Houston Astros, Yordan Alvarez Agree to 6-Year, $115 Million Extension

As the saying goes, "Everything's bigger in Texas" and for Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, that applied to his wallets on Friday afternoon.

ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan reported that Alvarez and the Astros agreed to a six-year, $115 million extension, which is the largest contract signed for any MLB player whose primary position is as a designated hitter

Slugger Yordan Álvarez and the Houston Astros are in agreement on a six-year, $115 million contract extension, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Contract kicks in next season. Biggest contract ever for a DH and $26M/year for 3 FA years. And Astros lock up a great hitter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 3, 2022

As reported by Passan, the contract kicks in next year, which would have been Alvarez's first year of arbitration.

Houston now completely avoids that and got Alvarez's bat at what some might consider a discount.

The AAV over the life of the deal is $19.7 million and the deal is buying out not only those three arbitration years, but also his first three years of free agency had he not signed.

In those three years, Houston will be paying Alvarez $26 million a year, which again, is very much a bargain for what this big time hitter could have gotten on the market.

Alvarez is in the midst of what is arguably his second-best season in his MLB career, hitting .272/.367/.574 with 14 home runs, 31 RBI, a .941 OPS and a 171 OPS+ in 45 games in 2022.

The Astros have very much benefitted from his bat as they are 33-18 thus far, 6.5 games clear of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

With recent stars like Carlos Correa and George Springer having left Houston for free agency, having a young star like Alvarez to build around for the future is going to be a massive boost for this team moving forward.

The Astros begin a three-game weekend set this weekend on the road against the Kansas City Royals.