Astros, Jose Altuve agree to 5-year extension worth $125 million

HOUSTON — Imagining Jose Altuve anywhere else is insane. He is the face of a franchise and a Houston hero, the man in the middle of the Astros’ ascension into an American League superpower with a swing, smile and playoff swagger few second baseman of his time can match.

Altuve has witnessed the Astros rebuild and be reborn, become reviled and then be resurrected. His face is synonymous with the closest thing this sport has to a modern dynasty and he has defied every reasonable expectation since the day he stepped onto a major-league diamond.

The Astros are all Altuve has known. Now, they’re all he ever will. Altuve agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension on Tuesday that will carry him through his age-39 season and all but ensures he will never play in another uniform.

Last spring, in a departure from the closely-guarded public comments he often gives, Altuve acknowledged he wanted to play until he was 40 and, on multiple occasions, said he did not want to play anywhere but Houston.

Nothing in baseball ever feels guaranteed, but the Astros re-signing Altuve always seemed a matter of when and not if. Some inside the organization hoped the deal would get finalized before the season began so Altuve, who can sometimes put undue pressure on himself, could play without it.

Jose Altuve will be an Astro for life. pic.twitter.com/ndPHz1lP7E

— Houston Astros (@astros) February 6, 2024

Altuve’s agent, Scott Boras, often prefers his clients test the free-agent market, but it’s clear Altuve’s personal wishes took higher priority. Boras negotiated Altuve’s last extension in 2018, too — a five-year, $151 million pact that Altuve signed two years before he was scheduled to hit free agency. Altuve is believed to have had immense influence in negotiating this deal.

Altuve’s new deal does not take effect until 2025. It will pay him $30 million in 2025, 2026 and 2027 before dropping to $10 million in 2028 and 2029, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Athletic. Altuve received a $15 million signing bonus, too, pushing the contract’s total value to $125 million.

Altuve will play this year still under the aforementioned extension he signed prior to the 2018 season. With this new contract, Altuve is believed to be the first second baseman in major-league history to earn $300 million in guaranteed money, an almost unfathomable accomplishment for a man already with too many to count.

Altuve signed for $15,000 as a 16-year-old international free agent. The Astros sent him home from the first tryout he attended due to his height, but he returned the next day at the behest of his father. Altuve hasn’t left the organization since.

Standing 5-foot-6 defined Altuve for most of his early major-league career, when the Astros were American League bottom feeders amid a total rebuild. The novelty of watching him play provided the only compelling reason to watch a club not trying to win.

In the nine seasons since, Altuve has gone from sideshow to superstar. He boasts the highest batting average of any hitter in Astros history and will enter this season worth a career 49.7 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference. Only four Astros have ever accumulated more: Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, José Cruz and César Cedeño.

Barring injury or a total implosion, Altuve will pass both Cruz and Cedeño this season, putting him alongside the two players with whom he will always be linked.

Biggio and Bagwell are the two greatest players in franchise history and the only two men wearing Astros hats in the Hall of Fame. This deal will allow Altuve to challenge them for the title, if he hasn’t overtaken it already. Biggio played 20 seasons with the Astros while injuries limited Bagwell to 15.

Altuve’s new deal means he’ll play 19 seasons in Houston. He is already the fastest player in franchise history to reach 2,000 hits and needs 953 more to eclipse 3,000 — a milestone only Biggio has reached in an Astros uniform. Now, Altuve can attempt it too.

Both Biggio and Bagwell were generational talents, but neither possesses the playoff prowess Altuve has authored. The seminal moments so many hoped for during the Killer B’s era have arrived from Altuve. He won an American League pennant with a walk-off home run in 2019, perhaps the single biggest hit in Houston baseball history.

Altuve’s 27 postseason home runs are second only to Manny Ramirez for the most in baseball history. Altuve must hit three more to pass Ramirez, a feat that feels inevitable for a team that keeps succeeding despite seismic turnover.

The Astros will attempt to reach their eighth consecutive American League Championship Series this season, a string of dominance they’ve sustained while still shedding superstars. Carlos Correa, George Springer, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander all left in free agency amid the run. Alex Bregman could be next in line after this season, too.

Altuve remains the only constant and it won’t change any time soon.

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(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)