This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Friday is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange desired salary figures for the 2023 season, which usually leads to many contracts being settled. The Astros have eight arbitration-eligible players, led by All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez.

Tucker, who hit .257 with 30 homers, 107 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 150 games last year and won a Gold Glove in the American League, is going through the arbitration process for the first time and stands to get a substantial raise from the $764,200 he made last season. The Astros have approached Tucker about a contract extension in the past but have yet to work one out.

Valdez, meanwhile, made $3 million last year in his first year of arbitration eligibility and backed that up with a terrific 2022 season. He went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA in 31 starts and set a Major League single-season record by throwing 25 consecutive quality starts from April 25 to Sept. 18. Valdez led the AL with 26 quality starts and 201 1/3 innings pitched, made his first All-Star team and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

A pair of relievers -- Ryne Stanek and Phil Maton -- are in their final year of arbitration before becoming free agents next year. Stanek ($2.1 million in ’22) posted a 1.15 ERA in the regular season, setting a club record for the lowest ERA by a pitcher in a season. Maton ($1.55 million) posted a 3.84 ERA, but he missed the playoffs after breaking his hand when he punched a locker in the final days of the regular season.

Houston’s remaining arbitration-eligible players are going through the process for the first time: starting pitchers José Urquidy and Cristian Javier, utility player Mauricio Dubón and lefty reliever Blake Taylor, whose 2022 season was derailed by injuries.

If the two sides don’t come to a contract agreement by Friday, they can continue to negotiate before they take their cases to an arbitration panel, which will pick a side. Well, that’s what the rules say. Under former general manager James Click, whose contract expired after the 2022 season, the Astros were a “file-and-trial” team, which meant they didn’t negotiate after the filing deadline.