He’s going to be just fine out there yall. Shitty arm but so what really at the icebox with the short left field.
Beeks looks pretty good. Bullpen could start the season with 5 lefties in it (Hader, King, Beeks, Okert, Sousa).
Injury summary going into the last week of ST: Yordan Alvarez (thumb), Christian Walker (oblique), and Zach Dezenzo (jaw) are day to day and should be ready for opening day. Lance McCullers (forearm) had his first rehab start today and is due back in mid-April. Kaleb Ort (oblique) and Luis Garcia (elbow) are throwing live BP Thursday. Both guys will then progress to rehab appearances in the minors. Ort should be back late April and Garcia early May. Pedro Leon (knee) started back playing catch and hitting in the cage last week. He will likely start rehabbing in AAA in mid-April, and just be optioned there once he’s fully healthy. Shawn Dubin (shoulder) started playing catch last week. His timeline is not known, but usually the process is: play catch > live BP > rehab starts, so my guess is he will be back in mid May. Forrest Whitley (knee) is on pause; not much is known about the severity of his injury, and knee bone bruises can take a 3-12 weeks to full heal, so there is a wide range in his timeline. Taylor Trammell (calf) is out indefinitely. He could be out several months, as Espada mentioned the injury was “significant”. JP France (shoulder) started throwing on flat ground in mid January but there’s been no updates since. The last given timeline had him expected back in July. Cristian Javier (elbow) is on standard recovery from Tommy John surgery and is expected back in August.
Current guess for the opening day roster: LF Altuve 3B Paredes DH Alvarez 1B Walker RF Smith C Diaz SS Pena CF McCormick 2B Dubon Bench: Dezenzo, Meyers, Caratini, Guillorme Rotation: Valdez, Brown, Arrighetti, Blanco, Wesneski Bullpen: Hader, Abreu, Scott, Okert, King, Contreras, VanWey, Beeks
Honestly feels like a strong roster with some good upside. Hopefully McCormick has a bounce back season after his injury and our new additions provide stability. If Smith is anywhere near as good as he is during spring training this is going to be a solid team.
Based on how the Astros report injuries players could be in the range of day to day or we could be planing their funerals any minute now.
I was yesterday years old, reading that botox can be a prescribed treatment for TMJ. So if Dezenzo comes back looking even more wrinkle free, face smoothed out, Hollywood ready, we know its rehab reasons
One thing I like is that because of Dubon’s versatility and Altuve’s ability to play 2B, Dezenzo can effectively serve as the backup to every position except C. So he can get plenty of playing time to see how good he is. Dezenzo can play RF, 1B, LF, 3B, and DH as the direct backup. He can also back up 2B (by playing LF while Altuve plays 2B and Dubon sits), CF and SS (by playing LF while Altuve plays 2B and Dubon plays CF or SS). That really allows the Astros a lot of flexibility to ease in their young players and play their limited players to their strengths.
I’d prefer cam at 3B, Paredes at 2B and Dezenzo in RF, but if your lineup is the winner I’d be pretty happy.
I think yours is probably the best offensive configuration but I’m pretty sure there’s a heavy element of making Paredes feel comfortable until he’s fully established, and apparently he’s more comfortable at 3B.
