Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Astros’ initial player pool consists of the following players.
Right-handed pitchers
- Rogelio Armenteros
- Bryan Abreu
- Brandon Bailey
- Joe Biagini
- Brandon Bielak
- Brett Conine
- Chris Devenski
- Shawn Dubin
- Luis Garcia
- Ralph Garza
- Zack Greinke
- Josh James
- Cristian Javier
- Lance McCullers Jr.
- Roberto Osuna
- Enoli Paredes
- Brad Peacock
- Ryan Pressly
- Austin Pruitt
- Nivaldo Rodriguez
- Andre Scrubb
- Joe Smith
- Cy Sneed
- Jojanse Torres
- Jose Urquidy
- Justin Verlander
- Forrest Whitley
Left-handed pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
- Jose Altuve
- Alex Bregman
- Carlos Correa
- Alex De Goti
- Aledmys Diaz
- Yuli Gurriel
- Taylor Jones
- Jack Mayfield
- Nick Tanielu
- Abraham Toro
Outfielders
Breezy
Holy right handers
puhl
This teams is seriously short on quality left handed pitchers.
astros2017
Luhnow and Hinch didn’t care what hand they threw with, many of our RHP dominated lefties better than most left hand specialists
Will be interesting to see how Click moves forward with that
LouisianaAstros
Not many lefty relievers can do what the Astros want their pitching staff to do and that is live up in the zone
Britton, Chapman and maybe 2-3 others.
Astros have to because of their ballpark. They have to mess with the launch angle of hitters.
High fastball and then spin curves from that
Like already been said. Interested if Click changes this because the Astros still have a lot of the same pitching coaches in their system.
jasonact
This is nothing new for the Astros. They haven’t had a consistent LHP on the roster since Tony Sipp & Dallas Keuchel left after the 2018 season, and those two were the only consistent LHPs on the roster since they became a contending team in 2015. Even the list of LHPs who have thrown a single pitch for the team during the last 5 seasons is quite short, fewer than 10 different guys I believe, and most of those were in 2015.
sherlock_
61. Buzzers
Hawkeye75
Let it go. The joke is so tired now.
myaccount
It won’t be let go until the Astros cease being a franchise.
goastros123
What myaccount is really saying is “MLB didn’t meet my unrealistic expectations of punishment for the Astros so I’m gonna make jokes that aren’t creative”.
2020ball
unrealistic? yeah…sure.
astrosfansince1974
Then get rid of the entire league! “Let he who is without sin…”
goastros123
2020ball, getting rid of the Astros franchise is bad for business. Defiintely unrealistc.
takeitback
Especially when there is zero proof of buzzers.
James Midway
Don’t forget the trash can. Haha beat y’all to it.
sherlock_
Nah tied me and my buzzers comment lol
itsgonnahappen
That’s awesome! Now kith!
LouisianaAstros
In my unbiased opinion the best I have seen so far.
Sad to see the Trash can go. Hopefully we can find a replacement.
mlb1225
Something something trash can joke something something
louwhitakerisahofer
Maybe I missed it… but they can still manage the 60 man like the 40 man rosters throughout the year, right? Not sure why a team would overload with RHP.
astros2017
Luhnow and Hinch didn’t care about having LHP, had rhp in pen that were better than most lefty specialists
Not sure how much say Dusty will have on that since he isn’t likely here long term, but will be interesting to see how Click handles it
Armaments216
Can Dusty opt out of this or is he stuck managing?
astros2017
Lol, how could he “be stuck” managing? They gonna tie him up and drag him down there?
He has already said he wants to manage, said he came here to win a championship and will take all the precautions possible, but that he is ready to go
He isn’t sure how that toothpick will work with the mask though
LouisianaAstros
Dusty’s wife is originally from SE Texas.
Said he feels like Houston is his second home.
Pretty much asked to manage the Astros.
So far so good.
astros_fan_84
Initially, I wasn’t a fan of him as an applicant until I heard more. He straight told Crane, “I want to win a Championship, and I can do it with this team.” I love it. He isn’t here to work. He’s here to win.
I also suspect that, minus another Championship, he’ll be back next year. If he gels with the veterans, he may want a normal year.
Armaments216
71 year old manager in a COVId hot spot for a team hated by the rest of the league? If I’m Dusty, I’m staying home.
astros_fan_84
The Astros and Astros fans don’t care what other teams and fan bases think. Dusty also took the job knowing that.
If he wants to step away, no one should fault him. However, he can limit his exposure. It’s a calculated risk, which is something manager knows how to do.
wagner13
Who’s the primary backup behind Maldonado? Stubbs or Garneau? Asking Houston fans for their team knowledge and insight
GreenWood Porter
I’m hoping it will be Stubbs, even though Garneau is more experienced. With a short season I would imagine that Maldonado will handle most of the catching duties, but hopefully Stubbs will have the opportunity to play a few games.
Stubbs can also play other positions so I think his versatility makes him a better option as their primary backup catcher.