We can't remove Matthews from the 40-man without waiving him. Adding someone to the 40-man roster is permanent, unless you put them through waivers or the 60-day DL. 60-day is retroactive.
So Melton is on the 40 man roster and we most likely won't bring Matthews up until the roster expands at the end of the season. I was just wondering what our options are. Melton needs to get healthy. He's missing out on his opportunity.
Dubon will be playing SS tomorrow night and probably thru the ASB. It is what it is. They showed Peña in the dugout over the weekend. He was smiling.
Yall settle your asses down. This is not a big deal. I'm serious, we aren't going to miss a beat. I'd personally call up Matthews. He was likely getting called up anyway by the end of the year but the accrual of service time is no big deal. Dubon at SS and Matthews at 2B. If matthews hits and stays up forever- cool- his service time started but he didn't even rack up enough service time to become super 2. We will still have him for 6 years and only 3 in arbitration. If he doesn't stick that's cool too. You send him back down, he has to stay on the 40 man roster but he doesn't accrue any service time on the 40 man. If the promotion doesn't work after 2 weeks you just stick him back in the minors and go call him up in May of 2026 so he doesn't earn enough service time in 2025 and 2026 combined to get to free agency a year early. That's essentially what we did with Kyle Tucker yall. He came up in 2018. He was up again in 2019. He didn't get a year of service for either of those years and wasn't even super two. You can do the same thing with Matthews if he ***** the bed. If his option clock (you get 3) becomes an issue then it's not an issue, b/c it means he wasn't the guy we thought he was or needed him to be. This team is going to keep on kicking ass and taking names without Pena. Yordan is hitting balls with a non-broken hand- that's a bigger plus with a bat back than a minus. We are training to run a marathon this year wearing ankle weights and a heavy vest. When September 1 rolls around and we have a healthy and rested: Yordan, Pena, Arrighetti, Javier, Garcia and Melton this team is going to look like an absolute monster. Like- not a hole on it. Seriously, it's all good. Buck up, grab your balls and be a man.
We might continue to win, especially if Yordan is actually back soon, but trying to spin this as “not a big deal” is a wild take. Pena has been one of the most valuable players in all of baseball. We aren’t just trying to win the division - we need to keep the #2 seed. Losing him for potentially up to two months hurts those chances.
Yeah I have zero issues with Yainer’s defense (or game calling). Walker either, for that matter. Although walker has made some goofball mistakes, I am fine with his overall defense. My comments were purely based on their offense. Even with Yainer's sub par hitting this year (not necessarily for a catcher but below expectation for him) I still want him catching. I’m starting to want someone else at 1b. Yes, Yordan should assume the DH role upon his return
Who’s freaking out? It does suck to lose your best player in the midst of all these other injuries. Also, it’s no guarantee that our AAA guys will keep dealing or that guys like Melton will be any good. All that said, I still expect to win the division. It could be a fight though. Losing Pena definitely does hurt.
At some point all these injuries will result in less wins and more loses. The best bet for the Astros is the return of Alvarez and maybe Javier - coupled with a trade or two. Pena has had an amazing first half, it was possible he would be terrible in the second half - but it's a loss none the less. Cam Smith playing well will help as well.
I’m absolutely aware of how good Peña has been. What I’m saying is that we are still full speed ahead and pedal to the metal and will continue to win and win and win until we grow bored with it and numb to it.
If the Astros medical staff is saying that then Pena is possibly out for the season, maybe a career ender.
If the 40 man is full, someone needs to be removed or placed on the 60 day IL to open a spot for Matthews.
Whole season is the baseball gods sending the Astros through one storm after another and the boat still stays afloat.
Ok. Not ideal but hardly a tragedy -yet. Dubon will be starting at SS most games with Guillorme the only other middle infielder besides Altuve. Considering that Dubon can't hit RHP and Gullorme can't hit LHP they should not be in the same game at the same time. Losing Pena is going to hurt the run scoring when its already the biggest weakness this team has. 3 options Promote Matthews, start his clock, and hope he can make an impact like he has in AAA. Promote Whitcomb or Short and just try to maintain and keep winning pitcher's duels. Trade for a middle infielder now. I would promote Matthews and hope for a Carlos Correa type debut. But I'm not holding my breath.
It depends on how bad the rib is fractured, it might be super minor and heals in a couple of weeks, or the pain goes away to where he can play. Let's hope for after the ASB, that would be like 3-4 weeks. DD
Assuming Peña’s injury is relatively minor and he is expected back in August, my approach would be to call up Whitcomb and have him play 2B/LF (wherever Altuve doesn’t play) most days. Hummel or Trammell can get mixed in against pitchers who Whitcomb projects to be weak against. Whitcomb has a AAA track record that suggests he can hit for average, hit for power, and steal bases. Give him a good sample of playing time in July leading up to the trade deadline. The gap in production is going to have to be filled by Walker and Diaz, if the offense is going to maintain its overall production over the last 2 months. This would be my July lineup: CF Meyers 3B Paredes DH Altuve RF Smith C Diaz/Caratini LF HummelTrammell 1B Walker 2B Whitcomb SS Dubon/Guillorme
