Astros Trade Lance McCullers Jr., Colton Gordon To Brewers
The Brewers and Astros have announced the first trade of the season’s unofficial second half, with Houston sending righty Lance McCullers Jr., left-hander Colton Gordon and cash to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder. The Brewers are reportedly absorbing $2.5MM of the remaining money on McCullers’ underwater contract. Milwaukee transferred Rob Zastryzny to the 60-day injured list in a procedural move to open a 40-man roster spot.
It’s a surprising and out-of-the-blue deal. McCullers hasn’t pitched since May 13 due to a shoulder injury and hasn’t been effective when healthy. He went on a minor league rehab stint on June 25 and has made three solid appearances thus far.
This is surely a salary-motivated move for Houston. McCullers is being paid $17MM in the final season of a five-year, $85MM contract extension, but he hasn’t pitched well since the 2022 season. That contract included a full no-trade clause, but McCullers agreed to waive that protection.
McCullers, 32, missed all of 2023-24 due to a flexor tear that required surgery, and he’s posted a 6.65 ERA in 94 2/3 innings dating back to last season. He’s still owed approximately $6.672MM of this year’s $17MM salary. The Brewers, it seems, are taking on a bit more than one-third of that sum, which will give the ‘Stros some more financial wiggle room as they gear up to make additions ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Prior to a brutal run of injuries that has limited him to 142 1/3 big league innings from 2022-26, McCullers was a vital member of Houston’s pitching staff. From 2015-21, the 2012 No. 41 overall draft pick gave the Astros 671 innings with a 3.57 ERA, a 26.6% strikeout rate, a 9.7% walk rate and a huge 55.5% ground-ball rate. Even in that injury-shortened 2022 season, McCullers posted a 2.27 ERA in 47 2/3 frames (eight starts). He’s been an important postseason contributor, too, as evidenced by the 3.47 ERA he’s compiled in 72 2/3 career playoff innings.
Injuries have been a recurring theme throughout McCullers’ career. He missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery. He didn’t make his 2022 debut until Aug. 13 due to flexor troubles. Renewed flexor issues in 2023 resulted in him opening the season on the injured list end eventually undergoing surgery to repair his right flexor tendon and remove bone spurs from his elbow. Since returning in 2025, he’s sat just 91.4 mph on his sinker — way south of the 94 mph he averaged prior to the onset of his flexor and shoulder woes.
As one would expect, McCullers’ swinging-strike rate and strikeout rate have plummeted. His opponents’ contact rate has improved, as has the quality of said contact. Opposing batters have averaged a gaudy 90.9 mph off the bat with a 50% hard-hit rate dating back to last season. From 2015-22, those numbers sat at a combined 88.8 mph and 35.2%, respectively.
The Brewers, of course, have a reputation as one of the better pitching development organizations in the industry. Milwaukee’s “pitch lab” has helped engineer turnarounds and/or breakouts for hurlers like Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Tobias Myers, Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Bryan Hudson and Bryse Wilson upon acquiring them in recent years. They’ll hope to add McCullers to that list of success stories, though the six years of control over Gordon they’re picking up is the more appealing end of the deal for them.
Gordon has only 95 1/3 big league innings to his name — just 9 1/3 of them coming this season. He’s been tagged for an ugly 5.95 ERA in that small sample, fanning a below-average 19.3% of his opponents with an outstanding 5.1% walk rate along the way. Gordon has been far too homer-prone — the short left-field porch at Houston’s Daikin Park isn’t helping him in that regard — despite doing a decent job of avoiding hard contact.
While Gordon’s major league track record is lacking, he’s been quite effective in Triple-A. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons at the top minor league level, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA in each of the past three. Overall, in 285 innings with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land, Gordon touts a 3.85 ERA, a 21.8% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. He’s in the second of three minor league option years and can thus be freely shuttled between Milwaukee and Nashville both this year and next.
