Report: Astros, McCullers agree to 5-year, $85M extension
The Houston Astros have locked up a big piece of their rotation, agreeing to a five-year contract extension with right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., a source told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.
The deal is worth $85 million, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. It doesn't include any option years but does contain a limited no-trade clause, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Because McCullers’ extension begins in 2022, his $6.5M salary is all that counts toward payroll for luxury tax purposes this year. Important or the #Astros who project at about $203M as they try to stay under the $210M threshold.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 24, 2021
Discussions between the sides reportedly started to gain steam Tuesday.
McCullers, who has spent his entire career with the Astros, was scheduled to become a free agent after this season. He and the team avoided arbitration in January by agreeing to a one-year, $6.5-million deal for 2021.
McCullers had a solid comeback season in 2020, posting a 3.93 ERA, 3.70 FIP, and 1.16 WHIP with 56 strikeouts across 11 regular-season starts after missing all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The 27-year-old owns a lifetime 3.70 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 565 strikeouts across 508 2/3 innings. An All-Star and World Series champion in 2017, he's been an important member of the Astros' rotation when healthy but hasn't always been durable; McCullers has never made more than 25 appearances or thrown more than 128 1/3 innings over a 162-game season.
McCullers looks set to become a pillar of a Houston rotation that's beginning to transition away from veterans Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander.