Headlines

  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday
  • Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds
  • Rangers Option Josh Jung
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Astros Release Robbie Grossman, Luis Cruz

By Steve Adams | November 19, 2015 at 2:29pm CDT

The Astros announced today that outfielder Robbie Grossman and minor league left-hander Luis Cruz have been granted their unconditional releases. The pair of moves frees up two spots on Houston’s 40-man roster that can be reallocated before tomorrow’s deadline to protect players from the 2015 Rule 5 Draft.

It wasn’t long ago that the now-26-year-old Grossman was viewed as a potential long-term piece with the Astros. The switch-hitting outfielder, originally acquired in the trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh, had a respectable rookie debut at the plate with Houston back in 2013 when he batted .268/.332/.370 in 288 plate appearances. That led to an increased role in 2014, which saw Grossman slash .233/.337/.330 in 422 PAs while playing above-average defense in the outfield corners.

Grossman’s potential was at one point seen as significant enough that the Astros were rumored to be discussing an early-career extension that would’ve reportedly guaranteed him $13.5MM over six years and come with a pair of club options attached. Grossman’s situation exemplifies the difficult decisions with which young players are faced when approached regarding extensions. Had Grossman developed into an average (or even below-average) regular, that contract probably would have underpaid him substantially while also delaying his free agency by two years at what were presumably also relatively low prices. However, the ultimate downside for a player in rejecting such a contract is today’s outcome — a disappointing end to said player’s tenure with the organization.

However, Grossman only recently turned 26 and is still young enough to latch on with another club and establish himself a useful big league piece. He has a year and 95 days of Major League service time, so a team that signs him (presumably to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp) could conceivably control him for five more seasons if he takes a step forward and realizes some of the potential that made him Baseball Prospectus’ No. 76 overall prospect prior to the 2012 season. If nothing else, Grossman has proven himself capable of hitting at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .281/.382/.387 batting line in 917 plate appearances. And, of course, players who have shown to be quality contributors in the minors often receive interest on the international front from clubs in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

As for Cruz, the 25-year-old Puerto Rican hurler was selected in the ninth round of the 2008 draft. Cruz’s strong work in Double-A back in 2013-14 landed him a spot on the Astros’ Major League roster, but he’s struggled to adapt to the top minor league level, as he owns a career 4.55 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 140 1/3 innings at that level.

Share 11 Retweet 42 Send via email0

Houston Astros Transactions Robbie Grossman

Brewers Acquire Jonathan Villar From Astros
Main
Cubs Claim Jack Leathersich From Mets
View Comments (4)
Post a Comment

4 Comments

  1. Monkey’s Uncle

    10 years ago

    I don’t recall the specifics, but I seem to remember Grossman somehow upsetting or otherwise running afoul of the Pirate front office in 2012 (?) during the season where the Bucs ended up dealing him to Houston. He might even have been suspended while in AAA. If anyone remembers the details or thinks I am wrong, let me know.

    Anyways, even though Grossman has been less productive each year as an Astro, I just wonder if somehow his off-field demeanor helped lead to his release, too. The timing of this move, and the fact that he is 26 and has some MLB experience, just seems odd to me.

    Reply
    • Steve Adams

      10 years ago

      The timing’s not that odd. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, and Houston wanted the spots occupied by Grossman, Cruz and Villar.

      I’m writing a post on the deadline and today’s 40-man roster adds right now, but definitely should’ve noted it here as well and will quickly do so now.

      Reply
  2. Sokane

    10 years ago

    Grossman may be worth a shot. He shouldn’t cost too much. And well, last time the Tigers took on an Astros cast off, it turned out alright

    Reply
    • quantomoffandom

      10 years ago

      Agree, he should come cheap, and maybe the Tigers might catch lightening in a bottle twice.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Braves Designate Alex Verdugo For Assignment

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

    Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

    Recent

    Mets Interested In Mitch Keller

    Diamondbacks Activate Corbin Carroll From 10-Day IL

    Dodgers Release Luis Garcia

    Phillies Interested In Dennis Santana, David Bednar

    Mets Notes: Butto, Senga, Megill

    Billy Hunter Passes Away

    Padres Outright Logan Gillaspie

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Orioles Outright Matt Bowman, Emmanuel Rivera

    Cubs Sign Ryan Jensen To Minor League Deal

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version