Prior to today’s game, the Astros activated utility player Mauricio Dubon, whom they acquired in a trade with the Giants yesterday, relays Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In a corresponding move, infielder Niko Goodrum was optioned to Triple-A.
This is yet another step in what has been a downward trajectory for Goodrum in recent years. After establishing himself as a useful part of the Tigers’ roster in 2018 and 2019, things took a turn in 2020. His 2018-2019 batting line of .247/.318/.427 was just two hairs below league average, with his wRC+ coming in at 98 in that time. But due to his 24 steals and quality defense, he was worth 4.5 fWAR over that stretch.
In the shortened season, he hit .184/.263/.335 for a wRC+ of 62. Even during those two good years, he struck out 28% of the time, well above league average, but that shot up to 38.5% in 2020. This trend mostly carried over into 2021, with Goodrum hitting .214/.292/.359 with a 32.9% strikeout rate.
After two straight down years, the Tigers non-tendered him instead of opting for an approximate $2.9MM arbitration salary, as projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Astros signed him to a $2.1MM guarantee with incentives, hoping that he and Aledmys Diaz could form a sort of safety net as the club tried out rookie Jeremy Pena as Carlos Correa’s shortstop replacement. Unfortunately, his troubling trends over the past couple of years have worsened, with Goodrum hitting .116/.156/.163 and striking out at a 51.1% clip.
The 30-year-old will now head to Sugar Land and see if regular playing time and at-bats can help him get things back on track and work his way back to the majors. He came into the season with four years and 31 days of service time, adding approximately 38 days to that total this year to put him somewhere around 4.069. Players with over five years of service time cannot be optioned without their consent, but Goodrum is just over 100 days shy of that, with 172 days counting as a full season.
Could be a solid utility player for the Tigers…err…wait!
Hope he gets his swing straightened out in the minors. Exciting player when he hits the ball.
He was never a good hitter though. Is there really much to straighten out?
Niko Goodrum is a switch hitter and plays every position but 1 & 2. He is fast and has good power. Early on, he did well when he was used as a full-time super sub and position player.
Niko Goodrum is much better than the last couple seasons show. He hasn’t gotten regular playing time but he is not an ideal part-timer.
I thought he would thrive in HOU if he was used as a full-time super sub like Marwin Gonzalez was. He will not thrive in HOU being used as a part-time utility player as he has been.
DET will ruin every player coming through the organization.
He’s not good enough to be a “super-sub”. He’s a utility guy at best. Nowhere near as goood as Marwin was in his prime. Niko, at his best is a below average hitter.
@Cosmo2 be careful what you say. Marwin Gonzalez is a career .255 hitter but numbers went down the last 4 years where he’s now hitting around .200. His only good season was in the middle of a sign stealing scandal to which he apologized for being part of.
Niko Goodrum is a career .226 hitter but has more upside with stolen bases.
Tough call, but Marwin isn’t much better. He was horrible in Boston last year just watching the guy. Automatic out. Gonzalez does have much more career WAR so I guess your argument stands but he’s still not a major improvement at the plate.
Marwin isn’t necessarily better NOW. But the comparison was between their primes as it started with the notion that, like Marwin, Niko could be a super-sub, implying regular playing time. Niko will never be good enough to justify regular playing time, while Marwin, in his prime, was much better than that and could play almost everyday.
Yeah that pissed me off. Marwin was one of my favorites when he was with the Astros. I have a soft spot for utility guys. I am sick of hearing about it but that whole affair made me mad, particularly the lack of contrition by the owner. I wrote the team a nasty email and didn’t watch baseball that season.
End of the line.
Astros caught a winner with Dubon. Houston fans will love him.
If he can be utilized as a super utility guy, getting regular playing time, I agree. Not many players have above average defense at SS and center. Rooting for him. Understand the trade though.
Out of control with the strikeouts… impatience has ruined many a baseball career.
My philosophy is if you swing at the first pitch, you better get a hit. Other than that, wait.
I’d be curious to see the numbers of hits per first pitch swings. Betting it is low.
Every time I see the name “Niko” I can’t help but think if Steven Seagal stomping around Chicago with a bad Italian accent, and wishing I wasn’t thinking of it.
I think of this trailer for an 80’s movie I never saw. It was called Salsa, came out on the heels of Dirty Dancing.
I didn’t know that he had options left. Nice, but I still think he’s a waste of a roster spot.