WEST PALM BEACH http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , Fla. (AP) — with the Houston Astros was not impacted by the second slow free-agent market.“I wanted to play here,” the third baseman said Friday after the team announced a $100 million, five-year contract covering 2020-24. “I didn’t want to play anywhere else. I wanted to be in orange and blue for as long as I possibly can. I love this organization. I want to win here for a long time.”Selected by Houston with the second overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, Bregman debuted with the Astros in July 2016 and helped Houston win its first World Series title in 2017.His contract was renewed this month by the Astros for a major league salary of $640,500 this year. The new deal includes a $10 million signing bonus, half payable within 30 days of the agreement’s approval by the commissioner’s office and the rest within 90 days’ of approval.Bregman gets salaries of $11 million annually from 2020-22 and $28.5 million in both 2023 and ’24. His salaries in the final two years can increase based on MVP finish earlier in the deal. They would go up by $1.5 million for first place, $750,000 for second and $500,000 for third, and by $2 million if he wins 2020 and ’21. If he wins MVP in ’21 or ’22 and again in ’23, his 2024 salary would rise by $2 million.He also gets the ability in 2023 and ’24 to designate 10 teams he cannot be traded to without his consent.“We thought he had chance to get to the big leagues pretty quickly and we thought he had a chance to be a pretty special big league player – and we were right Nick Wittgren Jersey ,” Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said.Bregman first approached Luhnow about a long-term deal after last season. His agent, Brodie Scoffield, met with Astros representatives at the general managers’ meetings and the winter meetings, then gained pace during spring training.He would have been eligible for salary arbitration next winter after for free agency after the 2022 season.“For us to get two years of Alex’s free agency in his prime is real value to us,” Luhnow said. “For him to give that up was a sacrifice for him. On the flip side, we’re going to commit some resources to him over the next six years that he’ll be able to go out and play and not worry about arbitration, not worry about free agency — at least not for a while. And then we’ll have this discussion again in about four or five years.”An All-Star in 2018 when he led the league with 51 doubles, the 24-year-old Bregman has displayed a penchant for the big hit.Luhnow said he called Bregman’s tying home run off Boston’s Chris Sale in the eighth inning of the 2017 AL Division Series Game 4 finale and his game-ending 10th-inning single against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen in Game 5 of that year’s World Series.“Two moments that are, in my mind, some of the top moments in my baseball life and Astros baseball franchise history,” Luhnow said.Bregman hit his third homer of the spring in the sixth inning of a game Friday night against the New York Mets.NOTES: Manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Friday that Brad Peacock will be Houston’s No. 5 starter to open the season. … 1B AJ Reed was optioned to the minors. MESA Julio Urias Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics will take a look at Robbie Grossman as a potential leadoff man when they open spring play.The Athletics host the Seattle Mariners on Thursday as the teams get a head start on spring training games. Both teams will also open the regular season ahead of the rest of the league when they face each other in Japan on March 20-21.Oakland manager Bob Melvin wanted to get Grossman in the leadoff spot as soon as he could. The A’s signed the free agent outfielder last Friday.“It’s one of the reasons we picked him up, he has a history of getting on base,” Melvin said. “He’s a guy who’s been tough on us as well. He’ll probably get some time there, break him in quickly.”Last year, the A’s used Matthew Joyce, Marcus Semien and Nick Martini in the leadoff spot.The Athletics’ lineup for Thursday also has Stephen Piscotty batting third, something Melvin said they may experiment with. Other candidates include Khris Davis, who batted fourth most of last season, and Matt Olson, who mostly batted fifth.“You look at Stephen’s numbers and he’s certainly an option for it,” Melvin said. “Last year http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , we were pretty consistent with our 3-4-5 spots so it may change a little bit more this year.”Third baseman Matt Chapman, who is coming off surgery on his left non-throwing shoulder, is not in Thursday’s lineup. Chapman has been taking batting practice but he’s about one week behind, Melvin said.Something else to watch as the A’s get started is how Semien and new second baseman Jurickson Profar work together. The Athletics acquired Profar from the Rangers in December.“It’s been going just fine,” Semien said. “We’ve been getting our work in on the same field every day and hitting together and taking ground balls together. He’s fitting in nicely with the group. I know he can hit and he gets to play second base every day now instead of moving around so that will be exciting to watch.”NOTES: Paul Blackburn was scheduled to start for the A’s on Thursday. If the game is canceled because of rain, Melvin said they would likely have the right-hander throw a simulated game. .. Former A’s outfielder Coco Crisp has joined the radio broadcast team as an analyst. Crisp, who played seven seasons with Oakland from 2010-16, will be in the radio booth for 33 games during the regular season. He’ll make his debut when the A’s face the San Francisco Giants on March 10 in a spring training game.