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Astros Place Cristian Javier On 15-Day Injured List

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Right-hander Cristian Javier has been scratched from his scheduled start against the Nationals this afternoon and will be placed on the injured list, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). Right-hander Hunter Brown will take the ball against the Nationals today in Javier’s stead, while righty Spencer Arrighetti is being recalled to replace Javier on the club’s active roster.

Javier has been a rare bright spot in what has been a brutal start to the 2024 campaign for the 7-15 Astros. None of that can be pinned on the 27-year-old righty, however, as Javier has dominated to the tune of a 1.54 ERA and a 3.66 FIP in 23 1/3 innings of work across four starts so far this season. Unfortunately, he’ll now take a seat for at least 15 days, though Espada indicated (as relayed by Kawahara) that the goal of Javier’s placement on the injured list was simply to “give him time” to recover, suggesting a fairly short absence could be on the table.

Even if Javier’s trip to the injured list is a fairly short one, it’s still tough news for the Astros. The club just returned veteran ace Justin Verlander from the injured list last week, and now Javier will join Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr. on the shelf for the time being. Of that group, only Valdez appears to be nearing a return. The lefty was placed on the injured list earlier this month due to elbow soreness but avoided a more serious injury, with Kawahara relaying that Espada even left the door open to Valdez returning to the club’s rotation sometime this week to pitch alongside Verlander and J.P. France against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

If Valdez can return in the coming days, it should be a fairly seamless transition into the rotation with off-days on Monday and Friday allowing the club additional flexibility if necessary. The southpaw made just two starts prior to going on the injured list at the beginning of the month but looked good in both of them, pitching to a 2.19 ERA with a 3.55 FIP and 10 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings of work.

Should Valdez need a bit longer before he’s ready to be activated, the Astros figure to turn to Arrighetti to make a start at some point. The 24-year-old rookie made his MLB debut earlier this season and struggled badly in two starts, allowing nine runs on 11 hits and five walks in just seven innings of work, though he did manage to notch eight strikeouts. If Arrighetti doesn’t end up being needed to make a start in the coming days, the Astros could instead look to use him to bolster a bullpen that has posted a worrisome 5.29 ERA to this point in the 2024 season, better than only the Rays among AL clubs.

AL West Notes: Abreu, Scherzer, Rendon

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The Astros have struggled badly to open the year as they currently sit dead last in the AL West with a 7-15 record, four games back of Seattle and Texas for the division lead. Club GM Dana Brown recently spoke to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle regarding the club’s deep early season struggles, including commenting on the status of veteran first baseman Jose Abreu.

Abreu, 37, has hit an anemic .073/.148/.091 with a 27.9% strikeout rate and just one extra-base hit in his first 61 trips to the plate this season. While that’s a fairly small sample size, it comes on the heels of a 2023 campaign where he posted a disappointing 86 wRC+ in 141 games. Given the veteran slugger’s lack of success in an Astros uniform, Brown left the door open to the club making some changes regarding his playing time should he continue to struggle. While Brown emphasized that the club will continue to focus on getting Abreu playing time to “see if he can get hot” in the coming days, he also acknowledged that they’ll have to “circle back and make some decisions” if the veteran doesn’t show signs of improvement.

It’s an understandable stance for the club to take, though Abreu is only in the second year of his three-year, $58.5MM pact with the club. The most obvious option for the club at first base should they look to move away from Abreu is Jon Singleton, though the 32-year-old has hardly lit the world on fire himself with a .250/.333/.313 slash line in 13 games this year. Trey Cabbage and Grae Kessinger are among the other plausible options available to the club at first base currently on the 40-man roster.

