The Astros spent most of the offseason looking to sign a left-handed outfielder. As of now, with three weeks left before the start of the regular season, such a situation has not materialized. General manager Dana Brown suggested the team still hopes to make such an acquisition after the replacement. Jesús Sanchez To Toronto Joey Loperpido Mid-February.
External additions before opening day become less likely as each day passes. Still, manager Joe Espada declined to name a starter at any of the three outfield spots last weekend (see link: Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle).
“I’m not ready to say that,” Espada said. “Surely what do we know? Jake Myers It feels really good to be able to do this at the center. Somehow I feel really good cam smith You can do it right away. jack cole The rest of us can play all three. But in terms of who was there on day one, we’re not there yet.”
On paper, Myers playing every day seems like the safest bet. He is a plus defender in center field and is having his best season at the plate. The 29-year-old hit .292/.354/.373 with 16 stolen bases and a career-low strikeout rate of 17.6%. A right calf injury bothered him in the second half, which limited him to fewer than 400 plate appearances.
Cole and Smith are much less established. The former debuted last September and hit 4 home runs in his first 15 games. He also struck out 20 times in 52 plate appearances after hitting 35 percent in Triple-A. Unless he makes much more consistent contact, it’s hard to see that profile working in a larger sample.
Smith acquired as top prospect Kyle Tucker Traded, hit for a good few months before his numbers collapsed in the second half. Smith’s upper minor experience prior to his promotion consisted of five games in Double-A. It’s impressive that he’s been able to keep his head above water in the big leagues with so little effort against higher-caliber pitchers, but he’ll probably have to start this season in Triple-A. It would be easier to fix the problem if the Astros could get a veteran corner outfielder to bat.
There is also some uncertainty in the back half of the rotation along with the outfield. Houston added two mid-rotation prospects. Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows in the slot at the back hunter brown and Christian Javier. The Astros plan to start the season with a six-man rotation. During the first 28 days, there are only 2 vacation days. Most teams recruiting big-name pitchers in Japan prefer to use a six-man rotation on a once-a-week schedule where NPB starting pitchers are used.
The Astros took a one-year flier. Ryan Weiss and nate pearson To compete with internal options Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Bluebo, Spencer Arrighetti and Jason Alexander For the last two jobs. Pearson has no choice, he will have to either be on an MLB roster at some point or be granted waivers. However, he will likely have to start the season on the 15-day injured list.
Espada said this afternoon that Pearson has slowed down his pitching program due to elbow soreness (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Pearson, who had surgery to clear his elbow during the offseason, was throwing bullpen sessions. He has never participated in a Grapefruit League game.
