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Astros decline arbitration to four players

Tue 2nd, December 2008

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The Houston Astros have declined to offer salary arbitration to pitchers Doug Brocail and Randy Wolf, as well as infielder Mark Loretta and catcher Brad Ausmus.

The Astros are not precluded from continuing to negotiate with any of their free agents, but would not be awarded draft pick compensation should the ranked players sign elsewhere. All but Ausmus are considered ranked players.

"Our decision to not offer arbitration doesn't close the door on our ability to get deals done with our guys," said Astros general manager Ed Wade. "We are continuing to have dialogue with Doug Brocail and are hopeful that we can reach an agreement shortly. In Randy Wolf's case, we've had to back off our negotiations for economic reasons, but we can still re-engage at a later date if we can create greater payroll flexibility. In the case of Mark Loretta, we'd like to let things play out for now, and Brad Ausmus told everyone at the end of the season that his intention is to play on the West Coast or retire.

"While securing additional draft picks is very attractive, we have to balance that with the possibility that the players may have accepted the offer to arbitrate. At this time, the overall player payroll picture carries too much uncertainty to run that risk."

Brocail, 41, was 7-5 with a 3.93 earned run average in a career-high 72 relief appearances in 2008. In 606 career games, the 14-year veteran is 51-48 with a 3.99 ERA and nine saves. In his time spent with Houston (1995-96, 2008), Brocail was 14-14 with a 4.21 ERA.

Wolf, 32, went 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts with Houston in 2008 after being acquired from San Diego before the trade deadline. A one-time All-Star, Wolf has a career record of 90-78 and a 4.26 ERA in 10 seasons with Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston.

Loretta, 37, hit .280 with four home runs and 38 RBI in 101 games with Houston in 2008. In his 14-year career, Loretta has appeared in two All-Star games and has compiled 76 home runs, 604 RBI and a career batting average of .297.

Ausmus, 39, hit .318 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 81 games with Houston in 2008. During his 10 seasons with Houston from 1997-98 and 2001-08, Ausmus hit .246 with 41 home runs and 386 RBI in 1,259 games. The three-time Gold Glove Award winner caught more games as an Astro than any other catcher in franchise history and ranks ninth all-time among catchers with 1,887 career games caught.

Where the players come to play and STAY.