The Astros have placed catcher Juan Centeno on outright waivers in order to remove him from the team’s 40-man roster, according to a report from Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.
Centeno is still on the waiver wire, but Kaplan writes that Houston is hoping he’ll clear and remain with the organization at Triple-A. It’ll be his choice whether to do so, as he was previously outrighted by the Twins in 2016.
With a fully-stocked MLB roster, the ’Stros were likely always going to need to clear some space before potentially adding players from outside the organization. The 28-year-old Centeno was particularly vulnerable given the presence of Brian McCann, Evan Gattis, and Max Stassi.
Centeno has seen big league action in each of the past five seasons, carrying a composite .235/.289/.339 slash line through 315 plate appearances with four different organizations. The left-handed hitter spent most of 2017 at Triple-A, hitting .311/.354/.383 in hist 257 plate appearances
I’m surprised it wasn’t Max Stassi. Centeno seemed higher on the depth chart.
I hope we keep him. McCann is old, Gattis’ defense is suspect, and Stassi hasn’t proven he can play in the majors. It’d be nice to have a 4th quality player available.
Me too! Id rather find an outside option. Honestly, how comfortable would you feel if McCann or Gattis (god forbid both) go down and miss a significant amount of time?
I would like to see a stronger defensive catcher. Cheaper option like Rene Rivera. Lucroy will most likely cost too much. I think I remember hearing he is from Texas? Could be something to work with. Wellington Castilla would be a nice pickup.
I love the idea of having 3 catchers on the team to split DH and catcher.
Stassi has the better defensive metrics and a small sample size offensively in the big leagues.
Backup catcher ideally should be a defensive improvement for the Astros since McCann’s arm isn’t what it used to be.
.311/.354/.383 is one of the most bizarre lines i’ve seen. Looks like an extreme singles hitter with little plate discipline. Houston FO is smart to see how unsustainable that is.
He should take the spot vacated by Stewart in Pittsburgh.
Pick this guy up jays
Looks like a candidate for the Nats.
Centeno was fairly solid in the limited time he played for the Stros last year. Good 3rd catcher or minor league depth. Max Stassi is still considered a prospect, and may be the best among the top 4 Stros catchers (McCann, Gattis, Stassi and Centeno) defensively. Also I think the Stros will pick up another major league catcher to split time with McCann and allow Gattis to DH more.
Gattis is a mediocre DH.
You posted earlier that Gattis’ defense is suspect, now you think he is a mediocre DH. I don’t think either – he’s a pretty good player that bopped 32 HRs when he got a chance to play every day as a DH and C in 2016. In 2017 he was part time and hit 12 HRs. And he delivers in the clutch. His pitch framing is good, similar to McCann, but both have troubles blocking pitches and throwing out runners – likely related to the weight they carry.
Yeah, 20+ HR 85 RBI and a .245 average is mediocre. Most of the AL has terrible starting DHs or they are rotating it for rest, Gattis would most likely be a top 5 DH in the league with that production.
Be a good pick up for the Angels. Be a better backup option than what the Angels have now.
Centenos lefty bat could fit well on the Pads. He might be an upgrade over Rocky Gale as Hedges’ backup.
Lefty hitting catcher, sounds like an inexpensive option for the Mariners