More from around the AL West…

  • Reporting earlier this week indicated that Rangers ace Max Scherzer is ahead of schedule as he rehabs from surgery to repair a herniated disc he underwent over the offseason, and that he was scheduled to throw 40 pitches to live hitters yesterday. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, that 40-pitch session went off without a hitch and Scherzer had no issues recovering today, meaning the 39-year-old veteran is now on schedule to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday. The news is a huge shot in the arm for the club’s rotation, which has scuffled somewhat early in the season with a 4.46 FIP entering play today that placed the club ahead of only the White Sox, Rockies, and Cardinals among all major league clubs. Scherzer, who posted a 3.20 ERA and 3.40 FIP in eight starts with Texas last year, would give the club the flexibility to move an arm such as Michael Lorenzen or even Andrew Heaney to the bullpen upon his return.
  • Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon exited this evening’s game against the Reds with a right hamstring injury, as relayed by MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Rendon sustained the injury while running out an infield single in the top of the first inning. Following the game, Rendon spoke to reporters (including Bollinger) about the injury, noting that his hamstring is feeling “not too great” in the aftermath of the game and that he was feeling some frustration about the constant injuries. Rendon, 34 in June, was once a star infielder for the Nationals and earned a seven-year deal with the Angels in free agency prior to the 2020 campaign. Unfortunately, his career has been completely derailed by injuries in recent years, with just 166 appearances and a 95 wRC+ since the start of the 2021 season. Should the injury result in another trip to the shelf for Rendon, it would be a major blow to the Angels. While the veteran infielder started the season in a 0-for-19 slump, since then he’s started to heat up with a .346/.403/.400 slash line in his last 13 games. In the event Rendon requires a trip to the injured list, the club could rely on Brandon Drury to cover third base in Rendon’s absence, with the club’s bench options, such as Aaron Hicks, Miguel Sano, and Jo Adell, handling DH.

Which Hot Or Cold Starts Are For Real?

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The 2024 season is just a few weeks old. There’s still a lot of time for narratives to shift and plenty of exciting or deflating changes are surely coming up over the horizon. Nonetheless, the games in April count just as much as the games in September. Some clubs have already banked some valuable wins while others have put themselves in a real hole.

Looking at the FanGraphs Playoff Odds today and comparing them to where they were ahead of the Seoul Series, there are five clubs that have increased their postseason chances by more than 10%. Meanwhile, six clubs have seen their odds drop by more than 10%. Which of those are just small-sample blips and which are signs that the club’s talent level is meaningfully different than expected? Let’s take a glance.

Orioles

The defending champions of the American League East were given just a 51.8% chance of making it back to the postseason, per the FanGraphs odds from before any games had been played. They have started out 12-6 and seen their odds jump to 76.5% today, a difference of 24.7%.

Baltimore continues to get huge contributions from its young core and role players alike. Jackson Holliday’s big league career is out to a slow start, but others have picked up the slack, with Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Cedric Mullins off and running. Even Ryan O’Hearn, who was acquired in a small cash deal from the Royals, continues to thrive. On the pitching side, Corbin Burnes has been the expected ace while Grayson Rodriguez continues to cement himself as a quality big league arm. There are some question marks at the back end with Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin out to wobbly starts, but Kyle Bradish and John Means are both on minor league rehab assignments and could rejoin the club soon.

The 18 games they have played so far have come against the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Red Sox, Brewers and Twins.

Royals

The Royals entered the season with playoff odds of just 13.1% but they have gone 12-7 so far, bumping themselves up to 33.2%, a difference of 20.1%.

An improved rotation gets a lot of the credit. Between last year’s trade for Cole Ragans, the offseason signings of Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, as well as the emergence of Alec Marsh, it’s a whole new look alongside Brady Singer. None of those five have an ERA higher than 4.32 so far this year. On the position player side of things, Bobby Witt Jr. is further proving himself to be a superstar, while Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino are healthy and productive.

They have faced the Twins, Orioles, White Sox, Astros and Mets thus far.

Yankees

The Yanks had strong odds to begin with, starting out at 71.2%. A hot start of 13 wins and 6 losses has already bumped those all the way to 85.9%, a jump of 14.7%.

Health was a big factor for the Yankees last year, with players like Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodón all missing significant time. This year, Gerrit Cole is on the shelf, as is LeMahieu. But new face Juan Soto has been great so far, while Stanton, Cortes and Rodón are back in decent form.

The injuries or lack thereof will probably remain a focus for the months to come, especially with so many key players in their mid-30s. Last year, the club was 45-36 through the end of June, but mounting injuries led to them going 20-33 through July and August.

They have started their season by playing the Astros, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Marlins and Guardians.

