Astros Tender Contracts to All Eligible Players Except for One

The Houston Astros tendered contracts to eight of the nine eligible players prior to Friday evening's 7 p.m. CST deadline. The only player left on the outside looking in was right-handed pitcher Josh James. 

James has had his ups and downs with the club over the past few seasons. The righty set the club record for most strikeouts by a rookie with 99, but has also dealt with injuries since then.

A lat injury has kept James from being able to perform for the big league club, and with James now age 29, the club felt it best to move on. He could be a good reclamation project for another team.

As for the other eight players, which consisted of outfielder Kyle Tucker, starters Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and José Urquidy, utilityman Mauricio Dubón, relievers Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, and Blake Taylor, tendering a contract was all but a formality.