HOUSTON — One year after carrying the largest payroll in club history and paying the luxury tax for the first time in his ownership tenure, Jim Crane said the Houston Astros have the “wherewithal” to spend at a similar pace in 2025, but he tempered some expectations of another record-setting number.
“It just depends on what players are available,” Crane said after the team unveiled a new stadium naming rights agreement with Daikin on Monday. “It’s pretty evident what needs we have. We want to try and field the best team we can without going crazy. Some of the payrolls are pretty high for the bigger teams, but I think we were the fifth-highest payroll — that’s the first time we’ve done that. We have the wherewithal to do it if we need to do it.”
Crane carried the sport’s fourth-highest payroll last season, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets. Outside approximations have the Astros around $10 million below the first luxury tax threshold at the beginning of a crucial offseason. Franchise cornerstone Alex Bregman is a free agent while other needs on the pitching staff and lineup are apparent. The team’s “biggest priority” remains retaining Bregman, general manager Dana Brown said earlier this month.
There is “nothing to report yet” on the team’s negotiations with Bregman, according to Crane. Brown and Scott Boras, Bregman’s agent, “have been visiting frequently,” Crane said. Earlier this month, Brown characterized those conversations as “productive.”
Crane said he talked to Boras “once early,” but is otherwise letting Brown handle the negotiations. The owner acknowledged Houston has started to explore backup plans if Bregman signs elsewhere.
“We all know Scott. He’s going to do the best he can to get the most money for him if it’s a place he wants to go,” Crane said. “But, at some point we’d have to make a decision. We’re looking now as a backup and we’re exploring all the options. That’s what’s happening now.”
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Bregman has spent all nine of his major-league seasons with the Astros and morphed into the club’s unquestioned leader throughout an uneven 2024 season. When it ended, teammate Jose Altuve all but demanded the club re-sign Bregman — an out-of-character act by a player who is rarely outspoken.
“We told him we were going to make a strong effort to get it done and we’d do our best,” Crane said. “It carries some weight with me and carries some weight with Dana.”
The sort of contract Bregman and Boras will demand often does not come without ownership approval. Crane has long been averse to lengthy deals — he’s never guaranteed more than five years to a free agent or six years on a contract extension — and acknowledged the bind some longer contracts can create.
“You have to be cognizant of that because the longer the contracts on the back-end, it gets difficult to carry it and you decrease your ability to be competitive when you got a lot of money tied up,” Crane said. “We have some money coming off the payroll next year, as you well know. We run it like a business and we make good decisions.”
If Houston does bring back Bregman, it’s difficult to envision the team remaining under the luxury tax threshold. Brown has already mentioned looking for another leverage reliever, a left-handed hitting outfielder and perhaps another starting pitcher. If the Astros do exceed the luxury tax in 2025, the club is subject to a 30 percent tax on all overages.
“We’ve done it. We’ll see where we end up. It depends on what we need and where the shoes drop,” Crane said.
That the Astros have already engaged in internal discussions about trading setup man Ryan Pressly suggests they’re searching for ways to get further under the luxury tax. Pressly, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, is scheduled to make $14 million in 2025.
Trading either Framber Valdez or Kyle Tucker, both of whom will make more than $15 million in their final seasons of club control, could be explored, too, if Crane wants to avoid being “crazy.”
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(Photo of Alex Bregman: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)
