Probable roster: 1. K 2. McHugh 3. Fiers 4. Feldman 5. Fister 6. Giles 7. Sipps 8. Neshak 9. Fields 10. Harris 11. Wandy Rodriguez 12. Cotts or Hoyt 13. Castro 14. Peña 15. White 16. Altuve 17. Valbuena 18. Correa 19. Rasmus 20. Gomez 21. Springer 22. Marisnick 23. Tucker 24. Gonzalez 25. Duffy Gregerson, GAttis, Stassi and McCullers probably will start on DL. Other options: Chapman, Feliz, Gustave, Perez. Impressed but will not make the club: Moran and Reed Players with a position in the 25 men roster but played bad: Straily and Singleton. Right now Wandy is one of the top 5 starters in our club. One good thing this year with our roster, is a battle between good players and not a roster with many holes with no options of improvement. In past years Peacock was a lock to make the team, not anymore. In the past Straily would be in our rotation, no matter what. Actually, it was not long ago, remember last year we started with Roberto Hernandez and Wojo?????
With Gattis injured, we can carry both, White and Duffy. I do understand what you are saying, and if they do that, then Singleton makes the team. Probably Hinch is HOPING for Singleton to get hot so he can do that. But, White has DONE EVERYTHING AND MORE than expected.
I love this. It is such an incredible sign that things have gotten so much better that we aren't arguing which of Peacock or Straily should be the 4th or 5th starter. I never felt like those guys were an option for the rotation at all, barring injury. And the results bore that out. This team has come SOOOOO far in the last couple years. I like that some of the unknowns this spring training should be much more "known" by next offseason. It should definitely be either White or Reed playing 1B next year. And I would put it at around 75-80% that Moran is our 3B next year as well (although I suppose Bregman could impress enough to leap frog him). There will still be a question of what happens with Gomez and catcher feels like it will perpetually be a question of how we can improve. I love it so much better having a good team to talk about.
Astros have several options for final 'pen spot Wandy, Cotts among group of pitchers competing for job By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com | @brianmctaggart | March 21st, 2016 VIERA, Fla. -- The first major roster domino should fall for the Astros later this week when they have to make a decision whether to keep left-handed pitchers Wandy Rodriguez or Neal Cotts, both of whom have outs in their contracts on Saturday. Both veterans are competing with a handful of arms for the final spot in the bullpen. Barring injury, Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek, Tony Sipp, Will Harris, Josh Fields and Ken Giles will occupy six of the seven available bullpen slots on Opening Day. That leaves Rodriguez, Cotts, Brad Peacock, Dan Straily, Michael Feliz, James Hoyt, Jandel Gustave and Kevin Chapman in the mix for the final spot, giving manager A.J. Hinch several options. Rodriguez, Straily and Peacock would be used in long relief if they make the club. If Cotts makes the team as a lefty specialist, it could be up to Fields or Harris to pitch multiple innings in the absence of a true long reliever. Straily is out of options, which could factor into things. Hinch praised Hoyt prior to Monday's game, and it's clear he'll impact the club at some point this season. Things should begin to clear up this weekend. "The way I see it with the last spot in the 'pen, [being able to pitch] multiple innings is going to be important," Hinch said. "Obviously, quality over any sort of characteristic is always going to win out. I'm hopeful that we start to pare down [the roster] a little bit throughout the week. It looks like we're going to have our choice. "Do you want to go length? Do you want to go left-handed? Do you want to go right-handed? Do you want a specialist? It's no secret those are our options, and they're all going to have one guy in that category that fits. We'll have to determine what fits best." Rodriguez, a non-roster invitee, is scheduled to pitch in relief Thursday. He's allowed seven hits and three runs in 12 innings this spring and has been working with a lower arm angle, which he found success with while facing the Phillies' Ryan Howard on Sunday. "I just want him to get outs," Hinch said. "I don't care what arm slot, I don't care what handed, what pitch they use. Whoever gets the most outs is who we should keep." Cotts, who was signed a week into camp, allowed two hits over two-thirds of an inning Monday during a 5-3 loss to the Nationals. He will pitch perhaps one more time prior to Saturday's deadline. "We'll see as the week goes along," Cotts said Monday. "I don't get too hyped up about things."
