Hunter Brown’s latest comments will spark familiar fear among Astros fans

The Houston Astros (probably) missed their window to offer starting pitcher Hunter Brown a long-term contract extension, and on the latest episode of the Crush City Territory podcast, insider Chandler Rome basically said as much.

"Hunter (Brown) was at FanFest," Rome said. "One of the people who was very happy to be there. He was very talkative. I'm sure Astros fans will love to know that he was asked if he's been approached about a contract extension. He said he has not heard anything."

Before absolute panic sets in, it has been said that Brown still has three years of team control remaining and will not become a free agent until after the 2028 season. That said, Astros fans have seen this movie before, and they know how it ends.

Astros fans won't like what Hunter Brown had to say about a new contract

The Astros have a bad habit of waiting about a year, sometimes two years, too long. Fans saw it with George Springer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and, most recently, Framber Valdez. While it would've been utterly impossible for the Astros to keep those five players along with the rest of their core, watching an ace-caliber starting pitcher leave for free agency in three years — or be traded before then — is not going to be fun for the Houston faithful.

Of course, Astros fans can't pretend they're watching GM Dana Brown and owner Jim Crane completely fumble these types of opportunities. The Astros extended Yordan Alvarez a few years back and also signed Jose Altuve to a long-term deal that will keep him in Houston for his entire career.

There are other not-so-good contracts Houston has handed out in the past. Lance McCullers Jr. obviously comes to mind, though injuries played a major role in his decline. Moreover, the free agent deals with Jose Abreu and Christian Walker, and also taking on Correa's deal have handcuffed the organization at various points over the past few seasons.

Projecting these types of extensions is an inexact science — McCullers is the perfect example of how it can go wrong in a hurry. In Brown's case, however, Astros fans are fearful of watching a Cy Young-caliber pitcher head out the door, all the while knowing Houston could've inked him to a long-term deal before his breakout last season. That's quite frustrating.