Astros Notes: Appel, Free Agency

The Astros today held a press conference to announce the signing of No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel. Here are some of the highlights as well as other Astros news (All links below point to Twitter)…

• General manager Jeff Luhnow said at the press conference that negotiations with Appel's adviser, Scott Boras, were smooth because everyone that was involved had the same goal (MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reporting).
• Luhnow also said that Appel does have an innings limit for 2013, but he didn't specify what it was. For now, Appel will head to Florida, and his first minor league stop will be short-season Class A Tri-City (McTaggart reporting).
• Appel could also make his way to full-season Class A Quad Cities and even Double-A Corpus Christi this summer, Luhnow said. Luhnow feels that the Astros are closer to success, as an organization, than most people think. He views Appel as a major factor in taking the next step (Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle reporting).
• In non-Appel-related news, Smith reports that the Astros are already targeting two- to three-year free agent deals this offseason to serve as a bridge to the next Houston contender.