NEWSLETTER
One of the best young hitters in baseball just got himself a healthy extension. Feels like it’s been a little while for that – was Wander Franco the last one? I’m sure I’m just spacing, because that was all the way back in November. Just feels like it’s been a while.
Anyway, today’s installment is Yordan Alvarez, the 24-year-old Houston Astros slugger:
Yordan Ãlvarez's six-year, $115M deal with the Astros is the fourth biggest ever for a player who has yet to reach arbitration, behind only Fernando Tatis Jr. (14/340), Buster Posey (8/159) and Mike Trout (6/144.5). Ãlvarez, 24, is one of the best hitters in MLB. Deserves it.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 3, 2022
Alvarez, who turns 25 later this month, does nothing but hit (.287/.370/.576/156 wRC+ in his young career so far), and his contact quality is consistently among the best in baseball. Truly, a monster at the plate.
The issue with Alvarez, and why this extension comes in under $20 million AAV, is that he’s a bat-mostly guy, who will only occasionally go out and play left field (poorly). So if you’re guaranteeing over $100 million to a DH (when you already had him under control for three more arbitration years after this season), he’s gotta be a ridiculous one. Alvarez is, so, yeah, this deal looks about right to me.