The 6’4″, 225-pound Gordon was Houston’s eighth-round pick back in 2021. He’s a five-pitch lefty who sits 91.1 mph on his four-seamer, complementing that primary offering with a sinker (averaging 91.4 mph), slider (81.1 mph), changeup (83.8 mph) and curveball (75.5 mph). He’s been hit hard by righties and lefties alike in the majors but has a stronger track record against southpaws in the minors. Back in 2024, he held both righties and lefties to a sub-.700 OPS in 123 1/3 Triple-A frames.
The extent to which Milwaukee can control Gordon will depend on how much time he spends on the big league roster through season’s end. He entered the 2026 campaign with 112 days of major league service and has since tacked on another 14. If he spends 46 more days on the major league roster/injured list, he’d reach one full year of service time and be controllable five more years, through 2031. If Gordon spends 45 days or fewer on the active roster/injured list — there are 74 calendar days left in the regular season — he’d fall shy of one full year and be controlled six full seasons, all the way through 2032.
The acquisitions of McCullers and Gordon come at a time when the Brewers’ rotation has taken some notable hits. The aforementioned Priester recently underwent thoracic outlet surgery and won’t pitch this season. Harrison, whose 2026 breakout mirrored Priester’s 2025 season, was placed on the injured list a week ago and revealed that he’s been experiencing some elbow pain for a few starts beforehand. Brandon Woodruff has been terrific this season but lasted only three starts in his recent return from the injured list before landing on the 60-day IL due to recurring symptoms. He’s made just nine starts overall (albeit with an excellent 2.98 ERA).
That trio of injuries has compromised the Brewers’ major league rotation and minor league depth. Today’s trade figures to help both. At the moment, Milwaukee’s rotation is headlined by NL Cy Young front-runner Jacob Misiorowski, but there’s little certainty thereafter.
Logan Henderson is a top-100 prospect who’s pitched quite well to begin his young career, but he has only 53 2/3 MLB frames under his belt to date. Brandon Sproat is another recent top-100 arm who’s begun to solidify himself after a rocky start to the season. Robert Gasser is yet another formerly touted arm who’s been good more often than not this season. (His 5.24 ERA is skewed by a seven-run hiccup in a July 12 start.) However, he’s also in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. Fellow lefty Shane Drohan has stepped up in a big way, but the longtime Red Sox farmhand (acquired alongside Harrison in February’s Caleb Durbin trade) is a 27-year-old making his MLB debut this season.
Either Gordon or McCullers — once his rehab is complete — could step into the rotation. It’s also feasible that the Brewers view McCullers as a bullpen option or that they could even cut him entirely, simply using a portion of his contract as a vehicle to facilitate the acquisition of Gordon.
For the Astros, shedding any portion of the McCullers deal is a small victory. As shown in MLBTR’s new Payroll Tracker, Houston’s competitive balance tax obligations sat at $238,329,588 prior to this trade. That placed them just $5.67MM from the luxury tax threshold — a barrier that owner Jim Crane typically prefers to avoid. The Astros have crossed that line under Crane twice in the past, but it’s also frequently been a driving factor behind several notable trades (e.g. the trade of Kyle Tucker) and has unequivocally limited the front office at times while they’ve pursued various needs. Moving McCullers creates a bit more breathing room and also proactively addresses the question of how they’ll address his roster spot when his rehab assignment concludes next week.
They’ll also add the 21-year-old Fielder — the son of Brewers legend Prince Fielder and grandson of three-time All-Star Cecil Fielder. The youngest Fielder went undrafted in 2024 and signed with the Brew Crew as a free agent. He’s spent the 2026 season playing in Low-A, where he’s slashed .233/.415/.398 in 176 plate appearances. Fielder has just three homers in that time, but he’s swiped 10 bags and drawn a walk in a massive 18.8% of his plate appearances. He’s not considered one of the top 30 or so prospects within Milwaukee’s system but brings a long baseball lineage and a (clearly) keen eye at the plate to the lower levels of Houston’s system.
