Houston Astros: Team Will Fight Jason Castro In Court

Consider that history has been made today Houston Astros’ fans.

What’s the milestone?

For the first time in the Jeff Luhnow-era, the Astros will be headed to an arbitration hearing to settle a contract dispute.

Luhnow has been with the Astros since 2012 so three straight seasons of not having to participate in such an event is nothing short of remarkable.

But as with many streaks, they must come to an end and that’s certainly the case for the upcoming season.

Neither the Astros nor Jason Castro are budging in terms of settling a small gap of what one side feels they deserve (Castro) and what the other side feels they’re worth (Astros).

So what’s disparity as far as the money involved?

You won’t believe it.

The Astros are going to court over $250,000.

MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart has confirmed that this will be a reality:

The Astros and catcher Jason Castro will go to an arbitration hearing to settle his contract. The two sides are $250,000 apart
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) January 21, 2016

You see — as you know — Castro filed for $5.25 million for his 2016 salary but the Astros offered $5 million.

After nearly a week that has passed, it’s apparent that neither side could come up with an agreement.

That’s quite shocking because I’d imagine that it’s going to cost both sides a considerable amount that may be close to that figure just to try this case.

And then I may be wrong.

But the last time I checked, hiring a lawyer — especially a good one — is not something that comes cheap.

But apparently each side feels that is worth their time — and money — to duke it out Texas-style within the boundaries of our judicial system.

More from House of Houston

This is not too surprising considering the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich mentioned last week that the Astros had adopted a “file-and-go” mantra for how they’d settle Castro’s contract issues.

He even had a source close to the negotiations indicate that the Astros would go court over all of this.

Unless there’s something I don’t know about, the Astros are being extremely thrifty by not giving Castro his money.

The Astros have committed $73.7 million in payroll for 2016 which is good for 25th among MLB franchises.

It may sound like a lot of money, but it doesn’t even come close to the $227 million the Los Angeles Dodgers have earmarked for 2016.

With the amount of advertising dollars and TV-deals that have provided incredible streams of revenue for teams, the Astros’ level of commitment is likely a drop in the bucket in comparison to what they’ll be raking in.