Brewers

The National League Central is arguably the most up-for-grabs, with the five clubs fairly close in terms of talent. Despite being the reigning division champs, the Brewers were given just a 30.6% chance of making the postseason, below the Cardinals and Cubs. They’ve started out 11-6 and are now at 43.5%, a 12.9% bump.

There have been quite a few nice performance on the offensive side of things. Willy Adames had a bit of a down year in 2023 but is off to a good start in this campaign. Brice Turang and Blake Perkins are also putting up better numbers than last year. Joey Ortiz has done well since coming over from the Orioles in the Burnes trade. The loss of Burnes and the injury to Brandon Woodruff left the club without their co-aces, but Freddy Peralta has stepped up with a 2.55 ERA and 39.4% strikeout rate through his first three starts.

They have faced off against the Mets, Twins, Mariners, Reds, Orioles and Padres so far.

Mets

After a disastrous 2023 season and a relatively quiet winter, the Mets opened this year with their odds at 27.6%. A 10-8 start has already bumped them to 38.7%, an 11.1% difference.

They have been especially strong of late, as they started out 0-5 but have gone 10-3 over their last 13 contests. The bounceback plays on Luis Severino and Sean Manaea seem to be going well so far. Edwin Díaz is healthy again and already has four saves. On the position player side, Brett Baty seems to be taking a step forward. DJ Stewart is carrying over last year’s hot finish, and the Tyrone Taylor pickup looks like a nice move.

They have lined up against the Brewers, Tigers, Reds, Braves, Royals and Pirates.

Giants

The Giants added plenty of talent this winter and opened the season with playoff odds of 44.6%. But an 8-11 start has already dropped them to 34%, a difference of 10.6%.

Stretching out Jordan Hicks is going great so far, but Blake Snell showed a lot of rust in his first two starts after signing late in the offseason. On offense, acquisitions like Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman and Nick Ahmed have produced subpar offense, and the same goes for incumbents like Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada.

They have squared off against the Padres, Dodgers, Nationals, Rays and Marlins thus far.

Cardinals

Despite a dreadful 2023 campaign, expectations were high for the Cards coming into this year after they remade their rotation. But a middling start of 9-10 has dropped their playoff odds from 50.1% to 38.7%, a difference of 11.4%.

Injuries have been playing a notable role in the early going for the Cards, with Sonny Gray, Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson and others missing time. The Lance Lynn signing looks good so far, as he has a 2.18 ERA through four starts, but Kyle Gibson is at 6.16. Both the veteran Paul Goldschmidt and the youngster Jordan Walker are out to terrible starts at the plate. The Cardinals’ long list of injuries opened up playing time for guys like Alec Burleson and Victor Scott II, who have each struggled immensely.

They have faced the Dodgers, Padres, Marlins, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Athletics to this point.

Mariners

The Mariners just missed the playoffs last year but still opened this season with a 60.8% chance of getting back there. A tepid start of 9-10 has seen those odds slide to 49.1%, a difference of 11.7%. Things were even more dire before they swept the Reds this week, as they were 6-10 prior to that.

The rotation has surprisingly been a problem thus far. An injury to Bryan Woo bumped Emerson Hancock into the rotation, but Hancock has an ERA of 7.98 through three starts. Each of Luis Castillo and George Kirby also have poor results, though those may be based on luck. Both have a high BABIP and low strand rate, so both have a FIP just above 3.00, about three runs lower than their ERA.

Julio Rodríguez is the biggest disappointment on the position player side. He is striking out at a 34.6% clip and walking just 5.1% of the time while still looking for his first home of the year, leading to a line of .219/.269/.260. Luke Raley, Mitch Garver and J.P. Crawford have also looked lost at the plate, with none of that trio posting a wRC+ higher than 75 so far.

The M’s have played the Red Sox, Guardians, Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs and Reds.

Marlins

The Fish swam into the playoffs last year, their first postseason berth in a full season in 20 years. They followed that with an offseason mostly focused on overhauling their front office and player development system. A disastrous 4-15 start has already dropped this year’s playoff odds from 27.9% to 2.3%, a difference of 25.6%.

