Veteran defender Michael Brantley will return to Houston Astros after the free agent agreed to a two-year deal for $ 32 million, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
Brantley, 33, continues to boast a high rate of contact, low rate of elimination and polishing on the plate. In 46 games with Astros in 2020, alternating between left and DH, Brantley got it right. 300, with five homers, 22 RBIs and an OPS of 0.840.
He has reached at least 0.300 in five seasons since 2014, drawing with four other seasons in baseball in that period. He was also eliminated in just 10.1% of his plate appearances since 2014, the third best in baseball at that time, with a minimum of 2,000 plate appearances.
Fox 26 in Houston was the first to report that Brantley and the Astros had agreed to the deal.
Brantley also signed a $ 32 million two-year contract when he joined Astros ahead of the 2019 season.
Injuries have troubled Brantley throughout his 12-year career with Cleveland and the Astros, in which Brantley has an average of 0.297, 114 homers, 640 RBIs and 0.794 OPS. He was an All-Star four times and in 2014 finished third in the MVP vote.
Previously, ESPN had reported that Brantley had agreed to a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, which had already struck a six-year, $ 150 million deal with former Astros teammate George Springer, the sources confirmed.