The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – INSIDE PITCH
Josh Hamilton’s recent signing with the Los Angeles Angels deepened an already-tough American League West division. And it only made the Astros’ immediate future rougher as Houston prepares for its inaugural season outside the National League.
The rebuilding Astros finally made a mid-level move Dec. 17, signing Carlos Pena to a one-year deal to serve as the team’s first-ever designated hitter. Terms weren’t disclosed, but CBS Sports reported Pena would make $2.9 million guaranteed, with a chance to earn another $1.4 million in incentives.
Pena, 34, hit .197 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI for Tampa Bay in his second stint with the Rays last season. His best year came with Tampa Bay in 2007, when he hit 46 home runs and drove in 121 runs.
The journeyman also has played for Texas, Oakland, Detroit, Boston and the Chicago Cubs.
Pena’s arrival doesn’t figure to change the balance of power in the AL West.
Texas, Oakland, Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels are expected to improve next year. Meanwhile, Houston likely will compete with Miami for the title of worst team in baseball. The Astros could approach the 1962 New York Mets’ record of 120 losses — the most defeats during a season in the modern era.
The Astros’ positional depth chart is unfamiliar to most fans and Houston is, at best, three deep in its rotation. The Astros still need to address outfield, starting/relief pitching and catcher before the season begins. Combined with Houston’s full-on youth movement, the team’s upcoming year could make the 2011 and 2012 campaigns, which produced 213 combined losses, slightly appealing.
The Astros continue to keep an eye on free agent Lance Berkman, monitoring the ex-Houston slugger’s desire to play next season. Berkman has been courted by several teams, though, and the Astros are expected to be a last resort for the 14-year veteran.
Houston has arbitration-eligible players who could be packaged in trades, led by Jed Lowrie and Bud Norris. But neither are game-changers, and the Astros have been reluctant to trade either player thus far.
Houston’s best bet in 2013 is an unexpected A’s-like surge. Yet Oakland fielded a team with several big-league-quality athletes last season, and the A’s signed international free agent Yoenis Cespedes before their surprising 2012 season began. The Astros aren’t expected to make a similar move. With Hamilton going to the Angels and the Mariners and A’s on the rise, the AL West could be the toughest division in baseball next season.
Houston has been one of the quietest teams during free agency. The Astros’ immediate future lacks optimism, and next season already appears gloomy to a frustrated fan base. Even Houston’s best prospects are at least one season away from reaching the majors.
Players such as Jonathan Singleton and George Springer will likely begin 2013 in Class AAA; pitcher Jarred Cosart will compete for time in the Astros’ bullpen. None have the raw talent of young stars such as Mike Trout, Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg. Now that Hamilton has landed in Los Angeles, the Angels’ gain is Houston’s loss.
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MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – NOTES, QUOTES
–General manager Jeff Luhnow plans to meet with Lance Berkman in the next two weeks, but an official date hasn’t been set. Houston plans to gauge Berkman’s interest in playing in 2013 and determine whether he’s willing to return to the Astros.
–Luhnow recently visited the Dominican Republic on a scouting trip. He watched amateur prospects and toured Houston’s instructional academy near Santo Domingo.
–RHP Jarred Cosart could become Houston’s closer in 2013 if the Astros don’t replace Wilton Lopez. Houston’s bullpen rotation is shaky. And while Cosart has no big-league experience, the Astros have few options.
–The Astros will host their former division rivals, the Chicago Cubs, in two exhibition games March 29-30 at Minute Maid Park in 2013. It will be Chicago’s only trip to Houston in the Astros’ first season in the American League.
–Astros pitcher and catchers report Feb. 11 to spring training and the first workout will be Feb. 12. The reporting date for position players is Feb. 15. The first full-squad workout is Feb. 16.
BY THE NUMBERS: .835 — Minor league second baseman Enrique Hernandez’s on-base plus slugging percentage through 24 games in the Puerto Rico Winter League.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “There’s nothing new there.” — General manager Jeff Luhnow discussing negotiations with veteran free agent Lance Berkman.
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MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – ROSTER REPORT
It’s a blank slate for the Astros headed into their first year in the American League. All of the big contracts were shipped off at the trade deadline, and what few arbitration raises they’ll have to give will barely leave a mark. Don’t expect much in the free agent market, as the new ownership group is not likely to make a big splash, GM Jeff Luhnow has said, so the slow rebuild is set to continue.
ARRIVALS: RHP Sam Demel (waiver claim from Diamondbacks), INF Jake Elmore (waiver claim from Diamondbacks), RHP Alex White (trade with Rockies), RHP Josh Fields (Rule 5 draft pick from Red Sox), INF Nate Freiman (Rule 5 draft pick from Padres), 1B Carlos Pena (free agent from Rays).
DEPARTURES: OF Jordan Schafer (claimed off waivers by Braves), RHP Wilton Lopez (traded to Rockies), OF Jonny Gomes (free agent, signed with Red Sox).
BIGGEST NEEDS: The Astros’ outfield was the worst in baseball in 2012, and that’s probably the No. 1 place to upgrade in the offseason. The outfield of J.D. Martinez, Jordan Schafer and Brian Bogusevic was completely revamped, and Fernando Martinez, Justin Maxwell and Scott Moore were the starters by season’s end. But with outfield prospects not yet ready to make an impact in the majors, a stopgap free agent or trade piece would find a good home in Houston.
FREE AGENTS: C Chris Snyder, OF Brian Bogusevic, OF J.B. Shuck, RHP Jorge De Leon.
A $4 million, one-year mutual option made Snyder’s return unlikely, and the Astros agreed to part ways with the nine-year vet whose production has significantly declined. The others were outrighted.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE: SS Jed Lowrie, RHP Edgar Gonzalez, RHP Bud Norris, RHP Wilton Lopez, LHP Wesley Wright.
The Astros are somewhat excited about what the journeyman Gonzalez can do, so don’t expect a non-tender there. Any of the others conceivably could be traded. Lowrie is the only one of the bunch who is arbitration-eligible for the second time; the rest are all first-timers.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–OF J.D. Martinez (left hand surgery in September 2012) should be recovered before spring training.
–SS Jed Lowrie (sore right knee) played the final two weeks of the season with a leg brace and needed late-game defensive replacements because of lateral movement problems. He expects rest in the offseason should have his knee 100 percent for spring training.
–LHP Sergio Escalona (Tommy John surgery in April 2012) could be ready for the start of the 2013 season.
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