Report: Astros offered George Springer a 7-year, $23-million contract last September

The Astros are reportedly prepared to invest in prospect George Springer, the dynamic outfielder who blasted 37 homers with 45 stolen bases last season, and even offered him a seven-year, $23-million contract last September that the 24-year-old rejected, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

Springer, who's vying this spring for a job on the major-league roster, declined the offer because he was unwilling to forfeit three years of earnings through arbitration, as well as his first year of free agency, sources told Rosenthal.

A rival agent estimated that if Springer fulfills his potential, he will earn more than $30 million in his three arbitration years alone.

In that sense, the Astros' offer of an unprecedented long-term deal was shrewd; they were gambling that Springer would sacrifice future earning power for an immediate life-changing guarantee.