Second baseman Jose Altuve was supposed to be a free agent after the 2024 Major League Baseball season. Instead, he will extend his stay with the Houston Astros after signing a new five-year contract worth $125 million. That deal makes him the first player in his position to earn $300 million in guaranteed money.
Altuve has been with the Astros since his MLB debut in 2011. Since then, he led the squad to two World Series championships and seven consecutive American League Championship Series appearances from 2017 to 2023.
.@Astros, Jose Altuve agree to 5-year extension through the 2029 season. pic.twitter.com/NcMTQYFkQC
— MLB (@MLB) February 6, 2024
The 2017 AL Most Valuable Player has led the AL in batting thrice (2014, 2016, 2017) and in stolen bases twice (2014 and 2015). The Venezuelan has eight MLB All-Star selections and one All-MLB First Team inclusion (2022). He also made it to the All-MLB Second Team in 2019.
Altuve has also shown excellence in both hitting and fielding. He earned the 2015 Gold Glove Award after tallying a .993 fielding percentage with 247 putouts and 81 double plays. Altuve has six Silver Slugger Awards, including five straight from 2014 to 2018.
Last season, Altuve led the Astros to a 90-72 record, winning the AL West. He had a .311 regular season batting average with 112 hits, 51 runs batted in, and 17 home runs. However, they lost a seven-game ALCS to eventual World Series champions Texas Rangers.
As of the 2023 MLB season, Altuve has a career .307 batting average with 2,047 hits, 747 RBIs, and 209 home runs.
Spotrac estimates Altuve’s career earnings to be $134.9 million. He can push his earnings to $285.9 million by 2029. Altuve started his MLB career on a series of one-year deals. In July 2013, he signed his first multi-year contract, a four-year, $12.5 million extension with the Astros. He agreed to a five-year, $151 million extension five years later.
-Lance Fernandez