2 weeks Ago
HOUSTON — A day after the Houston Astros’ season ended, general manager Dana Brown promised “nothing is off the table.” His actions across the next three months confirmed it. Trading outfielder Kyle Tucker and setup man Ryan Pressly offered payroll flexibility, but weakened a team that is still within its championship window.
Advertisement FanGraphs still gives the Astros a 53.7 percent chance to reach the postseason, but both the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners have better odds to win a division Houston has dominated. Though Alex Bregman’s availability will hang over the Astros for however long he remains a free agent, the club is prepared to enter the season with the roster that will report to West Palm Beach, Fla.
Key battles Bullpen candidates for five spots: Kaleb Ort, Bryan King, Shawn Dubin, Forrest Whitley, Steven Okert, Miguel Castro, Rafael Montero, Blake Weiman, Brandon Walter, Glenn Otto. Bench candidates for two spots: Taylor Trammell, Ben Gamel, Zach Dezenzo, Zack Short, Shay Whitcomb, Jesús Bastidas • Where will Jose Altuve play? What appeared at first as another plea for Bregman to return has morphed into a broader discussion about the next act of Altuve’s career. His defensive metrics at second base have declined so drastically that starting him there 146 times a season is almost untenable — especially when Houston’s top two starting pitchers both generated ground balls at least 49 percent of the time last season.
The team has not committed to a permanent position change, but Altuve spent most of January taking fly balls in left field at Daikin Park while learning to navigate the ballpark’s nooks, crannies and Crawford Boxes. Altuve is still taking ground balls at second base and, according to manager Joe Espada, will split time between both positions in spring training. Re-signing Bregman would all but guarantee Altuve moves to left field, but even if Bregman goes elsewhere, the Astros can construct their roster to gradually move Altuve off the dirt.
Doing so would increase the importance of Whitcomb, Short and Bastidas, along with utilityman Mauricio Dubón, who would stand to gain the most playing time if Altuve plays predominantly left field. Advertisement • Abreu, Hader and whom? Dumping the majority of Pressly’s salary allowed owner Jim Crane to skirt under the first luxury tax threshold, but deprived his bullpen of a durable veteran familiar with every sort of sticky situation. Trading Pressly to Chicago also authored an awkward end to his magnificent career with the Astros, a club with which Pressly wanted to retire.
Moving Bryan Abreu to the setup role behind closer Josh Hader is an easy adjustment in a post-Pressly bullpen. Nothing else will be as simple. Pressly’s departure means Montero has the most major-league service time of any reliever in Astros camp — and he is not even on the 40-man roster.
Tayler Scott and Kaleb Ort are the most logical candidates for high-leverage innings in Pressly’s absence, but each pitcher has a FIP higher than 5 in their limited major-league sample size. Forrest Whitley, once baseball’s top pitching prospect, is out of minor-league options and must make the Opening Day roster to avoid being exposed to waivers. Ditto for long man Shawn Dubin.
Montero, Okert, Castro, Otto and Brandon Walter are all non-roster invitees with some major-league experience, too, creating some competition for an unsettled unit. • Will a young outfielder force the team’s hand? Houston’s unwillingness to pay Tucker next winter, coupled with the sorry state of its farm system, spurred the franchise’s first trade of a reigning All-Star player since 2011. Tucker had transformed into the most well-rounded player on the team and an outfielder with statistics comparable to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
Shipping Tucker to Chicago left Altuve “a little” surprised and staggered what was already a suspect outfield. Altuve’s potential move to left field could help stabilize it, but offensive bounce-backs from Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers are mandatory if Houston’s outfield is going to survive in Tucker’s absence. Advertisement Meyers and McCormick combined to hit .
216 with a 79 wRC+ across 780 plate appearances last season, forcing the team to scour the waiver wire in August for veteran replacements. One of those acquisitions, Ben Gamel, is back with the club on a one-year deal. Still, both Meyers and McCormick should begin the season in starting roles: Meyers in center and McCormick as Tucker’s replacement in right.
Gamel, Taylor Trammell and Mauricio Dubón are the extent of Houston’s major-league-tested depth behind them, making this a pivotal spring for prospects Jacob Melton and Zach Dezenzo. Espada is not a fan of carrying prospects in backup roles, so both Melton and Dezenzo will have to demonstrate to the coaching staff they are ready for regular major-league playing time. Dezenzo got exposed to left field during winter ball in Puerto Rico, and, according to Espada, will play both corner outfield spots in Grapefruit League play.
Melton is a natural center fielder and a left-handed hitter who would balance Houston’s right-handed heavy bunch, but struggled in his first look at Triple-A pitching last season. If either man can make an impression in spring training, Espada and general manager Dana Brown could have difficult decisions while constructing their roster. Key dates Pitchers and catchers report: Wed.
Feb 13 First spring game: Sat. Feb 22 split squad vs. Nationals and Mets Opening Day: Thurs.
March 27 vs. Mets (Top photo of Jose Altuve: Denis Poroy / Getty Images).