Injuries have been a huge factor, as the club’s former starting pitching surplus quickly became a deficit. Sandy Alcántara required Tommy John surgery last year, and Eury Pérez followed him down that path this year. Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett also missed some time due to shoulder troubles. A.J. Puk’s attempted move from the bullpen to the rotation is not going well so far, and Jesús Luzardo is struggling badly. Max Meyer was doing well but he was optioned to the minors to monitor his workload after he missed all of last year recovering from his own Tommy John procedure. The offense has been pretty bad across the board, as not a single member of the team has a wRC+ of 105 or higher. Jake Burger hit the injured list earlier this week, removing one of their top power bats from that already weak group.

They faced the Pirates, Angels, Cardinals, Yankees, Braves and Giants to start the year and have yet to win back-to-back games.

Astros

The Astros have been a powerhouse for years and opened this season with an 86.2% chance of returning to the postseason. But they have stumbled out of the gates this year with a record of 6-14, dropping their odds to 59.7%, a 26.5% drop.

Like some of the other clubs mentioned above, health has been a big factor here. Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia each underwent elbow surgery last year and are still rehabbing. So far this year, the Astros have lost Justin Verlander, José Urquidy and Framber Valdez to the IL, giving them a full rotation on the shelf. (Verlander will return tomorrow.)

With those prominent arms not around, others haven’t really picked up the slack. Hunter Brown has an ERA of 10.54 through four starts while J.P. France is at 7.08. Prospect Spencer Arrighetti was called up to fill in but has been tagged for nine runs over seven innings in his two outings. Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu have surprisingly been bad out of the bullpen, with each having an ERA of 6.00 or higher. On offense, José Abreu has been awful, hitting .078/.158/.098. That performance got him bumped down in the lineup, and he’s been ceding playing time to Jon Singleton lately.

The Astros began the year playing the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals and Braves.

Twins

The Twins are the reigning champs in the American League Central but made some budget cuts this winter. Their 6-11 start has moved their playoff odds from 66% to 38.6%, a shift of 27.4%.

Once again, injuries are a big part of the story here. Oft-injured Royce Lewis went down with a quad strain on Opening Day, and Carlos Correa followed him later, subtracting the club’s left side of the infield. The only guys with at least 30 plate appearances and a wRC+ above 100 are Ryan Jeffers, Alex Kirilloff and the currently-injured Correa. Multiple injured relievers, most notably Jhoan Durán, have left the bullpen shorthanded.

In the rotation, the club lost Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle from last year’s club, but their main attempt at replacing those guys was to acquire Anthony DeSclafani on the heels of a pair of injury-wrecked seasons. He required flexor tendon surgery and will miss the rest of the year. The incumbents haven’t been much help. Chris Paddack, Louie Varland and Bailey Ober each have an ERA above 6.50, though Ober has rebounded after being shelled for eight runs in just 1 1/3 innings in his season debut.

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Some of these are probably just flukes, and the results will even out over the rest of the season, but some of these clubs might be showing us who they really are. Which ones do you believe in? Have your say in the polls below, the first one for the hot starts and the second one for the cold starts. (Note: you can select multiple options in each poll.)

MLBTR Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings, Ohtani’s Stolen Money And The A’s Moving To Sacramento

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • How can a pitcher blow a save in the seventh inning? How early can a save be blown? (38:25)
  • Do you think the Tigers will release Javier Báez? It is painful to watch him. (41:15)
  • Who could the Braves target inside or outside the organization to replace Spencer Strider? (45:15)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Astros To Activate Justin Verlander On Friday

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The Astros will reinstate Justin Verlander from the injured list prior to Friday’s game against the Nationals, manager Joe Espada announced to the Astros beat this morning (X link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Verlander will start Friday’s game in what’ll be his season debut. The three-time Cy Young winner opened the season on the 15-day injured list after he was slowed by shoulder fatigue early in spring training.

Verlander’s return is a boon for an Astros rotation that has been hammered by injuries, even beyond the expected absence of Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia Jr., both of whom are still on the mend from surgeries that ended their 2023 seasons. Houston saw Verlander slowed by shoulder troubles early in spring, lost Jose Urquidy to a forearm strain and recently placed Framber Valdez on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.

