Well, that was quick. A little over three months ago, Houston was throwing a World Series victory parade on the streets of downtown and just like that Spring Training has opened and the champs are back. Pitchers and catchers reported last week along with a handful of position players. The first full squad workout came on Tuesday with everyone back plus the addition of Jose Abreu.
While little has happened in the first hours of day one, there are plenty of interesting storylines and news items to cover. Let’s go!
Astros addition of Gage shows Dana Brown’s creativity.
The Astros acquired lefty reliever Matt Gage off waivers last week. Manager Dusty Baker has been craving a solid left handed arm out of the bullpen since he arrived this could be it. Gage, 30, has bounced around the minors for his entire career and was placed on the waiver wire by Toronto. The Astros claimed him, but Gage had the right to simply enter free agency. Brown, who has already signed Christian Javier to an extension and been rather aggressive in his desire to bring back stars like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, offered Gage a signing bonus to sign with the team, something so rarely done he had to check with the league office to see if it was in violation of any rules.
This feels so much like the type of GM Jim Crane has wanted all along and what we didn’t see from James Click. Crane wants his team to be aggressive and do what is necessary to keep the team winning. Click was hesitant to pull the trigger, including one that would have landed catcher Wilson Contreras last year. Brown is clearly willing to make things happen and it had to be a big part of why Crane chose him as GM.
Altuve wants to retire an Astro, Bregman…maybe.
After Brown’s comments that he had reached out to the agents for Altuve and Bregman telling them he wanted the Astros veterans to ultimately retire here, Altuve told reporters that was his goal as well. It also makes sense given he will be 34 when he reaches free agency, probably the last significant contract of his career. Bregman, on the other hand, was more careful. Unlike Altuve, Bregman will be only 30 in two seasons when he is eligible to hit the open market and with all the massive contracts signed this offseason, no doubt he wants to test the waters.
Bregman clearly loves playing for the Astros, but it will likely take a big contract to keep him in Houston. He surely sees what his former teammate Carlos Correa got even with health concerns. So, no one can blame the third baseman for wanting to see what he is worth. Still, don’t expect the Astros to roll over and wait on a decision. They will pursue Bregman hard, but the team has demonstrated it is willing to allow big dollar free agents to leave if it goes beyond what they think is reasonable for the organization. Fortunately, we are still two years away from finding out the results.
No more rocking the baby for Luis Garcia.
Major League Baseball announced recently that it would be cracking down on pitching deliveries that fall outside the bounds of what they consider legal. One of the rules stipulates a pitcher may only take one step forward and one back in his delivery. Enter Luis Garcia whose fairly well known “rock the baby” motion would clearly run afoul of the league’s rules that have, apparently, been on the books but ignored over previous years.
MLB is trying to tighten up all aspects of the game run time, which is why there is a new pitch clock and a limitation on throws to first and anything else that might slow the game down. Those rules have shaved 20 to 30 minutes off of minor league games and the thought is it will do the same in the majors. That also includes enforcing more control over windups and deliveries. Garcia should be able to adjust — he’s been working on it for two months already — but it won’t be as fun to watch him on the mound.
Early precautionary rest for McCullers, Alvarez.
Lance McCullers, Jr., who has thrown 150 innings only once in his career due to injuries, is temporarily resting after experiencing soreness in his throwing arm. This after missing almost the entire 2022 season with arm troubles. The extension he signed after the 2021 season always felt like a risky bet for a guy with ace stuff who can’t stay on the field. With the team’s pitching depth, they can easily withstand giving McCullers some time off when needed. They really need him down the stretch and in the postseason, but it’s still not a good omen.
Additionally, Yordan Alvarez is sitting for the time being due to soreness in his hand, the same issue he suffered with last season. Now, Alvarez mostly played through it and was clearly a huge part of the team’s success, but ideally you want him to be fully healthy for an entire season, something he has also struggled with throughout his career.
In both cases, the Astros say they are not worried. Talk to us in a couple weeks.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
