The Houston Astros’ All-Star right fielder, Kyle Tucker, recently lost an arbitration case against the Astros, leaving him with a salary of $5 million instead of the requested $7.5 million. While the outcome of the case was disappointing for Tucker, he remains focused on the upcoming season and is open to discussing a long-term contract extension with the Astros. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the arbitration case and the possibility of a long-term extension for Tucker.
Tucker had a stellar 2020 season, hitting .257 with 30 homers, 107 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases while winning his first Gold Glove Award and making his first All-Star team. Despite putting together a “really good case” by his agency, Excel, and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association, the panel of arbiters sided with the Astros. Tucker said the hardest part was listening to the Astros make points during the hearing that were meant to negatively impact his compensation.
Despite the outcome of the arbitration case, Tucker said he still enjoys playing for the Astros and that the process hasn’t adversely affected his relationship with the team. Astros general manager Dana Brown said earlier this week that he spoke to Casey Close, Tucker’s agent, on Tuesday and there were “no hard feelings” either way.
When Brown announced the signing of pitcher Cristian Javier to a five-year, $64 million contract extension, he said he’d had talks with Tucker’s agent about a long-term extension. Tucker said Saturday that the topic didn’t come up during the arbitration discussions, but he remains open to it.
As Tucker focuses on the upcoming season, it will be interesting to see if he and the Astros can come to an agreement on a long-term extension. It’s clear that Tucker has been an integral part of the Astros’ success and he has shown that he is an invaluable asset to the team. Stay tuned to see if the Astros and Tucker can come to an agreement and extend his stay in Houston.
Source: www.mlb.com