The trade figures to be the first of several for both teams. Houston is looking for a left-handed-hitting outfielder and some help in the bullpen. Milwaukee has been on the hunt for more pitching depth as well as a right-handed bat and potentially some help on the left side of the infield. Both parties have just under three weeks to check those boxes, and today’s unexpected swap serves as a starting point for each.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported that the two sides were finalizing a trade involving McCullers. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome added that McCullers had formally waived his no-trade clause. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Milwaukee would cover a portion of McCullers’ remaining contract, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Gordon’s inclusion in the deal. Rome later reported Fielder’s inclusion and ballparked the amount of cash changing hands. The Associated Press was the first to report the specific $2.5MM figure being absorbed by Milwaukee.
Astros Reinstate Bennett Sousa From Injured List
The Astros have activated left-hander Bennett Sousa from the 15-day injured list, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Fellow lefty Colton Gordon is being optioned in a corresponding move.
Sousa ended 2025 on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and has been out so far in 2026 due to a left oblique strain. The erstwhile waiver claim broke out as a key reliever for Houston in 2025 before the elbow injury. In 50 2/3 innings across 44 appearances, Sousa had a 2.84 ERA and struck out 29.6% of opposing hitters. His performance was no fluke, as Sousa’s 2.88 xERA and 2.72 FIP were close matches for his bottom-line numbers. He is still a pre-arbitration player and won’t reach free agency until 2030, so he is valuable from a contract standpoint as well.
Sousa’s return gives Houston a third solid lefty reliever to complement Bryan King and Steven Okert. Like Sousa, King did well in an extended look in 2025, posting a 2.78 ERA and strong expected stats in 68 innings. Although he surrendered 10 home runs (1.38 HR/9), he demonstrated pristine control with a 4.0% walk rate and generated plenty of soft contact. Meanwhile, the veteran Okert navigated a drop in four-seam velocity to improve his control and keep the ball in the yard. He allowed six home runs in 71 2/3 innings last year after allowing six in less than half the innings for the Twins the year before.
Having the trio of King, Okert, and Sousa is a boon for a Houston bullpen that is missing its most prized lefty. Closer Josh Hader is currently on the 60-day injured list with left biceps tendinitis and is eligible to return in late May at the earliest. Enyel De Los Santos has recorded three of the team’s six saves in Hader’s absence. A repeat performance from Sousa would go a long way to stabilizing the bullpen, which has struggled overall. Key arms like Bryan Abreu and Ryan Weiss are off to bad starts, and the group’s 5.94 ERA is better than only the Royals.
As for Gordon, the 27-year-old heads to Triple-A where he’ll bide his time as a depth option. The 2021 eighth-round draft pick debuted in the Majors last year but was largely ineffective. Gordon posted a 5.34 ERA in 86 innings across 20 appearances, 14 of which were starts. He also struck out a below-average 19.0% of hitters and surrendered more than two home runs per nine innings. His 5.1% career walk rate is a positive, but not enough to overcome the rest of his profile. Having mostly worked as a starter, Gordon could receive the stray spot start or long relief appearance if and when he gets brought back up.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Place Jeremy Peña, Tatsuya Imai On Injured List
The Astros announced that they have placed infielder Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list with a grade 1 hamstring strain. Right-hander Tatsuya Imai has been placed on the 15-day IL due to right arm fatigue. Both of those IL placements are retroactive to April 12th. Right-hander Jayden Murray has been optioned to the Triple-A Sugar Land. In corresponding moves for those three, Houston has recalled left-hander Colton Gordon, right-hander J.P. France and infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb. France was just optioned and would normally have to wait 15 days before being recalled but an exception is made when someone is going on the IL.
At this point, there hasn’t been anything to indicate that either injury is particularly serious. However, the double blow is notable when considering the larger context. The team has already suffered a number of injuries and two more won’t help.
