Jose Altuve signs five-year extension with Houston Astros

The Astros have had the benefit of Jose Altuve’s services for cheap early in his career. Now Altuve is set to cash out with his new extension, and it’s great for both sides.

The Houston Astros are coming off of a World Series championship this past fall, and they’re back this year looking for more. A big part of their success has been the play of American League MVP Jose Altuve.

Altuve has been playing at a fraction of his value for the entirety of his career, but how he’s set to cash out with his new contract extension. The five-year $151 million dollar extension is set to kick in, in 2020 which is great for both sides.

This deal keeps the Astros under the luxury tax for the next two years, and it gets Altuve the money he deserves. When Altuve actually starts getting paid for his extension it’ll put him in the $30 million AAV club.

Not too long ago the Astros had the lowest payroll in baseball, and now they’re showing a willingness to spend money. The fact that they’ll still have a low payroll the next two years is important because Dallas Keuchel and Marwin Gonzalez are both free agents at the end of the season. This extension bodes well for both of those guys and the kind of contracts they’re going to get next offseason.

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After winning the World Series last season the Astros don’t seem to be the kind of team that will suffer from any kind of hangover this season. Now that Altuve has his extension he won’t have to worry about the fact that he’s only going to make $6.5 million the next two years, and there won’t be any contract distractions during the next couple years.

The Astros core of George Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman should be around for a long time. Keeping the veteran of the group around for a long time is key to the team’s future.