Astros will pursue $15.6M insurance claim on Bagwell

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Astros will pursue $15.6M insurance claim on BagwellESPN.com news services


The Houston Astros say they intend to file a $15.6 million insurance claim for Jeff Bagwell's injured shoulder for the purpose of ending the first baseman's career with the club.


Bagwell

The Astros have until Jan. 31 to file the claim, after which Bagwell would be examined by the insurance company's doctors. Club officials want to know how productive they think he can be next season, and the insurance company could ask Bagwell to prove he can throw a baseball.


Bagwell's agent told the Houston Chronicle he thinks no determination can be made until Bagwell returns to the field and attempts to resume his baseball routine for a 16th major league season.


"I don't know how this thing could be resolved until deep into spring training or unless Jeff says, 'I can't continue,' " Barry Axelrod, Bagwell's agent, told the newspaper. "Jeff isn't saying that. He's saying just the opposite."


Bagwell, a four-time All-Star first baseman and the 1994 NL MVP, is guaranteed $17 million this season, but if he retires or deems himself unable to play, the Astros can file a claim and collect the $15.6 million.


"We would love to have a healthy Jeff Bagwell," general manager Tim Purpura said this month. "If we can't have that, we have to consider all of our options."


Attorneys for Astros owner Drayton McLane's have told him the team cannot collect on its claim if Bagwell so much as steps on a practice field at spring training. But Purpura said the Astros are investigating whether that's set in stone, according to the report. And McLane said Bagwell might go to spring training if doctors decide his shoulder will continue to heal, or if the insurance company decides he's not disabled enough for a payout.


"These policies are very vague, somewhat ambiguous and open to interpretation," Purpura told the Chronicle in an e-mail.


McLane doubts Bagwell's right shoulder will allow him to continue to be an everyday player.


"If the doctors say he can improve as the season goes along, then I'm for him [playing]," McLane said. "We bought insurance, and so we've got to know, can he play or is he unable to play?"


But Bagwell believes he's being written off prematurely. He has been swinging a bat and lifting weights for weeks. He has begun to throw again and says he's on schedule to play first base on opening day.


Bagwell, 37, missed 115 games last season after undergoing capsular release surgery on his shoulder. He returned in September but couldn't throw and was limited to pinch-hitting duty in the playoffs.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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