Cristian Javier was born on March 26, 1997, he is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Javier signed with the Astros as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2020.
Javier signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent on March 18, 2015. He spent his first professional season with the Dominican Summer League Astros, going 4–0 with a 2.13 ERA over 42+1⁄3 innings.
He played 2016 with the Gulf Coast Astros and Greeneville Astros, pitching to a 4–2 record and 2.29 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 51 innings, and 2017 with the Tri-City ValleyCats, Quad Cities River Bandits, and Buies Creek Astros, compiling a 3–0 record and 2.25 ERA in 14 games (nine starts).
On July 25, 2020, Javier made his MLB debut, pitching one scoreless inning versus the Seattle Mariners. He started his first career MLB versus the Los Angeles Dodgers four days later. On August 4, he received his first MLB career win.
On April 22, 2021, Javier became the first Astros pitcher to record the first eight outs of a game by strikeout since Jim Deshaies in 1986. He set a new personal high in a five-inning performance with nine strikeouts and one walk on no earned runs.
Javier finished the 2021 season 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA in 101.1 innings with numerous career highs, including 36 games pitched, nine starts, 101+1⁄3 innings, 130 strikeouts, 53 walks, and two saves. He also struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings pitched (K/9).
Cristian Javier signed a 1 year / $749,100 contract with the Houston Astros, including $749,100 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $749,100. In 2022, Javier will earn a base salary of $749,100, while carrying a total salary of $749,100.