The Astros have already cycled through multiple depth starters, including rookies Blair Henley and Spencer Arrighetti. Even with an unexpectedly dominant start to the year for Ronel Blanco — previously the team’s sixth starter but now a vital member of the staff who’s already thrown a no-hitter in 2024 — Houston starters have the fifth-worst ERA in Major League Baseball at 5.13. The quartet of Henley, Arrighetti, J.P. France and Hunter Brown have combined to yield a staggering 44 runs in just 36 1/3 innings of work.

At 41 years old, it’s fair to wonder how long Verlander has left as a high-end starter. But he looked the part in 2023 when he tossed 162 innings of 3.22 ERA ball, fanned 21.5% of his opponents against a 6.7% walk rate, and maintained a solid 94.4 mph average on his heater. He’s been tagged for an ugly 11 earned runs over seven innings in two minor league rehab appearances, but he’s also fanned nine of 39 opponents in that time (23.1%) and issued just two walks (5.1%).

Verlander’s return should at least prevent the ’Stros from needing to give any more starts to any of the team’s rookies for the time being. He’ll step into the rotation alongside Cristian Javier, Blanco, France and Brown. Houston will hope for better results from sophomores France and Brown, both of whom were solid rotation pieces in their 2023 rookie showings. (Though France wilted in rather glaring fashion down the stretch last year.) Brown, in particular, was one of the game’s top pitching prospects prior to last year’s debut. He’s had an awful start to the season, headlined by a nine-run shellacking at the hands of the Royals, but he held a powerhouse Braves lineup to two runs over six innings in a rebound effort last night.

Turning back to Verlander specifically, the timing of his return bears particular importance. His two-year, $86.666MM contract contains a vesting $35MM player option for a third season. If he’s able to throw 140 innings in 2024, he’ll have the right to exercise that player option and lock himself in at $35MM next year — provided he finishes the season without an arm injury that would prevent him from pitching in 2025. If his shoulder causes further problems and sends him back to the injured list, the conditions of that player option will become far more pertinent. As it stands, the future Hall of Famer should have ample time to reach the requisite 140 frames.

Astros Outright Wander Suero

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Astros right-hander Wander Suero went unclaimed on outright waivers following his recent DFA and has been assigned to Houston’s Triple-A affiliate, per the Astros’ transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll have the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, both by virtue of his big league service time (more than three years) and by the fact that he’s previously been outrighted in his career.

The 32-year-old Suero appeared in just one game and faced only one hitter with the Astros prior to his DFA. The veteran righty inked a minor league deal with Houston over the winter, was summoned to the big leagues to add a fresh arm to a beleaguered bullpen, and wound up surrendering a walkoff single to Salvador Perez in his lone outing as an Astro. It’s possible he’ll stick around as a depth option.

Suero had made five appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land before being called up. He tossed five innings of two-run ball, punching out five hitters without issuing a walk. That’s a solid start to building off what was a strong performance at the Triple-A level last season. Suero pitched 47 times for the Dodgers’ top affiliate in 2023, turning in a 3.26 ERA with an above-average 25.9% strikeout rate in the Pacific Coast League.

That earned him a few scattered looks at Dodger Stadium, although the vast majority of his big league time has come with Washington. Suero pitched for the Nationals from 2018-21, including 78 appearances for the World Series team in 2019. Suero posted a sub-4.00 ERA in two of his first three seasons but stumbled to a 6.33 mark in 42 2/3 frames in 2021. That kicked off a nomadic phase of his career that has bounced him between the Angels, Dodgers and Astros systems.

Astros Promote Forrest Whitley

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2:28pm: The Astros made it official, announcing Whitley’s recall with Spencer Arrighetti optioned in a corresponding move. Arrighetti’s rotation spot will likely be taken by Justin Verlander, who is expecting to be activated off the injured list shortly.

12:31pm: The Astros are recalling former top prospect Forrest Whitley for his first MLB promotion, reports Michael Schwab of the Juice Box Journal (X link). He’s already on the 40-man roster, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding active roster transaction.

Whitley, now 26, took a circuitous route to the majors. He was a first-round pick in 2016 out of a San Antonio high school. The 6’7″ righty dominated for his first year and a half, pitching his way to Double-A as a teenager. By 2018, he looked the part of a potential ace and the top pitching prospect in the sport.

