After spending the first 10 years of his major league career in Cleveland, the Indians didn’t offer outfielder Michael Brantley a contract this offseason. Now he’s officially moving on after signing a two-year deal worth $32 million with the Houston Astros on Monday. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan broke the news.
Michael Brantley is in agreement with the Houston Astros on a two-year, $32 million deal, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Straight two-year deal, no options. Still some work for it to be official, but the terms are in place.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 18, 2018
Now 31 years old, Brantley is coming off consecutive All-Star seasons. Shoulder injuries would take most of the 2016-17 seasons away from him, but Brantley can still hit. And after winning 103 games this past season, the Astros are ready to make another playoff run. Across 143 games last season, Brantley put together a .309/.364/.468 triple-slash with 36 doubles and 17 home runs. He also stole 12 bases, which is right in line with his career averages. Per Fangraphs, he was worth 3.5 fWAR this past season. He also put up a 124 wRC+, his highest mark since 2015.
Despite the injury history, Brantley is still a very good baseball player. He’s still a very productive player, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Plus for only two years, there isn’t too much risk to this deal if you’re Houston. The AL West is likely theirs to lose next season, but that’s not good enough. This is a team whose championship window is still very much open.
