Astros Designate Asher Wojciechowski, Place Carlos Gomez On DL

The Astros have designated righty Asher Wojciechowski for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of third baseman Colin Moran.

Houston also announced that outfielder Carlos Gomez will hit the 15-day DL; he has a bruised left rib cage, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Gomez will be replaced by Evan Gattis, who is finished with a brief minor league assignment in which he has returned to active duty behind the plate.

Wojciechowski, 27, was a sandwich-round pick in the 2010 draft who came to Houston in the ten-player J.A. Happ deal back in 2012. He got a brief taste of the majors last year, but has mostly pitched at the Triple-A level for Houston.

All told, Wojciechowski has pitched to a 4.39 ERA in 350 2/3 frames at the highest level of the minors, with 7.0 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. But he’s steadily declined in effectiveness since a solid early showing upon joining the Astros.

As for Gomez, it’s hard not to see the non-injury-related motivations that may have come into play. He has looked nothing like the player the ’Stros thought they were acquiring last summer, and may ultimately end up spending some time in the minors looking to rehabilitate his swing as much as his injury.

Meanwhile, Houston is set to get its first extended look at Gattis as an option behind the dish. He’ll presumably back up Jason Castro at the position while also spending time at DH.