While the Astros won’t rule out the possibility of Clemens pitching for them from May 1 on, Purpura said “nobody should pin their hopes” on that happening. Purpura said that issue hasn’t been discussed with the Rocket.

“Until he gets to the point that he decides he wants to play, I don’t think anybody can guess when or if he would come back,” Purpura said. “There’s no deal that that will happen, no preconceived approach to that issue.”

Even without Clemens, the Astros have an escalating payroll. But they also still have a starting rotation that includes Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt.

Pettitte, Oswalt, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman are scheduled to make about $65 million in 2006, up from about $45 million last year. Purpura said another $10 million to $15 million will go to players eligible for salary arbitration, including closer Brad Lidge and cleanup hitter Morgan Ensberg.

Clemens planned to retire after the 2003 season, and it seemed certain that his start for the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series would be his last. But his buddy Pettitte then went to their hometown Astros, and Clemens followed him and won another Cy Young in 2004, when Houston won a playoff series for the first time.

With 341 victories, Clemens is ninth on the career list with the most wins among living pitchers. His 4,502 strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714.

“I’d love to have an answer today that he would come back,” manager Phil Garner said. “In the event that that’s not going to happen, this is the best possible scenario, to move forward.”

Purpura said there were no hard feelings or animosity between the Astros and Clemens, who has a 10-year personal services agreement with the team after he retires as a player — even if he pitches for another team. That is similar to a deal Ryan has with the Astros.

“I think there’s a full understanding of why we have to make our decision at this point,” Purpura said. “He’s going to be with us in some form or another. ... We certainly have cherished our time with him.”

Clemens’ oldest son, Koby, signed with the Astros in July. The 19-year-old third baseman hit .297 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 33 games for the Rookie League Greeneville Astros and .281 with six RBIs in nine games with the Class-A Tri-City Valley Cats.

The Astros offered arbitration to free-agent catcher Brad Ausmus and outfielder Orlando Palmeiro, but not to infielder Jose Vizcaino. Ausmus and Palmeiro have until Dec. 19 to accept and can re-sign through Jan. 8.

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