I read that article yesterday and noticed the same thing. That doesn't mean they won't go 8 deep, just that 7 is guaranteed. I think the 25th spot could still come down to position player or pitcher. I think keeping Wandy is the smart thing to do. I would have more faith in Oliver Perez than Neal Cotts.
Gustave or Hoyt look to be the best overall relief pitchers, but I see a lefty win the spot though for utility. Probably Wandy as he can be a spot starter as well.
and yeah, ultimately I agree. The real question is whether or not the Astros value White so much that having an extra year of control is vitally important for the future of the team, like with Correa. The answer to that is probably no, so there really isn't a pressing reason to hold him out of the opening day lineup. However, from a selfish standpoint, it would be great if the Astros could start the year blazing with Marwin at 1B and bring White in two weeks later and you gain a a year of control ?Whats not to like...
It's nice to have an abundance of RH power arms in Giles, Fields, Feliz, Hoyt, etc... Think that Feliz and Hoyt especially will help this team a lot in the middle months of this season.
Official 25 man OD roster Altuve 4 Springer 9 Correa 6 Rasmus 7 Gomez 8 Tucker DH Valbuena 5 White 3 Castro 2 Gonzalez Marisnick Duffy Heineman Keuchel McHugh Fiers Feldman Fister W. Rodriguez Fields Neshek Harris Sipp Gregerson Giles DL McCullers Gattis
The injuries to Gattis & McCullers make those the very easy picks (though I think Pena is backup C if nobody acquired), IMO.
It's partly about how much they value him long term, I agree... But, this isn't 2015 or earlier. As well as last year went, when the opening day roster was being put together, no one in the front office or management really thought we were a without a doubt contender It should be different now. If the difference in Tyler White playing here the first few weeks or waiting in order to get that extra year, is the difference in one or two games...that might be the difference in winning the division or the wild card...that might be the difference in having home field throughout the AL playoffs, or travelling to KC or NY or Boston or wherever for a game 7....if you were talking about a Carlos Correa who you took #1 overall and have been touting as a super star, it would be easier to want that extra year over right now....but we aren't talking about that, if Tyler White is the best player for the job from day 1, he needs to be the 1B from day 1...and I have full confidence that he will One more thing, there is likely to be a two year period in the future where there are MANY difficult contract decisions to be made. Whether White is up from day 1 or they wait a couple of weeks, we have a group that includes Correa, McCullers, Giles, Tucker, Feliz, plus likely Reed, White and maybe Moran, Martes....who will all be up for free agency within the same two year period. You can bet that several of those guys will have offers to sign long term before it gets to that point. The upper end guys like Correa and McCullers will more than likely play it to free agency hoping for the absolute mega deals...I would guess a guy like White, if he comes up and does well, would be a guy more likely to take some nice guaranteed money when the offer comes. Point being, I think with the upper echelon guys you really worry about the extra year of control, with the others, who may be really good but not super stars, you don't worry about it play to win
What do you guys think of Reed? Did you expect more or he needs another year before he joins the club?
Has there been any more information on McCullers? Last I saw was the tests showed there was no tear or actual damage in the shoulder, he was just sore...but I'm curious if anything further was released when it was announced that he would be on the DL. Or has there been anything said about how he is doing since that announcement? It's all making me nervous...
If Reed can duplicate his prior success this year in AAA, he will at worst be a September callup and odds on favorite for starting first baseman net season. At best, Reed will force himself onto the roster this year, like Correa did last year.
Yeah agreed. I think he needs another year of seasoning in AAA. White and Marwin (and maybe P Tucker if necessary) can hold down 1B this year just fine. I expect one or two of White/Reed/Singleton/Gattis to get moved before next season.
What are yalls expectations for Lance this year? I'm debating whether to keep McCullers in my fantasy league (22nd round pick) or Sale (3rd round pick). It's a 12-tm league, and 9 top 20 SPs are already kept. I'm leaning towards Sale because I need elite talent, and I'm worried about Lance's health, regression, and potential innings limit., even though Lance is probably the better value pick.
