Astros Rumors

Giants Claim Taylor Jones, Designate Jose Rojas

By Anthony Franco | September 16, 2022 at 5:58pm CDT

The Giants have claimed first baseman/corner outfielder Taylor Jones off waivers from the Astros and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. Utilityman Jose Rojas has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Houston had designated Jones for assignment earlier this week.

Jones changes organizations for the first time in his career. A 19th-round pick of the Astros in 2016, he’s spent the past six-plus years in the Houston system. The Gonzaga product has typically played well in the minor leagues, posting particularly strong numbers in the upper levels. Through parts of three seasons in Triple-A, Jones is a .279/.377/.487 hitter. That includes a quality .263/.370/.456 showing through 322 plate appearances this year. Jones has connected on 12 home runs and drawn walks at a quality 10.9% clip while striking out at a slightly higher than average rate (24.2%).

Despite the solid work in the minors, the 28-year-old hasn’t gotten much of a look in the big leagues. He’s appeared at the highest level in each of the past three years, but he’s picked up a cumulative 131 plate appearances in sporadic playing time. Jones hasn’t played well in that limited look, managing only a .234/.260/.395 line with a trio of longballs and an alarming 27.5% strikeout percentage.

The Giants are as active as any team at scouring the waiver wire, and they’ll take a shot on Jones’ upper minors productivity. He’s in his last minor league option year, meaning San Francisco can keep him in Triple-A for the final few weeks of the season. He’ll be out of options in 2023, though. If he holds his spot on the 40-man roster all winter, he’ll have to break camp on the MLB club or again be designated for assignment.

Rojas has been part of the Giants waiver wire churn. San Francisco snagged him from the Angels less than two weeks ago, and he’s spent his limited time in the organization with Sacramento. He’s appeared in seven games on optional assignment there and now loses his spot on the 40-man without having suited up in a big league contest.

A left-handed hitter, Rojas has appeared in the bigs with the Halos in each of the past two seasons. He’s not made much of an impact against MLB pitching, carrying a .188/.245/.339 slash with six homers through 241 trips to the plate. Like Jones, Rojas has been a very good hitter at the Triple-A level. Through parts of four seasons there, he sports a .277/.343/.525 line, including a .274/.346/.569 mark this season. The 29-year-old also offers a fair bit of defensive flexibility, suiting up at each of first, second and third base and in the corner outfield.

For the second time this month, Rojas will find himself on the waiver wire. He has an additional option remaining beyond this season and won’t reach arbitration for multiple years, so it’s possible another team will add him as an upper-level depth player. If he goes unclaimed, Rojas would have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Astros Targeting Friday Return For Justin Verlander

By Steve Adams | September 14, 2022 at 11:15am CDT

The Astros appear to be on the cusp of getting Cy Young frontrunner Justin Verlander back. Manager Dusty Baker tells reporters that while nothing is finalized yet, the organization’s tentative plan is for Verlander to return on Friday (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Verlander hasn’t pitched since departing his Aug. 29 start after three innings due to what would eventually be diagnosed as “fascial disruption” in his calf.

If he indeed returns Friday, it’ll go down as an 18-day absence for Verlander — a near-best case scenario for an injury that, as acknowledged by the pitcher himself in the wake of his IL placement, could have sidelined him through a portion of the postseason had it been even marginally more severe.

The 39-year-old Verlander has had nothing short of a remarkable season in his return from 2020 Tommy John surgery — not only reestablishing himself as a high-quality starter but resurfacing as a bona fide ace with a legitimate chance at his third Cy Young Award. Missing even a couple of starts could prove a deciding factor, particularly with Dylan Cease and Alek Manoah surging late in the season, but Verlander’s 1.84 ERA still tops American League pitchers. He’s now fallen to 18th in the league in innings pitched, however, narrowing any lead he might have previously held over the field. He’s also returning without a minor league rehab stint, so it’s at least possible the ’Stros will be a little more cautious than usual with his workload in his first outing.

The extent to which Verlander is able to bounce back from this calf issue will be telling with regard to the Cy Young race, though the team focus is surely just on having him built up to full strength for their now-inevitable postseason run. With 20 games left to play and a 12.5-game lead in the AL West, Houston hasn’t mathematically clinched the division crown, but that’s a fait accompli at this juncture. The Astros have the best record in the American League and the second-best record in baseball, trailing only the Dodgers, positioning them for a first-round bye in this year’s newly expanded 12-team playoff format.

