McCullers and the Astros agreed to terms Wednesday on a five-year contract extension, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reports. The contract is worth $85 million and keeps McCullers on the books through 2026, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
McCullers will be rewarded for staging a successful comeback in 2020 after Tommy John surgery sidelined him for all of 2019. Over his 11 starts with Houston last season, he re-established himself as a capable No. 2 or 3 option in the rotation by submitting a 3.93 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 56:20 K:BB in 55 innings. He'll give the Astros some longer-term stability near the top of the rotation with Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander (elbow) both headed for free agency next winter.