CASH GRAB
Utilityman Mauricio Dubón goes to salary arbitration with Houston Astros
Feb 6, 2024, 9:01 am
Dubon played great during Jose Altuve's absence last season. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Houston utilityman Mauricio Dubón and New York Mets right-hander Phil Bickford went to salary arbitration hearings Monday.
Dubón asked for a raise from $1.4 million to $3.5 million and the Astros argued for $3 million in a case heard by John Woods, Jeanne Charles and Janice Johnston.
Bickford requested an increase from $740,000 to $900,000, and the Mets said he should be paid $815,000 in a case heard by Robert Herzog, Margaret Brogan and Stephen Raymond.
Decisions are expected Tuesday in those cases along with those of Baltimore outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Jacob Webb and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, which were argued last week.
The 29-year-old Dubón hit .278 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in his first full season with Houston, which acquired him from San Francisco in May 2022.
Bickford, a 28-year-old reliever, was 5-5 with a 4.95 ERA in 61 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Mets, who acquired him on Aug. 1.
Teams won the first two decisions of the year, beating Miami outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($2,625,000 vs. $2.9 million) and Angels left-hander José Suarez ($925,000 instead of $1.35 million).
Eleven more players are scheduled for hearings, which run through Feb. 16.
Toronto star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most high-profile case, asking for $19.9 million as the Blue Jays offered $18.05 million. If the case doesn’t settle, it would be the highest salary awarded in arbitration win or lose, topping the $14 million Seattle outfielder Teoscar Hernández received after he lost his hearing last year.
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The Houston Rockets are acquiring 15-time All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal struck Sunday, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.
The Rockets are giving up Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and six future picks — including the No. 10 selection in Wednesday’s opening round of this year’s draft — according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was still pending NBA approval.
It ends weeks of speculation about where Durant would end up. Many teams were involved at various times, including Miami and Minnesota, but in the end Phoenix took the Rockets’ offer.
ESPN first reported the trade.
Fans learned of the news while Durant was on stage in New York at Fanatics Fest NYC, and when they began reacting, Durant started smiling broadly.
“We're gonna see, man,” Durant said from the stage. “We're gonna see.”
Boardroom, the ever-growing media company that Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, co-founded in 2019 teams up with Fanatics on a number of projects. The panel that Durant was set to appear on there Sunday was called “Global Game Changers.”
He certainly figures to change the game for Houston.
Houston finished No. 2 in the Western Conference in the regular season, albeit 16 games behind No. 1 Oklahoma City. It now adds a two-time champion to its young core as it looks to make another jump next season.
Durant averaged 26.6 points this season, his 17th in the NBA — not counting one year missed because of injury. For his career, the 6-foot-11 forward is averaging 27.2 points and seven rebounds per game.
The move brings Durant back to the state of Texas, where he played his one year of college basketball for the Longhorns and was the college player of the year before going as the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft by Seattle.
Houston will become his fifth franchise, joining the SuperSonics (who then became the Oklahoma City Thunder), Golden State, Brooklyn and Phoenix. Durant won his two titles with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and last summer in Paris he became the highest-scoring player in U.S. Olympic basketball history and the first men's player to be part of four gold-medal teams.