The Astros spent much of the offseason looking to add a left-handed hitter. That didn’t happen with three weeks to go before the regular season. General manager Dana Brown suggested the team still hopes to find that after the trade Jesus Sánchez to Toronto Joey Loperfido mid-February.
Foreign additions before Opening Day become less likely with each passing day. However, manager Joe Espada declined to name starters at any of the three outfield positions over the weekend (link posted by Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle).
“I’m not ready to say that,” Espada said. “Obviously, we know what it is Jake Meyers what I can do in the middle, I feel very happy about that. I feel really good about what it is Cam Smith he can do well. Zach Cole and some of those guys can play all three. But when it comes to who is there on the first day, there is none yet.”
On paper, Meyers feels like the safest bet to play every day. He is the best outfielder in center field and is coming off his best season at the plate. The 29-year-old hit .292/.354/.373 with 16 stolen bases and a career-low 17.6% slugging percentage. A strained right calf bothered him during the second half and kept him under 400 plate appearances.
Cole and Smith are not that established. The former made his debut in September and hit four home runs in his first 15 games. He also struck out 20 times in 52 plate appearances after sliding at a 35% clip in Triple-A. It’s hard to see that profile working over a large sample unless it’s very interactive.
Smith, a high prospect found in Kyle Tucker trade, he hit well for a few months before his numbers took off in the second half. Smith’s minor league experience prior to his promotion included five games in Double-A. It’s surprising that he’s been able to keep his head above water in the big leagues with so little work against high pitching, but he should open this season in Triple-A. That would be easy for the Astros to fix if they could find an old corner bat.
Along with the outfield, the back end of the rotation has some uncertainty. Houston added two top rotation prospects Tatsuya Imai again Mike Burrows to slot in the back Hunter Brown again Cristian Javier. The Astros plan to start the season with a six-man rotation. They only have two scheduled days off during the first 28 days. Most teams that sign a high-level pitcher from Japan also prefer to use a six-man rotation to match the once-a-week schedule where NPB starters are used.
The Astros picked up one-year contracts Ryan Weiss again Nate Pearson competing with internal options Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh, Spencer Arrighetti again Jason Alexander the last two jobs. Pearson is out of options and needs to be on an MLB roster somehow or face waivers. It looks like he will be forced to start the season on the 15-day disabled list.
Espada said this afternoon that Pearson had slowed down his pitching schedule due to elbow soreness (reported by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). Pearson, who had elbow surgery during the offseason, has been throwing bullpen sessions. He has not yet entered a Grapefruit League game.
