HOUSTON – The Astros have signed right-handed pitcher Cristian Javier to a five-year contract extension, Astros General Manager Dana Brown announced Friday. The $64 million deal will run through the 2027 season, per a league source. It includes a $2M signing bonus.
“Cristian is an outstanding pitcher, so we are really excited about signing him to a long-term deal,” Brown said. “As a core piece of our rotation, we felt that he is the perfect candidate for this type of deal. This is in line with our vision to try to lock players up to sustain our success both now and in the future.”
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Javier, 25, enjoyed a dominant season in 2023 and was a key figure in the Astros run to a World Series championship. In his 148.2 innings of work in the 2022 regular season, Javier tallied 194 strikeouts while allowing just 89 hits. His .170 opponents batting average and 11.74 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings pitched ratio ranked first and second in the Majors, respectively, among pitchers with 140.0 or more innings pitched. He also posted a career-low 2.54 ERA. Javier’s regular season highlight came on June 25 at Yankee Stadium when he hurled the first 7.0 innings of a combined no-hitter vs. the Yankees. In that historic 3-0 victory, Javier allowed just one walk while tallying 13 strikeouts.
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In the postseason, Javier was even more dominant as he was 2-0 in three appearances (two starts) with an 0.71 ERA (1ER/21.2IP) while posting a minuscule .051 opponents batting average. In his 12.2 postseason innings overall, he allowed just two hits with 16 strikeouts. His postseason highlight came in Game 4 of the World Series in Philadelphia when he again was a part of a no-hitter. In that historic performance, Javier hurled 6.0 scoreless frames with nine strikeouts as he became a part of just the second no-hitter in World Series history and the first since the Yankees Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
Notably, Javier’s performance in 2022 improved as the season progressed. In his final five regular season starts (after Sept. 1), he was 3-0 with an 0.32 ERA (1ER/28.1IP), allowing just 10 hits and one run in that span (.110 opp. avg.). His ERA and opponents average after Sept. 1 were by far the best in baseball among starters.
Since making his debut in the Major Leagues in 2020, Javier has been one of the most effective pitchers in the Majors. Over the last three seasons (2020-22), in 78 appearances (44 starts), Javier is 20-12 with a 3.05 ERA (103ER/304.1IP) and 378 strikeouts. In that span, his .178 opponents average is the lowest in all of baseball among pitchers with 300+ innings pitched. RHP Corbin Burnes’ .195 opponents average in that span is the second-lowest.
Javier was originally signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent on March 19, 2015.