That will give Houston the luxury of lining up the rotation however the team deems fit. Assuming he’s at full strength, Verlander would be the obvious choice to take the ball in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, likely to be followed by lefty Framber Valdez, who figures to get some down-ballot recognition in this year’s Cy Young voting himself. With Lance McCullers Jr. back on the active roster and 25-year-old righties Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia each pitching well (Javier, in particular) — the Astros are deep in options for their postseason rotation.

Astros Designate Taylor Jones For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | September 13, 2022 at 3:58pm CDT

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.

Astros GM James Click’s Contract Expires After 2022 Season

By Mark Polishuk | September 12, 2022 at 8:28pm CDT

8:28pm: Crane doesn’t sound as if he’s leaning towards a leadership change, telling Mark Berman of Fox 26 he’s “aware both contracts are up and we’ll address them at the end of the season. We don’t want any distractions right now” (Twitter link).

6:50pm: The exact terms of James Click’s deal with the Astros weren’t publicized when he was hired in February 2020, but Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports that Click’s contract only runs through the conclusion of the 2022 season. It isn’t known if any extension talks have yet taken place or will place, but Rome writes that “within the organization, speculation about [Click’s] future has been a growing topic since the end of spring.”

After spending 14 years in the Rays front office, Click took over the Houston job in rather abrupt circumstances, hired less than a month after former GM Jeff Luhnow was fired in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. That organizational shake-up also cost A.J. Hinch his job as manager, leading to Dusty Baker’s hiring shortly before Click was brought on as the new head of baseball operations.

Given all of the tumult and controversy surrounding the Astros in the last few years, there hasn’t been much carryover to the on-field product. Houston finished 29-31 in the shortened 2020 season but still reached the playoffs, and advanced all the way to the ALCS. In 2021, Houston won 95 games, recaptured the AL West title, and advanced to the World Series before falling to the Braves in six games.

With a 90-50 record thus far this season, the Astros have the best record in the American League, and are again top contenders to win another championship. In a recent podcast appearance, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal implied that some postseason success could be a necessity for Click, as “there could be some [front office] maneuvering if the Astros sputter in the playoffs.”

Even if Houston did get upset in their first postseason round, it would still seem like Click has earned a bit more leeway given the team’s record over his two-plus seasons. However, as Rome notes, the Astros also took something of a wait-and-see approach with Baker — the manager initially signed a one-year deal with a club option that was only exercised after the 2020 season was complete, and Baker’s next contract was another one-year deal that is also up after the 2022 campaign.

It could be that Astros owner Jim Crane is again waiting until the season is completely over to work out extensions with Baker and Click, with the focus being solely on baseball for the present. Of course, that strategy also carries risk, as any teams with front office or managerial vacancies could then emerge as other suitors for Click or Baker’s services.

If Crane was indeed considering a change, it would immediately make Houston one of the most sought-after employment destinations in baseball for any general manager. The Astros are set up to be contenders for some time to come thanks to their fantastic core of both established and young talent — and that could also factor into Crane’s logic in perhaps wanting to move on. Much of the Astros’ roster was already in the organization before Click was hired, so it is possible Crane could see him as something of a steward of Luhnow’s work. Given the rather rushed circumstances behind Click and Baker’s hirings, Crane might prefer to take more time in a longer search to find the leader (or leaders) of the next chapter of the Astros’ future.

AL West Notes: Angels, Verlander, Gray, Howard

By Mark Polishuk | September 11, 2022 at 6:19pm CDT

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is considering a bid on the Angels, according to Sportico’s Eric Jackson and Scott Soshnick. The billionaire isn’t giving official comment, but Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times heard that Soon-Shiong is indeed weighing the possibility of buying the franchise. The 70-year-old Soon-Shiong is a former transplant surgeon who built a fortune in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries, and his business holdings also include both the L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune newspapers.

This isn’t the first time Soon-Shiong has tried to get involved in baseball, as his ownership group was the runner-up bidder for the Dodgers in 2012 when Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the franchise. Now, Soon-Shiong will apparently see if he can purchase the other Los Angeles area team, as Angels owner Arte Moreno said last month that he is considering a sale. There is expected to be plenty of bidding on the Angels, and it seems quite possible that the price tag could end up approaching the $3 billion mark.

