On a per year basis the contracts are the same. I wonder if his weight problem (Lee's) contributed to the shorter contract? Soriano's lack of strike-zone judgment will be a riskier problem in the future, I think.

The Astros also announced that they have signed Woody Williams for 2 X 6.5mil. That may mark the beginning of signings for free agent pitchers. The Astros have questions still to answer as to whether Pettitte and/or Clemens will sign up for another year. If both re-signed, the rotation would be imposing, with Oswalt, Pettitte, Clemens, Williams, and a young pitcher (probably Hirsh).

This strikes me as a better deal than Soriano, at least on first blush. I also think Lee would have slotted better in Wrigley's outfield, masking his defensive deficiencies. (I know Soriano is set to play center, but that won't last long.)

Lee's pear-shaped skills won't age as well as Soriano's. I don't think either are going to age well, since Soriano doesn't have any pitch recognition or selectivity skills to fall back on once his bat speed starts to go, but Soriano's athleticism is probably going to hold out longer than Lee's power, especially since Lee's walk rate aren't anything to write home about even now.

Im gonna say that the woody williams signing won't tell us much as far as future contracts for pitchers but a good signing none the less. Williams pitched pretty well in a pitcher friendly Petco Park last year. He's a good veteran to have at the back of the rotation. I'm gonna agree with Pinto on a lot of these signings in regards to how many years clubs are willing to dish out. I think its foolish to sign any free agent for more than five years let alone give them no-trade clauses. It's irresponsible.

Andruw will be looking at 200 mill next year.

6' 2" 235, and over 30. Not a popular club to be a member of if you play MLB.

Only 1 outfielder can claim over 1000 ab's in that reality.

Bob Fothergill - 1245

i am not complaining about the woody williams contract. it's nice to have a decent pitcher - not an ace, I know, who WANTS to pitch here.

please get real. roger and andy are not coming back. and unless purpura was flat out lying about the 07 budget, there is no $$$$ to sign either one.

the carlos lee signing is one my stros will regret in a few years. lee is really really fat - he's at least 275 by now. his defense is lousy. he is one of those rare base stealers who is not fast, but has very very good judgement about when to run and who to run on. I've watched him.

i wrote a long blog entry saying how this 6 year - 4 year no trade deal was a terrible mistake. i am getting TONS of email - the astros fans are all angry with me for saying signing lee is bad and everyone else is saying i'm dead right.

i've looked and i can't find a single grossly fat OF (and i am talking at LEAST 50 pounds here) who mqaintained his age 30 hitting stats for the next six years while being a full time OF - no DH.

do you know anyone who did?

The Astros just bought themselves a head-ache. There is a reason the White Sox sent him to Milwaukee for nothing more than Scott Podsednik. A few reasons actually.

Lee is a poor defensive player, at best. He's not fan friendly nor is he a good clubhouse presense. Carlos is all about "me". He doesn't play fundamental baseball worth a flip, instead he's more worried about his personal stats which are often padded in gargage time. Granted, those stats got him a big pay day, but not much respect from fans who have watched him throughout his career. Good luck to Astros fans who think this guy is going to rejuvenate that horrid offense...don't bet on it.

Am I high? Did the Astros just sign C Lee for 6 years @ 16.67mil?
We know nobody in the Astros front office know about baseball-reference.com if not the internet in general. Looking at the comps list we see Lee closest comp for the last three years is George Bell (retired at age 33)! One through five of the comps list through age thirty: George Bell, Kent Hrbek (retired at 34), Raul Mondesi (retired at 34), Paul Konerko (same age as Lee), and Reggie Smith (last season of more than 400 PA age 33).
I see a dead weight contract in the Astros future.