Things haven’t played out the way Whitley or the Astros envisioned from that point. He was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating the minor league drug policy going into the ’18 season. Whitley battled shoulder issues the following year and lost his feel for the strike zone. The canceled 2020 campaign cost him another year of reps, although Houston nevertheless made the easy call to select him onto the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Whitley has held that spot ever since, although it didn’t always seem as if that were a guarantee. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2021 and posted subpar results when he returned. His control issues resurfaced as he pitched to a 6.53 ERA in the upper minors in 2022. He got off to another rough start last season before sustaining a lat strain that ended his year in May. The Astros were granted a fourth minor league option as a result of Whitley’s injury history.

The front office decided to keep him on the 40-man roster throughout last offseason. They moved him to the bullpen this year upon optioning him to Triple-A Sugar Land. Whitley hasn’t gotten off to a great start, allowing four runs on a trio of homers in three innings, but he’s a fresh arm for a bullpen that has been tasked with 71 innings through the season’s first three weeks. Only the Dodgers and Padres — who leaned heavily on their relief groups during their abbreviated series in Seoul a week before every other team’s Opening Day — have used their bullpens more heavily than Houston has.

While Whitley’s promotion isn’t going to be met with the same level of fanfare as it would have a few years ago, it’s surely rewarding for the righty all the same. It’s the culmination of a nearly eight-year climb through the minors that has been littered with injury setbacks. It could prove to be a fairly brief call — Houston may need to continue cycling through middle relievers until their rotation finds any kind of groove — but he could get the chance to make his debut.

Justin Verlander To Throw Bullpen Session Tomorrow

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  • Justin Verlander has one final hurdle to clear before he’ll make his season debut. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that the three-time Cy Young winner will throw a bullpen session tomorrow (X link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). If that goes according to plan, Verlander will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list for this weekend’s series in Washington. The 41-year-old is coming off a four-inning rehab stint with Double-A Corpus Christi, in which he threw 78 pitches.

Astros Outright Cooper Hummel

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Catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel, whom the Astros designated for assignment last week, went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He hasn’t been outrighted before and doesn’t have three years of MLB service, so Hummel can’t reject the assignment. He’ll remain in the organization as a depth piece.

Hummel is no stranger to the DFA circuit, having bounced from the Mariners, to the Mets, to the Giants, to the Astros just from the end of the 2023 season until now. The 29-year-old has just 227 big league plate appearances under his belt, most of which came with the 2022 Diamondbacks. He’s a .166/.264/.286 hitter between the D-backs and the Mariners (10 games in 2023). Those numbers aren’t much to look at, but Hummel hit .262/.409/.435 in Triple-A last season and walked at a mammoth 18% rate along the way. He’s a .287/.419/.488 hitter in 992 overall plate appearances in Triple-A.

Given that standout production in the upper minors and his unusual blend of defensive versatility, Hummel makes a nice depth option for the Astros to be able to stash in Triple-A. He’s logged more than 1800 innings in left field, 1054 frames behind the plate, 508 innings at first base and another 296 innings in right field. He also still has a minor league option remaining, so if he plays his way back onto the 40-man roster, he doesn’t necessarily need to be exposed to waivers a second time if Houston wants to send him down.

Astros Notes: Valdez, Verlander

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  • There was plenty of concern for Framber Valdez’s health when elbow soreness sent the southpaw to the Astros’ 15-day injured list earlier this week, but it seems like Valdez may have avoided a serious problem.  Valdez told MLB.com and other media today that he aims to start throwing again on Tuesday, and doesn’t think he’ll need a minor league rehab assignment.  “I feel a lot better now than I did then, and I’ll continue my routine as a starter,” Valdez said.  Needless to say, a return after the minimum 15 days would be a fantastic outcome for Valdez and the Astros, who are already dealing with a lot of injuries in the rotation.
  • Justin Verlander is one of those other Astros arms on the shelf, yet the future Hall-of-Famer is on pace to make his 2024 debut on Friday in a start against the Nationals.  Verlander threw 77 pitches over four innings in his second and likely final Triple-A rehab start yesterday.  Some shoulder soreness delayed Verlander during Spring Training, so the 41-year-old was placed on the 15-day IL to begin the season in order to give him more time to ramp up and prepare for his 19th big league campaign.
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