Arbitration eligible for the third time, Humberto Quintero and the Astros have avoided the process by agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract.
Quintero made $610,000 and $750,000 in his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He received a career-high 276 plate appearances this year, but hit just .234 with a measly .579 OPS to basically match his underwhelming career marks.
He’s slated to back up second-year catcher Jason Castro in 2011, so the Astros won’t be counting on him for more than a couple starts per week after he was behind the plate for 74 of 162 games in 2010.
