There isn't much out there but they seem to think they can fill that hole internally. The guys out there are like Andrelton Simmons, Joe Panik, Brock Holt, Freddy Galvis..... I think the Astros will be fine internally handling the position.
Roster now sits at 39. It would not surprise me if Houston made only 1 minor move (either another waiver claim or signing a 3rd tier free agent pitcher). My updated guess at the opening day 40 man roster: 2B Altuve DH Brantley 3B Bregman LF Alvarez 1B Abreu RF Tucker SS Pena CF McCormick C Maldonado Bench: Meyers, Lee, Dubon, Hensley Rotation: Valdez, McCullers, Javier, Garcia, Urquidy, Brown Bullpen: Pressly, Abreu, Montero, Neris, Stanek, Maton, TBD Optioned: Whitley, Dubin, Bielak, France, Martinez, Mushinski, Taylor, Paredes, Blanco, Diaz, Matijevic, Bannon, Perez, Madris Free agents I would have mild interest in: Utility guy to push Hensley to the minors: Profar, Matt Duffy, Yuli, Brian Anderson, Moustakas, Gregorius Backup catcher to push Lee to the minors: Gary Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro, Roberto Perez Pitchers: Danny Duffy, Chris Archer, Brett Anderson, Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris, Will Smith, Jake McGee, Zack Britton, Corey Knebel, Tyler Duffey, Brad Hand
will Madris get a shot to beat out Dubon for a roster spot? Or is he pretty much guaranteed to be optioned? I guess the 'Stros want to stash some insurance in case Myers or Dubon don't "work out?" (But then did Dubon work out last year actually? I'd argue no -- and barring a really strong spring from him, I'd release him)
He is a project. They want to make some changes to his swing and approach. They think there is a decent chance that they can get him in position to drive the ball more and to not increase his strikeouts to the point that he isn't playable.
I agree with what you are saying (though I think Springer was better in RF). The posters (including myself) are just reacting to the Astros. 1) They have stated that they prefer McCormick at the corners instead of CF 2) they have talked about looking for an upgrade in CF. That leads us to offering opinions and speculating
Madris is first player from Palau ever. Crane trying to get all that Palauan fan money https://www.mlb.com/news/bligh-madris-first-palauan-player-in-majors
If Yasmani Grandal or Elias Diaz are available they might make some sense for Houston if the cost is low. Both guys can hit and play C.
Hensley has done everything you can expect in the role. 467 OBP vs Lefties and 1127 OBP vs righties. Sure it's limited appearances, but do you really want someone who is a proven failure in that role?
You are correct. L OBP/SLG/OPS 467/417/884 R OBP/SLG/OPS 421/706/1127 I'd really like to see how he does for several months being used more often like A Diaz before pushing him down. What brought him to my attention is the quality of PAs and extending the PAs against good pitching. even when he recorded an out.
more like a mist droplet landing on a leaf. Is his “very brief” major league time stepping into the field to pick up the peanut hull he dropped accidentally?
Do you really think the Astros would make Yuli wait this long to sign as a backup? Yuli said goodbye the day we signed Abreu.
