In six playoff games, Rasmus smashed four home runs with a 1.760 OPS and earned himself respect around the league. The acceptance means that Rasmus will re-sign with the Astros on a one-year, $15.8 million deal.
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A $15.8 million, at the moment Rasmus will be the highest-paid Astros player in 2016, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Accepting the offer may have been Rasmus’ best bet. Because the signing club loses a top pick, the market has slowed for a few less-than-prime free agents. There were 20 players extended a qualifying offer last Friday. 245 hitter in seven major league seasons. Rasmus becomes the first player in the four-year history of the qualifying offer system to accept, though with just under 24 hours remaining for players to do so, may not be the last. “So I don’t think that you need somebody to accept. I think that so far we have successfully identified a group of players who were significant losses for the teams they were leaving and were high enough quality that they could bear the burden of draft-choice compensation in the market and still get a good contract”.
Houston Astros center fielder Colby Rasmus photographed during Houston Astros spring training at the Osceola County facility, Thursday, February 26, 2015, in Kissimmee.
Since the process is so new, perhaps the full effects of it on the free agent market and players’ salaries is yet to be seen.
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General manager Jeff Lunhow, who drafted Rasmus in the first round while he was scouting director for the St. Louis Cardinals, stated Monday, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, he hoped that the outfielder would accept the offer and return for another season.
