This morning, Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle suggested the Astros’ rotation picture looked like this:
1. Roy Oswalt
2. Brandon Backe
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Woody Williams
5. Shawn Chacon as the frontrunner, with Chris Sampson, Felipe Paulino, Runelvys Hernandez, Jack Cassel, Mark McLemore, and Brian Moehler in the mix
Now Paulino is out a month with a pinched nerve. Williams has been destroyed this spring. So now it’s looking like Oswalt/Backe/Rodriguez/Chacon/Sampson.
Not exactly playoff quality nor likely to stay healthy all year. However, Ed Wade said today he doesn’t see Kyle Lohse as a fit for around $4MM. Scott Boras called him up last week to pitch his client. Wade has been quite open in the press about his free agent discussions.
Given the uncertainty around everyone besides Oswalt and Rodriguez, Wade might do well to reconsider Lohse if he has room in the budget. Otherwise, Jeff Blair says the Cardinals, Rangers, and Giants have Lohse on the radar (but not the Jays).
