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HOUSTON ¨C The decision to tender contracts last week to outfielders Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers came as no surprise, considering both players will be working relatively cheap next season and the Astros don¡¯t have many options in center field beyond utility man Mauricio Dub¨®n.

Dub¨®n¡¯s value is his ability to play all the over the field -- he started games at seven positions last season, including 18 in center field -- and top prospect Jacob Melton has yet to reach the big leagues. Melton should make his debut in 2025, but there are no guarantees he would become an everyday player right way.

Thus, the club was motivated to keep McCormick and Meyers despite their down seasons at the plate in 2024. McCormick posted a .577 OPS in 94 games, hitting .211 with five home runs. Those numbers were a far cry from the .273/.353/.489 slash line he posted in ¡¯23, with 22 homers and 19 steals.

Meyers, meanwhile, had a .646 OPS in 148 games in ¡¯24 and got most of the team¡¯s starts (126) in center field. He posted a .736 OPS in the first half of the season (.924 in May) before slumping in the second half with a .526 OPS. He was a Gold Glove finalist in center field in the American League and remains an elite defender at a premium position, which adds to his value.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said at the General Managers Meetings in San Antonio earlier this month that he would like to add a left-handed bat he could put with Meyers and McCormick, but he remains bullish on both players.

¡°McCormick is a good player,¡± Brown said. ¡°We expect him to come back and get to like at least a .750 OPS or better. The year before, he was over an .800 OPS with over 20 home runs. Of course, the defense is really good. We have to check that one off as a bad year. It was a down year. Hopefully, we can get him to bounce back, because we really need him.

¡°Then maybe we can get him some help to where he doesn¡¯t have to face all of the right-handers as much by getting a left-handed-hitting outfielder. Those kind of things we¡¯re trying to do to improve this club. Maybe, at certain points, do some platooning if he¡¯s struggling. We¡¯re trying to do certain moves to reach more production in the offense.¡±

Melton split last season between Double-A Corpus Christi (58 games) and Triple-A Sugar Land (47 games) and slashed .253/.310/.426 with 15 homers and 30 stolen bases. His numbers were a tad better at Double-A, which is to be expected, posting a .748 OPS with Corpus Christi and .719 with Sugar Land. He spent time at all three outfield spots last season but played most in center field.

¡°Melton¡¯s another guy that could be a big piece for us,¡± Brown said last month. ¡°He¡¯s a really good defensive outfielder with power. He has a chance to make an impact.¡±

The other players eligible for salary arbitration who were tendered contracts were Dub¨®n, right-hander Luis Garcia, shortstop Jeremy Pe?a, outfielder Kyle Tucker and lefty Framber Valdez. Garcia missed the final four months of ¡¯23 following Tommy John surgery and all last season, when his comeback attempt was halted.

The next key date in arbitration is Jan. 9, when players and teams exchange salary figures. Players and teams are free to reach a contract agreement until a decision is rendered in any hearing. (Hearings begin in February.) A panel of arbitrators listen to each side's case and then selects either the salary figure submitted by the player or the one by the team.