'El Reptil' grateful for extension, Astros teammates

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Astros pitcher Cristian Javier earned the nickname “El Reptil” -- the reptile -- not only because he appears to be unflappable and emotionless on the mound. He’s much that way off the field, too, even after he signed the kind of contract extension that he never could have dreamed of growing up in the Dominican Republic.

On Friday, the club announced it had signed Javier to a five-year contract that will take him through the 2027 season. It’s worth $64 million, including a $2 million signing bonus. He will make an additional $3 million this season, $7 million in ’24, $10 million in ’25 and $21 million in ’26 and ’27.

Javier, wearing sunglasses while sitting under the hot Florida sun at a press conference Thursday afternoon at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, addressed the deal a few feet from his proud parents, Trinidad and Secilio. Several of his teammates watched from a perch close by following the team’s first spring workout of pitchers and catchers.

“First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity and my family for supporting me the whole time, my teammates supporting me every single day, all the way from summer league to the Majors,” Javier said. “They’ve always given me advice and always helped and supported me, and made it possible for me to be able to get here.”

The smiles on the faces of his parents and teammates reminded Javier of how far he’s come. Oz Ocampo, the Astros’ former international crosschecker, and scouts Roman Ocumarez and Leocadio Guevara spearheaded the signing of Javier out of the Dominican Republic a week before his 18th birthday in 2015. Guevara was the area scout in La Victoria, where Javier lived, and had known him since he was a kid. Ocumarez scouted Javier as well, and he sent videos to Ocampo, who signed him for $10,000.

“It’s been a path with a lot of difficult challenges,” Javier said. “I signed for $10,000, and that I meant at the Minor Leagues, I just didn’t have the resources a lot of other guys might have. That’s why I want to thank my teammates. We all lived together, all got a place together. That’s how we survived. We worked together and thankful we’re here now.”

Now, Javier will make around $100,000 each time he takes the mound this year for the Astros, who are banking on him to be a front-line starter with Lance McCullers Jr. and Framber Valdez in the 2023 rotation.

“I don’t think there’s any need for me to feel pressure after [signing] this contract,” Javier said. “I’m going to keep doing the things that got me here, continue to listen to my teammates, listen to my catcher, Martín Maldonado, and listen to the advice of the veteran guys.”

The contract extension was in the works prior to Dana Brown taking over as general manager three weeks ago, but it falls in line with Brown’s vision of wanting to keep players in Houston. Brown said on Thursday he’d liked to extend All-Stars Kyle Tucker and Valdez, along with veterans Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve, both of whom are signed through ’24.

“Today is a special day for us because we’re trying execute the vision that we put out, and our vision is to select, secure and sustain long-term winning,” Brown said. “I wanted to make sure long-term we secure these players so our sustained winning can keep moving forward. This is an important day and exciting time for the fans because we’re trying to keep that winning going, and the only way to keep that winning going is keep the players in house.”

Javier opened last season in the Astros' bullpen, but he became a starter when the club decided to go to a six-man rotation. He went 11-9 with a 2.54 ERA in 30 games (25 starts) in the regular season, then he allowed two hits, one run and struck out 16 batters in 12 2/3 postseason innings.

“Dana got here recently, and I was one of the first players he decided to sign,” Javier said. “That gives me a vote of confidence and gives me a lot of faith he believes me that I’m going to be able to do a great job here.”