What do you all suggest the Astros should have done? Lee would have gone somewhere else if the Astros did not offer him a fat contract. Should they have done nothing? Who do you suggest would have been a better free agent signing for the worst offensive team in baseball? Houston desperately needs protection for Berkman, and Lee is the only FA fit for the task in my opinion. The Astros will probably trade him to an American league team after 4 years/$60 million with a $3 million signing bonus- a bargain for this ridiculously inflated free agent market. $11 million for Lee in 07' and $6.25 million for Williams easily leaves enough room to sign Pettitte if he chooses to play for Houston, and as always, McLane will make money for Clemens midseason if he wants to pitch for the Astros.

what would i have done?

NOT sign lee at ALL. play luke scott in left instead of trading him away. sign a good hitter to play RIGHT, or else TRY to see if vernon wells would sign a contract extension if we traded for him and get rid of willy taveras.

A fat slow OF with Pat Burrell talent is not worth $100 mil/ 6 years on any market. Pat Burrell is overpaid, and teams know that. Why on earth would anyone spend $100/ 6 years on his fat clone.

Lisa Gray- My question is which "good hitter to play RIGHT"? It is extremely easy to say find a good hitter, and to assume that Luke Scott will perform as he did in the second half of the 06' season. So which good hitter? And you do realize that the Astros would have to trade for Wells, then offer a fat extension- they can't just say we will trade for you if you extend your contract with us because he is not a FA. Who do you think they should trade for Wells? It would take quite a bit more than Willy Taveras.
Bob- What is your suggestion for what the Astros should have done? If you think he is not worth the money, who should the Astros have gotten in Free Agency, or who should they have acquired through trade?
It is not fair for people to just say "sign a better hitter" or "Lee isn't worth the money"- offer suggestions with your criticism.

My suggestion would have been 1) sign David Dellucci originally - who was signed yesterday by the Indians - who I believe was a better LF at less money. However, that would have been viewed as a cheap move. 2) Sign Craig Wilson or Jay Payton are available. They lack defense, however, both could play just as well offensively as Lee. 3) Re-sign Aubrey Huff, and move him back to RF. Then you have Lane, Tavares and Huff in OF and keep Blum at 3B. All moves less expensive than signing Lee and having the same impact.

While an outfield of Huff, Taveras, and Lane would be cheaper, it would not be offensively equal to an outfield with Carlos Lee. I don't see the point of moving Lane to LF, when Burke or Luke Scott (if he does well next season) would provide much more offense. Lane's BA last season was .201, and his career BA is .252. I think Burke has earned the shot to play everyday, over Lane. Burke's BA was .276 in 06' and .258 for his career. Huff hit .250 for the Astros last season. Huff's role would be to provide Berkman with protection, he wasn't able to do it in 06', so I am not convinced that he would be able to in 07'. Huff may be a cheaper option, but the reason he is cheaper is because he is not as valuable. The Astros horrible offense will only be fixed with a proven run producer. I feel more comfortable putting my money on Lee to boost the offense than Huff. I think that Huff would get back to his .285 form with more experience in the NL, but when we only have one player that can consistently hit, we don't have time to let Huff adjust. We atleast need offense from our 3 and 4 hitters when the rest of the lineup hits below .250. I like Aubrey Huff, but the Astros problem is too urgent, and he simply can't provide what Carlos Lee can, protection for Berkman. I'm assuming that when you said keep Blum at 3B, you meant Ensberg. If so, I definitely agree that Ensberg deserves another shot. He had an All-Star season in 05', and while he struggled quite a bit in 06', we know that he has it in him. He's a relatively cheap 3B and I think he will bounce back.

Bob: Payton is a decent fielder, better than Lee. Wilson is about Lee's equal. NEITHER can give you what Lee gives you on offense. Sorry.

People are making way too big a deal of Ensberg's "bust." Does anybody realize he didnt bust as bad as everybodys saying? Sure, his power dropped and so did his average...but the dude walked 100 times (in 487 plate appearences) for a .396 OBP. With that kind of patience, you can expect him to be fine next year, with an average probably in the .270 range and he should also be able to bounce back on the power front.

Lee was a bad signing because his only ability is power. Also, 6 years is bad because of every reason everyboyd else has mentioned.