3 Astros contracts We Were Happy to See End, And 2 We're Still Eager to See Expire

The 2022 season wound up being yet another picture perfect one for the Houston Astros, as the club brought home its second World Series title since 2017.

All of the usual suspects including Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez on the position player side and Justin Verlander, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez on the mound continued to be dominant forces.

Then there's Jeremy Peña, the World Series MVP, ALCS MVP, Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop and fifth-place finisher in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

You get the point, this club had it all.

At the end of the season, there was some roster turnover, just like there would be at the conclusion of any other season. Some reliable faces left, some re-signed and there are plenty of new friends on the squad heading into the upcoming season.

However, not every free agent from the 2022-2023 offseason will be sorely missed by the Astros and their fans. Let's take a look at three contracts we were happy to see come off the books and two more we're still eager to see expire.

Contract we're happy to have off the books No. 1: Yuli Gurriel

The very first one on our list and we're already running into a tough one. Gurriel, 38, wrapped up a largely successful seven-year tenure in Houston and was essentially good as gone as soon as the Astros signed José Abreu.

Over the years, he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017, won a batting title in 2021 and even won a Gold Glove at first base that same year. He has a career 110 OPS+ and has three seasons under his belt of 120 OPS+ or higher.

However, as great as he could be for the Astros, there were also some hard times. He never appeared in over 146 game in a single season and he didn't even accomplish that until last year. His power dropped off dramatically, his batting average was in a sharp downward spiral and his OPS+ dipped from 131 in 2021 all the way down to 84.

Gurriel recently signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins, officially ending his tenure in Houston. There wasn't an easy fit for him on this roster anymore thanks to his age and poor performances. He did well, but it was time to move on.

Contract we're happy to have off the books No. 3: Justin Verlander

This is where it gets interesting. Please hear me out here.

Verlander, a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best pitchers of this generation, had a hugely successful five-year stint in Houston before he departed via free agency and signed with the Mets.

In those five years, he won two Cy Young Awards (and earned a second place finish in 2018), earned MVP votes three times and led the league in strikeouts in 2018 with a whopping 290 (he followed this up with 300 the next season).

The reason Verlander is falling under this category is simple: money. The 40-year-old is legitimately getting better with age and is still commanding superstar-level pay. At this time, it wasn't financially wise for the Astros to pursue a reunion, simply because there's current players on the roster that are waiting for contract extensions (see: Kyle Tucker).

What will make the loss of Verlander easier to swallow for Astros fans is the fact that the club still has four ace-level starters in the rotation as well as intriguing prospect Hunter Brown, who looked dominant in a 20-inning cameo last season.

Verlander will forever be remembered as one of the best pitchers to ever play for the Astros over the course of this franchise's colorful history. However, it was time to move on so the next wave of players can get paid.

A contract we're ready to see expire No. 1: Mauricio Dubón

Dubón, 28, appeared in a career-high 104 games last year between the Giants and Astros. He was acquired by Houston for catcher Michael Papierski in May and immediately began to show off his smooth defensive talents, but his bat never caught up.

Long known as a swiss army knife type of player who can line up at virtually any position on the diamond, Dubón made appearances at second and shortstop as well as all three spots in the outfield grass.

However, his bat was atrocious. In 83 games as an Astro, Dubón notched 41 hits with only 11 of them being for extra bases. His speed on the bases was never properly utilized either, which led to him stealing two bags but being caught three times.

In virtually every offensive category, his numbers began to dip dramatically once he received more consistent playing time. Now that all is said and done, he posted a ghastly OPS+ of just 56 in Houston, meaning he was 44 percent below league-average at the plate. Go ahead and let that one sink in.

A contract we're ready to see expire No. 2: Phil Maton

Over the course of his six-year big league career, Maton has largely been a so-so contributor at the game's highest level. Only two times has he ever posted an ERA+ over 100, first in his rookie year and second last year.

The 29-year-old righty appeared in a career-high 67 games on the Astros last year, going 0-2 with a 3.84 ERA and 4.33 FIP. The large difference between the two suggest that he got awfully lucky last year with a solid defense behind him.

Then of course, there's his outburst right before the playoffs that resulted in him missing the entirety of the clubs' march to the World Series. After a poor performance against his brother Nick and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phil punched a locker and broke his right pinkie finger.

Maton's inclusion the 2023 roster now seems to be blocking some of the upcoming pitching prospects the Astros have, including Ronel Blanco, who doesn't have a spot on the big league roster as long as Maton is around. The 29-year-old struggled a bit in a seven-game cameo last year in the bigs but he has looked much sharper in the high minor league levels and should secure a spot on the roster in place of Maton.