After losing his arbitration case as spring training began last year, righthanded closer Jose Valverde got a contract finalized well in advance of camp by agreeing to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Astros on Monday.
Valverde, 30, who will be a free agent at the end of this season, led the National League in saves for a second year in a row with a club record-tying 44 in 2008. He was 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA in a career-high 74 appearances. "It's a marketplace deal," Astros general manager Ed Wade said. "It's nice to get a deal done early in the process before the filing date (Thursday) and the exchange of numbers. After going through last year's arbitration hearing, I think everybody is happy to put the economic side of Jose's situation behind us."
The deal includes incentives for being named the NL Rolaids Relief winner ($100,000), winning the Most Valuable Player of the NLCS or World Series ($50,000) and $25,000 for an All-Star appearance, Gold Glove or Silver Slugger award. Valverde made $4.7 million last year after asking for $6.2 million in arbitration.
Wade said assistant general manager David Gottfried discussed a long-term deal with Valverde's agent, Don Lozano.
"But we decided to go ahead and get one year down and at some point down the road maybe address something more long term," he said.
The other Astros eligible for arbitration are pitchers Wandy Rodriguez, Geoff Geary, Tim Byrdak and Brandon Backe and catcher Humberto Quintero. Both sides can begin exchanging numbers Feb. 20.
"At the end of the day, everybody is better served by a negotiated settlement that represents the marketplace and allows the players to focus on spring training and the club on other things," Wade said.
Wade also hasn't ruled out signing a veteran catcher to a minor league deal. One such possibility is four-time All-Star Paul Lo Duca, who has been in talks with the Astros
