The Astros have made a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s contest with the Tigers, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Aledmys Díaz and Blake Taylor have each been reinstated from the injured list, with Taylor and J.J. Matijevic each optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. Taylor returns from the 60-day IL and again occupies a spot on the 40-man roster. To free the 40-man vacancy, Houston designated Taylor Jones for assignment.
Díaz missed a bit less than a month with a left groin issue. That interrupted what has been a solid season for the utilityman, who carries a .252/.303/.417 line over 274 trips. Díaz has connected on ten homers and only struck out in 16.8% of his plate appearances, displaying a solid blend of contact skills and power off the bench. He’s been a roughly league average hitter for most of his four years in Houston while offering some cover all around the infield and in the corner outfield.
His return adds to the club’s infield depth and perhaps made it easier to take Jones off the roster. Jones has played all four corner spots (primarily the infield) in the minor leagues. The former 19th-round pick has appeared at the big league level in each of the past three seasons, although he’s only taken a single plate appearance this year. Over 131 career plate appearances, he carries a .234/.260/.395 line with a trio of longballs.
That’s obviously not great offensive output, but Jones has a solid track record in the minors. The 6’7″ righty has hit .279/.377/.487 in parts of four seasons at Triple-A. That includes a useful .263/.370/.456 mark across 322 plate appearances with Sugar Land this season, with the Gonzaga product demonstrating a decent combination of plate discipline and power. Those numbers are also a bit deflated by some struggles early on while Jones was making his return from a back injury that landed him on the IL to start the season. He’s been hitting very well for the Space Cowboys going back to the start of August.
Nevertheless, the Astros will have to place him on waivers in the next few days. The 28-year-old is in his final minor league option year, so any team that claims him could stash him in Triple-A for the rest of this season but would have to carry him on next year’s Opening Day roster or again make him available to other teams.
As for Taylor, he’s been out since early June with left elbow discomfort. The southpaw has spent the past month on a rehab assignment, using up the allotted 30-day window for injured pitchers to build back into game shape. Houston will keep him in the minors on optional assignment but had to bring him back off the 60-day IL now that he’s healthy. The 27-year-old worked to a solid 3.94 ERA through 16 innings before the injury, but a 12% strikeout rate paired with a 13.3% walk percentage was rather alarming.
Damn MLB is competitive. Every other article has been about a DFA!
Taylor Jones is a decent player. I am sure he will get picked up.
Not really. Should’ve been dfa’d before the season
Disagree. He always had solid minor league numbers, looked good in spring training last year, but was never given much of a chance. Is he better than what the Astros have in the big leagues now? Probably not. But he could be a useful player for someone.
.279 in the minors is not solid
He’s 28.
You are a real nincompoop if you only care about average. Jones had an OPS over 1.000 in the minors last year and .826 this year. The man is right, he has been solid
For such a large state, Texas sports teams are terrible. You would think that those rodeo people that live down there would demand better from their franchises. Perhaps if they educated themselves outside of firearms and ranching they would know how to write a strongly written letter of disapproval to each owner expressing their displeasure
You must be living in a state with zero natural resources, depending on Texas to provide energy to keep your cold miserable self warm, and probably living in an overcrowded slum which you call nice. Have fun taking on the Stros in the ALCS, which they will appear in for the 6th consecutive year.
Let’s just hope there is a ALCS this year. With all the undocumented illegals you’re bussing all over the country, anything could happen.
It’s ok. The ALCS will happen. And you can bring in the undocumented illegals to fill up your stadium, supply them with your hot dogs and show them how it feels to lose to the Stros.
Yeah Texas did real good last winter. But they still have the best team in the AL.
Lmaoooo wut
As the great Texan Ron White said, “You Can’t Fix Stupid.”
I grew up thinking a slider was only a pitch until I went outside of Texas and witnessed the north’s cute mini burger
Slider the eatin down there ain’t bad though. Good Steak.
I’m in texas and I barely see any rodeo people. If anything, I see more business attire. Especially the ones in jeans carrying the workload since gen Z is scared to become techs
The rodeo people only come out at night.
I’ve never seen a rodeo. Is it worth admission?
Padres should be in on Jones. With Bell and Myers probably leaving, they need high upside, cheap lotto ticket guys..and Jones’ minor league numbers show lots of potential..even though he’s 28
As a Stros fan, I liked what I saw. He’s a pretty patient hitter, a big guy with some power potential. And plays decent defense. He’s not a superstar type but could be a consistent player if given the chance.
Sometimes it takes time for a player to adjust to MLB. Consistent playing time helps.
Last year in August, Jones got the first regular time in MLB. He hit .333 .928OPS. With 9 extra base hits in 46 PA in 3 weeks.
Then he got sick and sent to AAA.
started the season with a back injury costing him 2 1/2 months and he got passed on the organizational depth chart.
Bad luck.
Hopefully he gers a shot with another team.
Jones will get a shot as regular on a 2nd or 3rd tier team.
Think Colin Moran ( also out of Astros system) as a solid but not star on a non-contender.