Peña departed Saturday’s game with an injury. The team initially announced the issue as right posterior knee tightness, though it appears further testing has found a hamstring strain. The Astros lost their center fielder a few days earlier, as Jake Meyers suffered an oblique strain. Now they will be without their everyday shortstop as well.
Losing Peña isn’t a good thing but the only silver lining is that it will be easier to spread playing time around to the club’s other infielders. Christian Walker has played almost every day at first base and the same is true of Jose Altuve at second base. Carlos Correa has been at third most days but has also taken over at short a few times to give Peña a day off. Isaac Paredes has slotted in at third when Correa has been at short and has also taken some time as the designated hitter when Yordan Alvarez is the DH.
With Peña now on the shelf for a bit, it’s possible the Astros could stabilize things by having Correa at short regularly, allowing Paredes to cover third on an everyday basis. That would mean less time in the field for Alvarez.
Losing Imai is potentially more impactful, even though he’s less established in the big leagues than Peña. Most of Houston’s injuries have been on the pitching side, so another domino falling there is worrisome. Both Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have been felled by shoulder strains in recent weeks and now Imai is also on the shelf.
Losing three starting pitchers in quick succession is never good but it’s particularly poor timing in this case. The Astros are three games into a stretch of playing 13 in a row. They had planned to use a six-man rotation to get through that stretch, at least in part to accommodate Imai. Pitchers in Japan normally pitch once a week, as opposed to the five-day rotation that is common in North America. Using six starters for the 13 straight games would have helped Imai stay on a schedule he’s accustomed to while he’s still new to Major League Baseball.
Imai started on Friday in Seattle but didn’t make it out of the first inning. He walked the first two batters, allowed a single, threw a wild pitch, walked another batter, hit a guy with a pitch, induced a groundout and then walked another batter. He had already thrown 37 pitches and had recorded just one out when the Astros pulled him. The next day, he left the team for Houston to undergo testing for his fatigue. There’s no real information about his status but the Astros will proceed without him for at least a couple of weeks.
France, Ryan Weiss and Steven Okert combined to absorb 6 2/3 innings after Imai departed, with Enyel De Los Santos throwing in an inning as well. France was then optioned with Murray recalled. Lance McCullers Jr. took the ball on Saturday and lasted 4 1/3, with five relievers pitching after him. Yesterday, Cody Bolton started but only lasted one inning before he was removed due to back tightness. Murray pitched two innings in relief and Christian Roa took on 2 2/3, while two other relievers pitched shorter outings.
It’s already been quite a taxing few days for the club, with still ten games to go before their next day off. Mike Burrows is starting today’s game. After that, it’s fairly up in the air. Weiss, France and Roa are somewhat stretched out from their recent long relief work and could chip in. Spencer Arrighetti, Miguel Ullola and Jason Alexander are on optional assignment and could be recalled, though Alexander just threw six innings at Triple-A yesterday while Ullola threw 2 2/3 on Saturday. Arrighetti’s last outing was six innings on April 9th, so he could be next up.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On Injured List
The Astros have placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list due to right hand soreness, per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle. It’s unclear how severe this hand injury is. McCullers is going to Houston for further evaluation. Left-hander Colton Gordon has been recalled in the corresponding active roster move. Chandler Rome of The Athletic first noted that McCullers wasn’t listed on the club’s lineup card but Gordon was.
In the short term, it’s not a massive blow for the Astros, as McCullers hasn’t developed into a key part of their 2025 roster. He returned to the mound this year after missing almost three years due to elbow problems. He only made eight appearances in 2022 and then missed all of 2023 and 2024.
While he and the Astros were surely thrilled to get him back on the mound this year, he hasn’t been able to return to his prior level of performance. He has tossed 52 1/3 innings for the club this season, allowing 6.88 earned runs per nine. His 21.8% strikeout rate and 14.6% walk rate are both subpar figures. He went back on the IL in June due to a right foot sprain and again in July due to a blister, with both stints being fairly short.