The Changing Landscape Of The AL Cy Young Race

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2022 at 6:57pm CDT

Two weeks ago, the Cy Young race in the American League looked like a two-horse race, with both Houston’s Justin Verlander and Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan hovering at or below the 2.00 ERA mark and racking up innings atop their teams’ respective rotations. McClanahan has the larger strikeout percentage and subsequently superior marks from fielding-independent metrics that some voters increasingly weigh. Verlander was averaging one extra out recorded per start prior to being lifted early his last time out, and his 16-3 win-loss record might hold some sway with traditionalist voters.

Or, all of that could be rendered moot.

Both Verlander and McClanahan are on the 15-day injured list, and Verlander, who had been improbably leading the Majors in ERA as a 39-year-old in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, sounds as though he’ll miss several weeks rather than just the 15-day minimum. McClanahan, a late scratch from his last start, is already throwing and seems likelier to make a quick return. However, the Rays could very well take a cautious approach and limit his innings after a two-week absence due to a shoulder impingement.

At the very least, the door is now open for further competition in Cy Young voting, ostensibly setting the stage for the closest AL vote we’ve seen since 2019, when Verlander and then-teammate Gerrit Cole finished in the top two positions on the ballot. Last year’s NL Cy Young voting sparked plenty of controversy and debate as well, and as things currently stand, we could get an encore of that scene in the AL this year.

If not Verlander or McClanahan, who are the top names to consider? Let’s dive in.

Dylan Cease, RHP, White Sox

Cease, following a near-no-hitter against the Twins that saw him go 8 2/3 before Luis Arraez cracked a ninth-inning single, may have leapfrogged both Verlander and McClanahan as the odds-on favorite in the American League. He’s sitting on MLB’s third-lowest ERA — sandwiched right between Verlander and McClanahan, no less — and that 2.13 mark is complemented by a 31.4% strikeout rate that ranks as the fourth-highest of any qualified starting pitcher in baseball.

At 5.5 wins above replacement (per Baseball Reference), Cease already leads American League pitchers — even over Verlander and McClanahan. That’d due largely to the fact that Cease is putting up these numbers in front of one of the game’s bottom-10 defenses.

It’s not all roses, as Cease has a 10.4% walk rate that sits dead last among qualified starters. He hasn’t been terribly efficient, either; where both Verlander and McClanahan have averaged comfortably more than six innings per start, Cease has averaged 5.77 innings per appearance this year.

Still, Chicagoans can no doubt see the parallels between Cease’s 2022 showing and the 2016 performance of another Chicago hurler — crosstown righty Jake Arrieta, when he rode a historic summer surge to Cy Young honors. Over his past 15 starts, Cease has tallied 93 innings of 1.45 ERA ball and held opponents to one or zero runs on a dozen occasions. Cease isn’t quite in Arrieta territory (0.86 ERA in his final 147 innings), but he’s not terribly far off, either. If he can sustain anything close to this pace, Cease will finish the season at or near the top of the AL in terms of innings pitched, ERA, total strikeouts and strikeout rate.

Alek Manoah, RHP, Blue Jays

Manoah looked borderline unhittable for the season’s first two months, carrying a 1.67 ERA in that time and allowing just 55 hits and a 0.59 HR/9 mark through June 13 (75 2/3 innings). He had a solid but closer-to-average run for much of the summer but has now yielded just three runs in his past 28 1/3 innings.

At 171 innings of 2.42 ERA ball on the year, the 24-year-old is on the periphery of the race at present. He ranks fourth in American League ERA but trails McClanahan, Cease and especially Verlander in that department. He lacks the gaudy strikeout ratios boasted by both Cease and McClanahan but limits hard contact better than any non-McClanahan pitcher in the AL, evidenced by a 31.3% hard-hit rate. (McClanahan leads qualified AL starters at 30.1%.)

However, Manoah’s 171 are second-most in the American League, and if he continues this hot streak, there’s a chance he could wind up among the league leaders in ERA, innings pitched and other key categories. In terms of wins and losses, everyone’s trailing Verlander’s 16 victories, but Manoah’s 14 are tied with Framber Valdez for second in the league. Speaking of which…

Framber Valdez, LHP, Astros

It’s easy to be overshadowed by the season Verlander is enjoying, but we should all probably be discussing Valdez’s outstanding year more than we are. The 28-year-old southpaw is just one-third of an inning behind Manoah at 170 2/3, and he also sits sixth in ERA (2.64) and ninth in bWAR (3.4).

