The last on-field connection to his franchise’s best days, Wandy Rodriguez got the contract he always wanted. The Astros, in turn, got a lefty-righty combination at the top of their rotation they hope will lead them back to more days like the 2005 World Series.

A year of campaigning and a year of backing up his breakout 2009 campaign ultimately led to Tuesday, when Rodriguez, a lefthander who turned 32 last week, beat the team-imposed arbitration deadline and agreed to terms on a three-year, $34 million contract.

Not beating the clock to settle on a deal was right fielder Hunter Pence, the only other unsigned arbitration-eligible player. Pence’s case will go before the arbitration panel in February, with three judges deciding whether he earns the $6.9 million he requested or the $5.15 million the team offered.

Rodriguez underwent that experience last year and said he was getting a bit nervous about going back to a hearing, where he lost in 2010. He and new agent Adam Katz agreed to terms, pending a physical.

The deal includes a vesting option for 2014, which would take the total value to $44.5 million.

Nick de la Torre/Chronicle

“I’ve been waiting for it for a long time,” Rodriguez said. “I feel at home here with the Houston Astros.”

Rodriguez will pair with Brett Myers at the top of the rotation. Myers tore up his existing contract last August and signed a deal through 2012 with an option for 2013.

It was also in August when the sides started in earnest their dance that culminated in Tuesday’s deal.

Rodriguez’s then-representative Barry Praver met with the Astros brass when the team was on a road trip in Florida and expressed Rodriguez’s desire to remain an Astro over the long haul.

At the time, Rodriguez was turning around a season that started in about the worst possible fashion. His record dipped to 3-10 with a 6.09 ERA on June 19, and Rodriguez was complaining of feeling lost on the mound.

He went 8-2 with a 2.03 ERA from that date forward and almost matched his 2009 season (14-12, 3.02 ERA) by finishing 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA.

Meeting of the minds

Rodriguez changed agents from Praver to Katz in the offseason, and all along the sides were discussing a multiyear deal since the Astros wanted to the buy out the lefty’s final year of arbitration eligibility and his early free-agent years.

“On a lot of different fronts, I think it’s the right thing for everyone,” Astros general manager Ed Wade said. “We have one of the top lefthanded pitchers in baseball going out for us every fifth day for the next three years — hopefully the next four and beyond.”

Rodriguez, who signed as an amateur from the Dominican Republic in 1999, had a slow rise through the system and an unsteady start to his big league career, going 28-33 with a 5.17 ERA from 2005-07. But the last three years, particularly the last two, have been solid, and he won the team’s Pitcher of the Year award in 2009.

“My experience has really helped me the last two years, knowing the league, and I’ve felt very comfortable the last two years,” Rodriguez said.

He and Myers will be joined in the 2011 rotation by Bud Norris, J.A. Happ and a fifth starter who will come from a large pool in spring training.

Rodriguez became the sixth arbitration-eligible Astros player to sign a major league contract, and a seventh — Matt Lindstrom — was traded away. All that remains is Pence, who is going to a hearing for the first time.

Pence made $3.5 million last season, and the panel will end the current $1.75 million impasse by picking one figure or the other.

It’s nothing personal

Wade expressed his disappointment that a one-year salary for Pence could not be negotiated.

“Our goal is to get every deal done; negotiated settlements are always the preferred way to go,” Wade said. “But it’s a business, and we clearly understand that.

“It bears no reflection on how we feel about Hunter. It’s just where he fits in the salary structure.”

The Astros have won their last four arbitration cases, including three during Wade’s tenure, which began before the 2008 season. Their most recent victory came last year, when the team and Rodriguez were $2 million apart.

zachary.levine@chron.com