Houston Astros: Jason Castro Loses Arbitration Hearing

The Houston Astros Win, but Could they Lose Castro Next Season Because of it?

The Houston Astros pulled out the victory against Jason Castro in an arbitration hearing that took place on Monday, February 8. The decision was officially handed down on Tuesday, with the news being reported shortly after the case was closed. It was decided that Castro will receive $5,000,000 in 2016 instead of the $5,250,000 that he requested from the club.

The arbitration process is never a nerve-free or settling process for the player, as he is forced to be present when the cases are being argued on both sides and must listen to Astros front office members argue to the arbitrator on why Castro is less valuable than he has claimed. It’s never nice to hear about how bad you are, especially when it’s your life’s work, and that’s what Castro had to endure on Monday.

However, it is not necessarily surprising that Castro lost his case because he did struggle at the plate in 2015. Splitting time with Hank Conger, Castro appeared in 104 games and finished up with a measly .211 batting average while striking out 115 times. As great as he was at managing the Astros young and relatively inexperienced pitching staff, the value at the plate was not very impactful.

Next up, Evan Gattis will hold his arbitration hearing against the Astros on February 16. Gattis is a little further away from the club in disputed value, as Gattis believes he should be owed $3,800,000 and the Astros believe that Gattis should be paid $3,000,000 in 2016.

Next: Next Man Up After Evan Gattis Injury

There is a lot of news circulating about Gattis recently, as the triples machine underwent hernia surgery yesterday and is expected to miss about four to six weeks of regular baseball activities. This would keep him in contention for the Opening Day lineup, but definitely does not help his value headed into the hearing.