Valdez has emerged as baseball’s preeminent ground-ball starting pitcher, and it’s not close; he leads all qualified pitchers in ground-ball rate at 66.7%, and Logan Webb’s 57.5% rate is second-best. Even dropping the minimum to 50 innings as a starter, he still leads Alex Cobb (61.9%) and Andre Pallante (61.4%) by a wide margin.

In an age where starters are yanked from the game earlier than ever before, Valdez is a throwback. He’s worked at least six innings in every one of his starts since April 25, completing seven or more innings on 11 occasions and twice going the distance with a complete game. Over his past five starts, Valdez has 35 2/3 innings of 1.77 ERA ball. It’ll be a challenge for him to drop his ERA into the low 2.00s, and he can’t match Cease or McClanahan in terms of strikeouts, but Valdez will likely be the American League innings leader and finish with a mid-2.00s ERA and MLB-leading ground-ball rate.

Shohei Ohtani, RHP, Angels

When Ohtani pitched to a 3.99 ERA through the first six weeks of the season, it looked as if we were in for an (almost) mortal season out of the two-way phenom. He averaged just over five innings per start, and while the strikeouts were still there in droves, he was also unusually homer-prone. A Cy Young pursuit did not appear to be on the horizon.

In 88 2/3 innings since that time? Ohtani has a 1.83 ERA with fewer homers allowed (six) than in his first 47 1/3 innings (seven). He at one point rattled off six consecutive starts with double-digit strikeout totals, and opponents have batted .199/.249/.301 against him during this stretch.

Ohtani’s 33% strikeout rate on the season leads qualified starting pitchers (though would trail Braves phenom Spencer Strider by a good margin if Strider had a few more innings), and while many fans and Ohtani detractors bristle at the notion, it’s hard not to consider that he does all this while also serving as a middle-of-the-order slugger who ranks among the league’s top power threats.

Ultimately, with just 136 innings pitched this season, it’s hard to imagine that Ohtani will actually garner many (if any) first-place Cy Young votes. Yes, he’s sporting a 2.58 ERA, leading the league with a 33% strikeout rate and sitting second among AL starters with 4.7 bWAR. But Ohtani is ultimately going to be up against multiple starters with better bottom-line run prevention numbers and as many as 40 to 50 additional innings pitched. Corbin Burnes won an NL Cy Young last year with just 167 frames, but the top names in the American League this year have had better seasons.

Kevin Gausman, RHP, Blue Jays

Gausman will be the analytic darling in this year’s field. I debated whether to mention him at all for this breakdown, as he’d need a pretty dominant finish to push his way in among the leaders in more traditional categories, but the right-hander is second in the American League at FanGraphs with 5.2 wins above replacement. fWAR is based on fielding-independent pitching rather than actual runs allowed, and Gausman has been quite good this season — 3.12 ERA in 147 innings — despite being one of the game’s least-fortunate pitchers in terms of balls in play. He’s lugging around an MLB-worst .368 BABIP, and the next-highest mark (Jordan Lyles at .323) isn’t even close.

There’s perhaps some temptation to think that Gausman is then yielding far too much hard contact, but that’s not necessarily the case. He’s not managing contact as well as any of the others profiled here, but his 89 mph average exit velocity and 39% hard-hit rate are barely north of the respective 88.6 mph and 38.3% league averages in those regards.

Gausman has the game’s third-best walk rate (3.8%), the tenth-best strikeout rate (27.9%) and is sixth-best in the differential between those two (24.1 K-BB%). He’s averaging just 5 2/3 innings per start, however, and isn’t particularly helping his cause down the stretch (3.99 ERA over his past five outings… again, with a .370 BABIP).

—

A lot can (and will) change between now and season’s end, but since this is all just for debate anyhow, I’ll include a poll to close this out:

Injury Notes: Franco, Verlander, Arano

By Darragh McDonald | September 5, 2022 at 12:30pm CDT

Rays shortstop Wander Franco resumed his rehab assignment yesterday, slotting in as the designated hitter for the Triple-A Durham Bulls as he attempts to return from July hamate surgery. The plan, as relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, is for Franco to stick with the Bulls for a few more games and rejoin the Rays for their series against the Blue Jays on September 12.

