Following Ryan Pressly’s trade to the Cubs, the Astros are now under the initial $241 million threshold by $4.857 million according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. While Juan Bello is an interesting prospect in his own right, the trade was made primarily for payroll relief. With that said, it does appear Jim Crane is entertaining the idea of exceeding the first threshold again to bring back Alex Bregman, but the second threshold of $261 million is another roadblock to remember. If Bregman doesn’t come back, I think we’ll see payroll stabilize around its current point. For context, it would still be the second-highest player payroll in franchise history.
The Waiting Game
