March 26: Rodgers’ contract contains a $2MM base salary plus another $300K of incentives tied to plate appearances, Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports. Rodgers would receive $50K bonuses for reaching each of 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.
March 25: The Astros will select Brendan Rodgers onto the major league roster, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The former Rockies second baseman breaks camp after signing a minor league deal last month.
Rodgers didn’t exactly force his way into the picture with a huge Spring Training. He hit .233 without a home run over 44 plate appearances. Still, it was surprising that he needed to settle for a minor league deal in the first place. Rodgers is a former third overall pick who spent four seasons as Colorado’s primary second baseman. He has never lived up to the top prospect billing, but he’s been a better than replacement level performer.
The 28-year-old hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers across 539 plate appearances last season. Like many Colorado hitters, he had extreme home/road splits. Rodgers hit .328/.396/.502 at Coors Field and .214/.247/.323 away from Denver. The thin air in Colorado can flatten pitchers’ breaking stuff, which causes trouble for a lot of Rockies hitters as they try to adjust to sharper stuff when on the road. The Astros will hope for some positive regression in Rodgers’ road production to compensate for the expected drop-off in his numbers at home.
Rodgers won a Gold Glove at second base in 2022. Public metrics have painted that as an outlier season; he has graded as a middling defender by Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast in every other year. Rodgers hasn’t played anywhere other than the keystone since 2021. That’ll limit his versatility as a bench piece.
Houston will use Jose Altuve primarily in left field. While Mauricio Dubón is technically the starting second baseman, he’s capable of playing essentially anywhere. Rodgers could draw into the lineup at second on days when Espada wants to move Dubón around to rest someone else. As a player with more than five years of service, Rodgers cannot be sent to the minors without his consent.
The Astros have two openings on their 40-man roster at the moment. They’ll add Rodgers, Cam Smith, Rafael Montero and Steven Okert by Opening Day. They’ve already informed the out-of-options Cooper Hummel that he won’t make the team. He’ll be designated for assignment or waived. They can easily open the final spot by transferring an injured pitcher (e.g. J.P. France, Cristian Javier) to the 60-day injured list.
Starting 2B??
Should be according to ST performance. The guy has been a hard-hit doubles machine, including tonight’s exhibition game.
Wow, really? A guy who hit .267 with 13 homers and 54 RBI’s? Who would have thought?
I think will split with Dubon. But Dubonhas not looked good all Spring. Had chances tonight even though ST game to blow game open but did nothing to help. Chas even did not look good. I am not sure Chas even though outfield will look good on limited role. He might platoon with Jake. Maybe he helps for D with RF or LF. Dubon could still be outfield or just Super Utility. May depend on if Brendan good against LH or RHP might start. Or come in later. But figured he had a shot. Short fell Short. Hummel they could trade as no options .But let us Hope on the lineup and more. Altuve 3 strikeouts not good. Hopefully looks more lively Thursday and Yordan. But congratulates to Brendan, Dezenzo and Cam for making team
Dubon can’t hit and Rogers can’t play anywhere but 2nd, I expect Dubon will be the utility guy and Rogers get the start.
Thought Rodgers has looked pretty good this Spring. The Astros have not hit well in ST, Yet have outscored opponents, and racked up wins.
Going to be an interesting month, April.
The issue at hand is not just about Coors Field but the systemic mismanagement of player evaluation in MLB, especially for those transitioning from extreme environments. The failure to properly contextualize environmental impact on a player’s development—both offensively and defensively—leads to skewed evaluations, market inefficiencies, and ultimately, the misallocation of resources. The Astros might be exploiting a hole in the market here, but this is a larger, structural issue that needs more attention from both analysts and teams to ensure fair evaluations across all ballparks.
Yeah man.
What a great under the radar move. Gotta give it to ’em.
Altuve has no business playing left field!
His legs are too short, too hard to cover a lot of ground in a hurry!
He looks like Fred Flintstone chasing Dino
before he sits him out on the porch!
The Red Sox survived 7 years of Manny Ramirez’ defense in LF, Altuve will be fine.