The Astros have reached an agreement with defending player Michael Brantley on a two-year, $ 32 million contract that will bring him back to Houston, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports. Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ confirmed the deal. The reported deal may close a turbulent day in front of Brantley. Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported by Hazel Mae and Ken Rosenthal that Brantley had reached a three-year agreement with the Blue Jays, but both later rejected those reports.
The Jays were said to remain interested in Brantley and the general expectation was that they would conclude a deal. This, however, does not seem to have happened, and Brantley, instead, will be back with the Astros. If the deal is finalized, it will be the second time Brantley has signed a two-year, $ 32 million pact with Astros. He signed the first in December 2018.
On Tuesday night, George Springer signed a six-year contract with the Blue Jays for $ 150 million, so the deal with Brantley would prevent a second exodus from an Astros outfielder to Toronto this season.
Brantley, who turns 34 in May, entered the winter ranked by CBS Sports as the eighth best free agent available this winter. Here’s what we were writing at the time:
If Brantley had recorded another hit in 2017 – literally one more – he would have entered next spring as the only player to hit 0.300 or better in four consecutive seasons. Oh well. The distortion and bark of Brantley’s game is that he is a professional and consistent hitter. It will provide a good average, a healthy walking pace and more than 50 extra basic strokes. Brantley was used mainly as a DH last season for the first time in his career; it probably won’t be the last time. A team interested in maximizing its overall value should also consider parking it against lefties. For unknown reasons, he feels much older than he is: he will be 34 in mid-May.
In the last three seasons, Brantley hit 0.309 / 0.388 / 0.484 (125 OPS +) with 44 home runs and 17 stolen bases (in 22 attempts).
The Astros ended the shortened 2020 season with a record 29-31 under first year manager Dusty Baker, but qualified for the expanded post-season camp and advanced to ALCS for the fourth consecutive year, despite an excessive number of injuries along the way. Brantley was a big part of his relative successes, and his return increases Houston’s chances in 2021.