitration hearing since he took over the reins ahead of the 2012 season.

It looked as if the Astros were going to do so with Dexter Fowler last season but he was traded to the Chicago Cubs beforehand and avoided arb with a one-year, $9.5 million deal with his new club.

We’ll see if that streak remains unscathed — but there’s a strong chance that it’ll likely come to an end.

Next: Astros: 2016's Top Three Catching Prospects

Castro, 28, batted .211 with a less than stellar .648 OPS as well as 31 RBIs and 11 home runs through 337 at-bats in 104 games in 2015.

Gattis, 29, battled .246 with a pedestrian .748 OPS as well as 88 RBIs and 27 home runs through 566 at-bats in 153 games in 2015.

Stay tuned.

Go ‘Stros!