The Astros are claiming right-hander Declan Cronin off waivers from the White Sox, per MLB Transactions Daily. The righty was designated for assignment by the Sox a week ago. Houston has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move.
Cronin, 26, made his major league debut with the Sox last year, allowing 11 earned runs in 11 innings. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where his results were naturally better, posting a 3.83 earned run average in 51 2/3 innings at that level. He only struck out 18.7% of batters faced but kept 54.5% of balls in play on the ground. That ability to get worm burners has been a trademark of his, getting more than half of batted balls into the dirt at every stop of his career.
He lost his roster spot when the Sox needed to make room for their signing of Tim Hill and will now join the Astros. Houston has been trying to bolster its bullpen after Héctor Neris, Ryne Stanek and Phil Maton got to free agency. However, general manager Dana Brown has repeatedly talked about a lack of available funds and the club is right around the competitive balance tax line. Roster Resource pegs their CBT number at $237.4MM, just barely above the $237MM base threshold.
Cronin will give them some depth on the cheap, as he’s still at least a couple of years away from reaching arbitration. He also still has all three option years remaining, which could allow the club to keep him in the minors until he earns his way into a major league role.
Most honest team in MLB, since they admitted to “cheating” and stopped doing it and made up for it, meanwhile pretty much every other team in MLB is cheating to this day and lying about it.
Next comment calling them the ‘Trashtros’ or referring to the “cheating” in any way, there’s going to be a problem.
Nice pickup for the Trashtros
The merry go round continues…
Trashtros are the most respectable team in the junior league. You got a problem with that?
Meanwhile MLB never truly investigated other teams despite multiple reports of other wrongdoing. Next comment will ask for a source, but we don’t need to comply with their laziness.
I firmly believe that MLB told the Astros players that they would give them immunity if they promised not to name all of the other players/organizations cheating. It (cheating) was rampant in baseball, still is, and always will be. Same with all other sports.
BeffJ, Wouldn’t something like that get leaked though? One way or another? If lot’s of other teams were cheating? I do firmly believe it would.
Trumbo, numerous former players (and a few current) have openly said cheated was league-wide. Some of those former players specifically named other teams as well.
This comment comes off as trollbait. Almost like your asking for people to post their arbitrary “Trashtros” comments, which are generally stale and unoriginal.
I expect better jokes from baseball fans!
Verducci, Rosenthal, Plaschke, Stark, etc.
They cheated, they got caught, they are all lucky they were not banned from baseball and had their title stripped from them. All things considered they got off easy.
As for those who do not like people calling it out? Sounds like a problem between one and their conscious.
That viewpoint is contingent on certain things being true, which we simply don’t know because MLB failed to investigate the rate and severity of other teams’ rule breaks.
I know that your viewpoint assumes that the Astros were the singular bad guy, but that is a purely fictitious assumption. We already know that the Red Sox and Yankees were breaking the rules in 2017. We do know that Ryan Spaeder and Josh Reddick have said that other teams were committing other wrongdoings. We also know that the Dbacks suspected the Dodgers of sign stealing in 2017 and 2018.
As a true baseball fan, I would love to know what teams were actually doing in that time period. Until then, it seems naive to point the finger at one organization when there are simply far too many unknowns. It’s just pure childish behavior to live like that.
Ckc, the Nationals were also suspected of cheating in 2019.
What do you mean ‘viewpoint’, the Astros cheated, correct? Yes. They got caught, correct? Yes. How is that a ‘viewpoint’?
Stealing signs on the field is one thing. If a player or coach is savvy enough to watch the signs and pickup what is being done, that’s in the game on the field. The Astros however used a camera system to then send info to the dugout. As for other teams, yes, if they got caught cheating using such measures they should suffer the same fate. However, it does not diminish, in any way, what the Astros did, which is the object of the response in the first place. ‘Childish behavior’ is trying to somehow justify it was OK for the Astros to commit such an act and say its OK cause, yknow, others were doing it. That is textbook child’s excuse.
No – thank you for proving that we can’t have an intellectual dialogue on this matter. Not once did I indicate anything remotely close to excusing the Astros’ cheating. I urge you to re-read what I posted for comprehension.
Aye aye aye aye, we are the Cheatro banditros
Brotato, put the bottle down!
Permission to use Brotato in polite company?
Will Brady or Belichick ever stop getting jokes or ridicule about deflated balls or video cameras? No. Will Pete Rose ever stop getting gambling jokes or ridicule? No. Deal with it. Every cheater earns to be heckled. I’m a huge Astros fan too. Just lean into it and joke on them as well.
Oh I do, his jingle just wasn’t good!
All yours guys! You can have our 36th round draft choice who has never really had a good minor league season and got spanked in 11 innings with the Sox this year.
Every team needs batting practice pitchers during spring training.
This guy has a perfect sci fi novel protagonist name.
Declan Cronin could’ve been in Ender’s Game and it would’ve fit.
Okay, I’ll bite. Mazer’s chief of staff from the old days, Colonel Declan Cronin?
You ain’t lyin’.
Stuff was better than his numbers. Looking forward to seeing his progression with a team that can develop pitchers
Astros fans: We want Dylan Cease
Astros GM: Done!
Declan, now there’s a name we don’t hear often. For ten points and the game, name a famous Declan. A hint: he goes by another name professionally.
Who is, Elvis Costello.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Confess now, did you have to look it up?
No actually. I have several Uncle John’s bathroom readers, and if you aren’t familiar, they are books of useless knowledge. They have FINALLY paid off!!
He released an album under the name Declan MacManus. Most Elvis fans know this
I am familiar. Consider yourself a graduate of the College of Useless Knowledge!
“The stupid name I was born with,” if I remember correctly what he said when he changed it back.
Maybe he’s better off joining uncle Kevin on stage rather than being a poor moundsman.
On Golden country
In all the years I’ve been watching baseball, how has the term “worm burner” eluded me?
I had the same thought
lol it’s my favorite baseball term! That or a hit that’s a “Texas leaguer.”
Walter White:
“You know who I am, Declan”. “Say my name”. “Say it”.
Declan:”Heisenberg”.
Walter White:”You’re Goddamn right”.
I’m happy to see the Astros make a move. I have no idea how it turn out, but it’s good news today.
Astros gonna roll with the changes
It’s going to be a tough road for them if they don’t make tough decisions now to trade from strengths to retool.