After 60 man injured players are added back in and FA are removed, I count 38 on the 40 man roster (assuming Neris does not take his option which is 99.999999%) Obviously there are guys like Enoli Paredes, Brandon Bielak, and Jon Singleton who are out of options and may be non-tendered to open spots too. According to Fangraphs, the Astros have 28 pitchers, 8 catchers, 6 infielders, and 8 outfielders that will need to be added or exposed to the rule 5 draft in December. Of those, guys who are currently on the MLB.com, Fangraphs, or Baseball America team top 30: Misael Tamarez, Julio Robaina, Jamie Melendez, Michael Palma, Shay Whitcomb, Justin Dirden, Kenedy Corona, Colin Barber, and Zach Daniels. There are many, many more who have appeared on 1 or more lists in the past as well. This will be very interesting to watch.
Wild Guesses Extend J Altuve B Abreu A Bregman Add to the 40 man roster Colin Barber Kenedy Corona J Robaina* Trade C Julks E Paredes DFA - Trade or Release S Dubin D Hensley S Martinez P Mushinski Oliver Ortega Release R Bannon M Costes J Cousins Q Hamilton* A Hansen A Knapp JJ Matijevic D Machado J Murray M Ruppenthal L VanWey
I was with you on the first 2 sections. Even the 3rd is OK, though Paredas has not shown anything to give himself any trade value. The Astros only need to create 1 more roster spot to protect the 3 guys you mention. Trading (or non-tendering) either Julks or Paredes accomplishes that. Doing more than that is just throwing assets away. Most of the 4th and 5th sections are players the Astros can keep and most likely will. Getting rid of them just to get rid if them is just setting money on fire, especially a guy like Hamilton who has possibly surpassed Leon on most prospect lists and all 30 teams would jump to get him. I do agree that some on your list do need to move on though, ( and they may be minor league rule 5 or FA eligible I haven't looked) Matijevic and Paredes who did not get a single day on the MLB roster last year despite the injuries and need, are top of the list.
I think it's too soon to DFA/trade Shawn Dubin. I really like the idea of him as a reliever. He may not be built to go deep in games, but with his high velo, I love the idea of having him emptying out the tank for one inning. He seems to tire as he gets deeper into games, and maybe he could be the next Bryan Abreu.