Of course, this is contingent on Franco feeling well in the coming days. He attempted to begin a rehab assignment a few weeks ago but was pulled off due to continued soreness in his hand. It seems like he’s in a better position this time around, however. “This is definitely the best I’ve felt since the injury,” Franco tells Topkin, via interpreter Manny Navarro. “That’s probably the most important thing, if he feels good where he’s at, where we’re at,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Getting Franco back for the final few weeks of the regular season would certainly be a boon for the Rays. They are currently five games back of the Yankees in the battle for the AL East crown and sandwiched between the Mariners and Blue Jays in the Wild Card picture. The club also put second baseman Brandon Lowe on the IL last week, which further subtracted from their infield depth.

Other injury notes from around the league…

Astros righty Justin Verlander went on the IL a week ago due to a calf injury, with both Verlander and general manager James Click expressing optimism that a significant absence wouldn’t be necessary. However, Verlander probably won’t return after the 15-day minimum, Click tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros are fortunate enough to be sitting on a record of 86-48, six games ahead of the Yankees for the best record in the American League and 17 games ahead of the Central-leading Guardians/Twins. That means the club is cruising to a first round bye and can allow Verlander to return at whatever pace is best for his health, as opposed to rushing him back for meaningful games down the stretch. Prior to the injury, the 39-year-old was having an incredible season, especially when considering he effectively missed the previous two years. He’s thrown 152 innings in 2022 with a 1.84 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate. By surpassing the 130-inning mark, he has vested a $25MM player option for next year, but would likely be able to do better than that on the open market if he declined the option.
The Nationals placed right-hander Victor Arano on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 2, due to a right shoulder strain. The club hasn’t released any information about Arano’s timeline, but with only about four weeks left on the schedule, it’s possible that this ailment will end his season. He’s thrown 42 innings so far this year, his first MLB action since 2019. He has a 4.50 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 51.6% ground ball rate. A 58.9% strand rate is probably inflating that ERA, with advanced metrics like FIP (3.71), xFIP (3.45) and SIERA (3.12) thinking he deserved much better. The 27-year-old will cross three years of MLB service time by season’s end, meaning he will qualify for arbitration for the first time.

Pirates Claim Peter Solomon From Astros

By Darragh McDonald | September 4, 2022 at 3:45pm CDT

The Pirates announced that they have claimed right-hander Peter Solomon off waivers from the Astros and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. He was designated for assignment by Houston on Thursday. To make room for Solomon on their 40-man roster, the Pirates have transferred right Colin Holderman to the 60-day injured list.

Solomon, 26, was a fourth-round draft selection of the Astros in 2017, meaning this will be his first time jumping to a new organization in his career. He pitched well as he climbed the minor league ladder but was limited to just 7 2/3 innings in 2019 before Tommy John surgery shut him down. He was likely to miss most of the 2020 season while recovering, though that became somewhat moot when the pandemic wiped out the minors that year.

In 2021, he returned to the hill and made his major league debut. He tossed 14 innings in the big leagues over six games, registering a 1.29 ERA in that small sample. He spent much more time in Triple-A, however, putting up a 4.70 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League along with a 26.3% strikeout rate. Here in 2022, it’s been a bit of a step back for Solomon, as he has a 5.20 ERA across 97 innings for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys with his strikeout rate dipping to 20.5%.

Despite some of those unsavory numbers, there are reasons for the Pirates to take a flier on Solomon. Baseball America ranked him the #19 prospect in Houston’s system at their midseason update, noting that his five-pitch mix, command and durability give him the tools to potentially become a back-end starter in the big leagues. For a team that’s well out of contention and clearly focused on the future, it’s fairly logical to give Solomon a roster spot and see if he can flourish, especially now that he’ll be away from the PCL. This is Solomon’s second option year, meaning the Pirates can keep him stashed in the minors for the rest of this year and another campaign as long as he continues to hang onto a spot on the 40-man. The rotation is also fairly wide open, currently composed of Roansy Contreras, JT Brubaker, Mitch Keller, Bryse Wilson and Johan Oviedo. All of those guys are still works in progress to varying degrees, with none of them having reached their 29th birthday or 300 MLB innings pitched.

