The Houston Astros have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Michael Brantley on a 2-year, $32 million contract that is straight up and has no options. Ken Rosenthal broke the news that Brantley was close to an agreement and shortly after that Jeff Passan said that they had reached this agreement.
#Astros closing in on free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley, sources tell The Athletic. Rival executives expect deal to be in two-year, $32M range.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2018
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
During the 2018 season, Brantley finally was able to avoid the injury bug he had dealt with the past years and he definitely produced for the Indians. Brantley posted a slash line of .309/.364/.468 while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 70 RBI’s for the Tribe.
The interesting thing about Brantley’s signing is that he received considerably less money than Andrew McCutchen did. McCutchen is on the decline whereas Brantley produced very well coming off injuries and gets to continue to boost production. Either way, the Astros will benefit greatly from this signing and are also being tied to the Nelson Cruz sweepstakes.
