I wonder if this is really permanent though? Dierker and Brown were talking about it on the broadcast and said someone was going to be sent down before game 2 tonight in order to allow Astacio a roster spot to pitch the 2nd game. They might be sending Astacio right back down and bringing Franco back up.
You can't "send down" Franco... since he is an established MLB player (hence, he's out of options). He was "designated for assignment." For him to be "sent down", he must clear waivers... and then (only then) can the Astros decide if they want him on the minor league team (which they probably don't... considering that they had other players on the roster who could have been sent down, instead of designating him to assignment). This is basically the MLB version of "cutting" a player, since the Astros don't have any intention of trying to trade/assign him to the minor league club.
With the way Astacio was pitching, maybe Franco should have started and we designate Astacio for assignment. LOL
As long as he's gone, I don't care how they did it. Gallo was called up and had a nice inning today. Franco is done. Someone might pick him up as filler for a bullpen, but he is no longer a serviceable major league pitcher.