As for Holderman, 26, he was placed on the IL August 26 due to shoulder soreness. The Bucs evidently don’t expect him back this season since this transfer will rule him out beyond the end of the schedule. He made his MLB debut this year with the Mets before going to the Pirates in a trade for Daniel Vogelbach. He will finish his first season with a 3.81 ERA over 28 1/3 innings.

Justice delos Santos of MLB.com tweeted the moves before the official announcement.

Astros Release Niko Goodrum

By Darragh McDonald | September 3, 2022 at 7:36pm CDT

Utilityman Niko Goodrum has cleared waivers and been released by the Astros, reports Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. He was designated for assignment by the club on Thursday.

Goodrum, 30, had a couple of solid seasons with the Tigers in 2018 and 2019, hitting 28 home runs and stealing 24 bags over that two-year stretch. His overall batting line of .247/.318/.427 was just barely below league average, as evidenced by his 98 wRC+. He played all over the diamond in that time, lining up at every position outside of the battery. He generally got quality marks for his glovework, helping him produce 4.5 wins above replacement total over those two campaigns, in the estimation of FanGraphs.

However, he’s been in a downward spiral since then, which started with a rough campaign in the shortened 2020 season. He hit .184/.263/.335 that year while striking out 38.5% of the time. In 2021, he bounced back a bit but still disappointed. His .214/.292/.359 batting line led to a wRC+ of 81, much better than the 63 from the year before but a drop off from prior seasons. His strikeout rate improved to 32.9% but was still well above the 23.2% league average.

After two straight down years, the Tigers cut bait and non-tendered him. The Astros decided to take a flier on Goodrum by signing him to a $2.1MM contract for 2022. He got into just 15 games with Houston, hitting a dismal .116/.156/.163 and striking out in 51.1% of his plate appearances. He was optioned to the minors and has been dealing with injuries ever since, only getting into 20 minor league games on the year. With active rosters expanding for September, the Astros decided to call up prospects Hunter Brown and Yainer Diaz, bumping Goodrum from the roster in the process.

Goodrum has more than three years of MLB service time, meaning that he would have been able to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, only players with more than five years’ service time can do so while retaining the salary they are owed. That could have led to him accepting an assignment to stick with the Space Cowboys, though it now seems to be a moot point. With the club releasing him, they will be on the hook for the approximately $400K left on the deal, while Goodrum will return to the open market and look for his next opportunity.

Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | September 1, 2022 at 10:59pm CDT

Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Selected contract of RHP Hunter Brown
Selected contract of C Yainer Diaz
Corresponding moves: IF Niko Goodrum and RHP Peter Solomon designated for assignment

Los Angeles Angels:

Selected contract of OF Ryan Aguilar
Selected contract of RHP Zack Weiss
Corresponding moves: OF Steven Duggar and INF Jose Rojas designated for assignment

Oakland Athletics

Selected contract of LHP Ken Waldichuk from Triple-A Las vegas
Recalled OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas
Corresponding move: RHP David McKay designated for assignment

Seattle Mariners

Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Recalled SS Ernie Clement from Triple-A Columbus
Reinstated RHP Cody Morris from 60-day injured list
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Anthony Castro for assignment

Detroit Tigers

Recalled 1B Spencer Torkelson from Triple-A Toledo
Selected contract of INF Ryan Kreidler from Triple-A Toledo
Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Rony Garcia to 60-day injured list

Kansas City Royals

Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

Recalled C Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester
Selected contract of RHP Eduard Bazardo
Corresponding moves: None required

New York Yankees

Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Selected contract of IF Wilmer Difo from Triple-A Reno
Reinstated RHP Keynan Middleton and LHP Kyle Nelson from 15-day injured list
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Noe Ramirez for assignment

Colorado Rockies

Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

Selected contract of recently-acquired OF Lewis Brinson
Recalled IF David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento
Corresponding move: Outrighted LHP Jonathan Bermudez to Triple-A Sacramento

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Selected contract of 2B/3B Spencer Steer
Selected contract of RHP Fernando Cruz
Corresponding moves: Transferred INF Mike Moustakas and RHP Jeff Hoffman from 10-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Milwaukee Brewers

Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

To recall OF Bryan De La Cruz
To recall RHP Jeff Brigham
Corresponding moves: None required

New York Mets

Selected contract of INF Deven Marrero from Triple-A Syracuse
Recalled RHP Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Connor Grey for assignment

Philadelphia Phillies

Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

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