Keuchel among 7 arbitration-eligible players tendered

The Astros’ seven remaining arbitrationeligible players who were tendered contracts before Friday’s 7 p.m. deadline should account for about $30 million on the team’s 2017 payroll.

Dallas Keuchel will command the biggest chunk of the group. MLBTradeRumors.com’s projection system predicts the ace lefthander will make $9.5 million via the second of his three go-arounds in the arbitration process.

Outfielder George Springer and starting pitchers Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers are due big raises via their first time through the arbitration process. Springer is projected to make $4.7 million, while the two righthanders are projected to land $4.6 million and $4.3 million, respectively.

Super utility man Marwin Gonzalez ($3.6 million projection), reliever Will Harris ($2.5 million), and outfielder Jake Marisnick ($1.1 million) are the Astros’ other three arbitration eligible players. The team struck a below-market value, one-year deal worth $5.5 million with outfielder Nori Aoki on Wednesday to avoid arbitration.

The seven salaries through the arbitration process will be on top of the roughly $75 million the Astros have committed to their 2017 payroll for their 10 players signed to multi-million dollar deals, including $2 million to Jon Singleton, who was recently removed from their 40-man roster.

The last year the Astros’ opening day payroll exceeded $100 million was 2009, two years before Jim Crane’s ownership group purchased the team from Drayton McLane.

Odds and ends

George Springer is on the United States’ 50-player provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic, according to a report from MLB.com, but it remains uncertain if the Astros outfielder will play in the WBC. He is also eligible to play for Puerto Rico, where his mother Laura was born. New Astros bench coach Alex Cora is general manager of Team Puerto Rico, which will feature Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. … Astros owner Jim Crane, a St. Louis native and former pitcher at the University of Central Missouri, will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Jan. 29.