Infielder Amed Rosario and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Rosario, 28, will bring a strong bat against left-handed pitching and should get at-bats at shortstop, second base and potentially corner-outfield spots.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 20, 2024

He redeemed himself with the cutoff shirt.

Interesting prospect the Stros grabbed from the Dodgers. Could he be placed on the 40 man?

6 foot 7. Increasing strikeout rates while decreasing HR balls and walks the last couple of years.



https://climbingtalshill.com/posts/astros-steal-promising-reliever-from-dodgers-for-next-to-nothing-01hq3hk1tvsy

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Infielder Amed Rosario and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Rosario, 28, will bring a strong bat against left-handed pitching and should get at-bats at shortstop, second base and potentially corner-outfield spots.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 20, 2024

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Seeing this signing makes me think we may still be able to add some depth in the OF at a big discount. Rosario is flawed but has probably been an average player and when you account for his speed maybe slightly above average.

Fangraphs: gut-feel guys we think can make the 2025 Top 100

Here are the Astros mentioned in the article. Not very many.

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Black Box Arms (All EL)
Alonzo Tredwell, RHP, Houston Astros

These are all pitchers from the last couple of drafts who haven't yet thrown at an affiliate. A few of them threw during instructs. This piece is more "predicting" than "scouting," and basically every pitcher I've chosen here comes from an org that has demonstrated that it's capable of teasing good things out of its pitching.

Tredwell (UCLA) and Baumesiter (Florida State) were second round picks with vertically oriented fastball/breaking ball combos. Neither developed exceptional velocity in college, but they could break out if they do so as pros.

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Quote:

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Weirdos
Brice Matthews, SS, Houston Astros (EL)

Like Groover, Matthews was a divisive 2023 college prospect (Nebraska). He's incredibly athletic and toolsy, has amazing bat speed, and makes the occasionally impossible defensive play, but he's also super raw in basically every facet of baseball. His special physical gifts give him a sizable ceiling.

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Identifying the nastiest pitch for every team

Can you guess who they selected for the Astros? Also as Honorable Mention.

Astros: Josh Hader's sinker

Hader throws his fastball nearly three quarters of the time and hitters still can't touch it. No reliever has more fastball K's than Hader's 454 since he came into the league in 2017.

Honorable mention: Ryan Pressly's curveball

Live batting practice: Framber Valdez vs. Mauricio Dubón pic.twitter.com/Y94ZbkKU6A

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 21, 2024

Live batting practice: Framber Valdez vs. Jeremy Peña pic.twitter.com/t6G17Wwe10

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 21, 2024

n_touch said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Identifying the nastiest pitch for every team

Can you guess who they selected for the Astros? Also as Honorable Mention.

Astros: Josh Hader's sinker

Hader throws his fastball nearly three quarters of the time and hitters still can't touch it. No reliever has more fastball K's than Hader's 454 since he came into the league in 2017.

Honorable mention: Ryan Pressly's curveball

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They should have put up LMJ curveball. Not many batters have done anything with it in the last couple years.

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I hope Framber's sinker makes a run for the top spot this year.

Justin Verlander threw a bullpen today. Here’s 45 seconds of it. pic.twitter.com/44dJOwODOp

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 21, 2024

Woof, I only needed about 13 but maybe I'm just baseball deprived

It amazes me how short JV's stride is.

texasaggie2015 said:

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Woof, I only needed about 13 but maybe I'm just baseball deprived

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texasaggie2015 said:

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Woof, I only needed about 13 but maybe I'm just baseball deprived

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It's ok, sometimes you have to build up your endurance for an activity...so I've been told

Joe Espada didn't share his full lineup for Saturday's Grapefruit League opener today, but he is pretty adamant the Astros' regulars will play early and often — including in the opener. Ronel Blanco will start. Dylan Coleman among the relievers scheduled to follow him.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 21, 2024

Joe Espada on the early impression of Spencer Arrighetti: "His first impression has been really good — how he carries himself. He acts like he belongs. His confidence level is solid. We're expecting him to provide some support this year at some point and his stuff is really good"

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 21, 2024

A crossroads is coming for the Astros.

Barring a spending spree unlike anything in Jim Crane’s ownership tenure, a new core must crystallize to meet his massive expectations.

Yordan Álvarez is ready to Houston into its next era, writes @Chandler_Rome.https://t.co/5tQXYGKAfX pic.twitter.com/77hUCdbKM3

— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) February 21, 2024

"Altuve and Alvarez will be the face of it. They are Houston's only two position players on guaranteed contracts through the 2028 season, a commitment that carries leadership responsibilities far beyond the field."

That's a scary thought

Chandler the chode is correct, but just because we don't have many guys "under contract" that long, it doesn't mean we don't have them under team control.

To be fair the pitching staff was kind of at a crossroads before 2020. JV was hurt in spring training and needed surgery, Cole had just left, LMJ was coming off Tommy John, Grienke was the reluctant ace, and Framber had yet to become Framber. However, they managed to power through and succeeded. I do think having a shortened season helped soften the blow a lot. As bad as that 60 game stretch was, imagine entering 162 games of that and missing the playoffs.

AustinCountyAg said:

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Chandler the chode is correct, but just because we don't have many guys "under contract" that long, it doesn't mean we don't have them under team control.

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Hader and Yordan are both FA after 2028. Altuve after 2029. That's not under control. That's under contract.

That is also why I said if we don't cut the other two. They aren't under contract until they agree to arbitrtion those particular seasons. Unless we DFA or trade them, they will be.

Chandler is being a drama queen by the looks of it. I haven't read it yet. Outside of Atlanta & LA, who else has 3 impactful players locked up until 2028?

Position players Locked in through at least 2026
Altuve
Alvarez
McCormick
Pena
Diaz

That's not terrible for a lineup. Obviously you need more but that's a good start.

Dubón later hit an opposite-field homer, which I regrettably didn't capture on video. https://t.co/3Sy36eSdic

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 21, 2024