Houston Astros Settle With Jason Castro; Two Others

The Houston Astros are wasting no time in getting deals done for some of our favorite players.

I’m sure Jeff Luhnow is eager to get things done so that the pieces are in place for hopefully a future deal to land some starting pitching or to fill holes in areas on the Astros’ roster.

Starting pitching has to be Priority No. 1 for the Astros because just about every other spot has been successfully filled with the deals that have been made so far.

Today, the Houston Astros reached a settlement with catcher Jason Castro, relief left-handed pitcher Tony Sipp and the newly-acquired Hank Conger avoiding arbitration.

Castro’s settlement is worth $4 million which is a considerable raise above the $2.4 million he made in 2014.

Castro on the settlement via the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich:

Jason Castro: "I'm glad that we were able to get a deal done before the deadline and now excited to get down to camp"
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 16, 2015

Castro will have to earn his way into the raise he just received after a disappointing 2014 season.

He has to improve his performance at the plate — he batted .222 with a below average .651 OPS and 8th in the AL as far as total strikeouts with 151 in 512 plate appearances. He did, however, match his 2013 RBI total with 56.

I’m certainly hoping that this raise will help motivate him to turn things around.

He is just one season removed from hitting .276 with a solid .835 OPS in his lone All-Star nomination campaign in 2013.

Sipp, acquired from the San Diego Padres this past May, received $2.4 million, a sharp increase above the approximate $700,000 he made last season.

I believe he was rewarded after a promising season as one of the more reliable arms in the bullpen.

Sipp posted a 4-3 record, 3.38 ERA, four saves while striking out 63 batters earning a strong 0.88 WHIP in 56 games.

He’s got nowhere to go but up — and as always — lefties are extremely valuable in anybody’s bullpen.

Conger, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels this off-season, received $1.075 million up from the $517,500 he made last season.

Conger, an intriguing pick up by the Astros, batted .221 while churning out a .691 OPS in 260 plate appearances in 80 games with the Angels last season. Although he produced a .989 fielding percentage, Conger was 7th in the AL in errors committed as a catcher with seven. He was 2nd in the AL in 2013 with seven as well.

He’s got a lot of improving to do but I think he may be able to flourish depending what the Astros want and need him to do.