A couple of weeks ago, manager Joe Espada said that McCullers would pitch out of the bullpen but it would be for the “short term” and “just change things up.” He has since logged four innings over three appearances, allowing three earned runs on six hits, four walks and three strikeouts. The Astros are in a tight playoff race and have lost a lot of guys to the IL, but with the way McCullers has pitched, it’s not a huge blow to be without him.
For the long term, however, this will add to the questions about his ability to get back on track in the future. His fastball only averaged 91.8 miles per hour this year, down more than two ticks from his peak. The multiple IL stints perhaps prevented him from ever being fully in a groove but they also add to the worrying sense that he can’t really stay healthy. Even before his recent multi-year stint in the wilderness, he had trouble staying on the field. He has only once thrown at least 130 innings in a major league season and he’s never hit 165.
The rate stats were good enough that the Astros signed him to a five-year, $85MM extension for the 2022-2026 seasons. He’ll make $17MM next year in the final campaign of that pact.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Astros Notes: Meyers, Ort, Dezenzo
After close to two months on the injured list, Jake Meyers might make his return to the Astros lineup as early as today. Meyers played six games during a minor league rehab assignment and then rejoined the big league team for a workout on Friday, though manager Joe Espada (speaking with the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters) didn’t give any hint about when exactly Meyers might be activated from the 10-day IL.
Meyers’ excellent glove earned him at least part-time duty as Houston’s center fielder during his five MLB seasons, and he moved into more of an everyday role in 2024. Continuing that regular job this year, Meyers responded with his best sustained stretch of hitting, as he batted .308/.369/.405 with three homers and 14 steals (in 19 attempts) over his first 322 plate appearances of 2025. However, this impressive start was interrupted by a right calf strain that has kept Meyers on the IL since early July.
If Meyers is able to keep up that hot hitting along with his customary defense, he’ll suddenly be a tremendous all-around addition for an Astros club fighting to stay in first place in the AL West. Houston has remained in first place despite dealing with a ton of injuries, and even with Meyers on the verge of returning, the IL carousel continued yesterday when Kaleb Ort was placed on the 15-day injured list. (Colton Gordon was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and Gordon started yesterday’s game with the Rangers.)
Ort is dealing with right elbow inflammation, and according to Espada, Ort was feeling sore in the aftermath of his most recent outing — a rough two-thirds of an inning against the Yankees that saw Ort charged with four runs. There isn’t yet any word on the seriousness of Ort’s injury, yet given both the calendar and the caution teams usually deploy with elbow injuries, it is possible Ort’s season might be in jeopardy even if his scans come back clean.
Now in his fifth MLB season, Ort had a bit of a breakout in 2024, posting a 2.55 ERA over 24 2/3 innings in his first year in Houston. Things haven’t gone as smoothly this year, as Ort missed the first month due to an oblique strain, and has a 4.89 ERA and an inflated 13.9% walk rate over 46 relief innings. Ort did seem to be getting on track with a 1.80 ERA in the 15 innings pitched prior to Thursday’s meltdown against the Yankees.
If there’s still hope that Ort can make it back before the season is over, Zach Dezenzo‘s outlook looks much more uncertain. The Astros announced yesterday that Dezenzo was pulled off his rehab assignment after suffering a right elbow sprain. As Espada told Kawahara and company, Dezenzo hurt his elbow making a throw on Tuesday during a game with Triple-A Sugar Land.
Dezenzo’s last game with the Astros came on May 31, as he suffered a capsule sprain his left hand that sent him to the 10-day and eventually the 60-day version of the injured list. The elbow issue surfaced just as Dezenzo seemed to be approaching a return to the majors, as the outfielder was playing in his fifth rehab game.
It’s a tough break for what may end up as a lost season for the 25-year-old. Dezenzo made his Major League debut in 2024, and he has a .244/.305/.369 slash line over 174 career PA at the big league level. This brief time in the Show saw Dezenzo utilized primarily at first base and in both corner outfield slots, with a few fill-in appearances as a third baseman last year.
Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain
August 13: Espada provided a vague yet ominous update today. Hader is seeking a second opinion on his shoulder and will be on the IL beyond the minimal stint. “This is going to take a little bit longer than the two weeks,” he said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
August 12, 11:59 pm: Espada says he won’t name a new closer in Hader’s place, suggesting he will instead take a mix-and-match approach to filling the late innings (per Kawahara).
4:14 pm: Espada tells the Astros beat that Hader will receive additional testing (link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). The team has not yet ascertained the severity of the strain and thus do not have a firm timeline on his potential return.
3:15 pm: The Astros announced that closer Josh Hader has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder strain. An immediate timetable for his return was not revealed. Houston recalled lefty Colton Gordon from Triple-A in a corresponding roster move. The Astros also reinstated righty Shawn Dubin from the injured list and opened a roster spot by designating veteran reliever Hector Neris for assignment.
Remarkably, this is the first time Hader has ever been placed on the major league injured list (excepting a brief 2021 placement on the Covid-related IL). He’s not only been one of the sport’s most dominant relievers but also its most durable reliever. Dating back to Hader’s midseason debut in 2017, only Raisel Iglesias (who spent the entire ’17 season in the majors) has more innings pitched. (Somewhat ironically, Neris ranks third among all relievers in innings pitched during that time.) From 2018-25, only two innings separate Iglesias (466 2/3) and Hader (464 2/3) for the MLB lead.
After an up-and-down first year with Houston in 2024, Hader has been back to his typically dominant self in 2025. He’s totaled 52 2/3 innings and worked to a 2.05 earned run average while piling up 28 saves and punching out an outstanding 36.9% of his opponents against a quality 7.6% walk rate. Hader’s sinker is averaging 95.5 mph, down about a half-mile from last season, and he’s throwing his slider more than ever before — at a 41.4% clip. His colossal 21.1% swinging-strike rate is tied with Mason Miller for tops among all big league pitchers — starters and relievers alike — with at least 10 innings pitched this season.
Hader is in the second season of a five-year, $95MM contract he signed as a free agent in the 2023-24 offseason. It’s the second-largest contract ever for a reliever, both in terms of total guarantee and average annual value, trailing only Edwin Diaz (in both regards). That contract pays him an evenly distributed $19MM annually from 2024-28.
As for the 36-year-old Neris, he’s pitched for the Astros, Angels and Braves this year but struggled with all three. The right-hander has pitched a combined 26 2/3 innings with just a 6.75 ERA to show for it. Much of the damage against him came early in the season with Atlanta, but Neris posted a 5.14 with the Angels and is at 5.40 in 11 2/3 frames during what’s been his third stint as a member of the Houston bullpen.
While Neris has never exactly been a flamethrower, this year’s 92.4 mph average four-seamer is a career-low, falling shy of last year’s career-low 93 mph average. The 92.6 mph he’s averaging on his sinker is also a career-low. Neris is generating fewer whiffs, chases and grounders than ever before on his go-to splitter as well.
Since the trade deadline has passed, the Astros’ only course of action with Neris will be to place him on outright waivers or release waivers. They’re effectively the same thing for a player in Neris’ situation at this point, as he has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency anyhow and is quite likely to do so. If another club can get the veteran righty back on track, he’d be postseason-eligible with that new team so long as he was signed prior to Sept. 1.
With Hader on the shelf and Neris off the roster, the Houston bullpen will now look to righty Bryan Abreu as its anchor. He’s the immediate favorite to pick up saves in Hader’s place. Lefties Bryan King, Bennett Sousa and Steven Okert all have a 3.10 ERA or better on the season and figure to collect the majority of setup opportunities while Hader is out.
Since the Astros don’t have another shutdown righty beyond Abreu, it’s at least possible that Abreu could see work in the eighth inning if the Astros’ opponent has a run of tough righties, which would thus leave the ninth inning for one of that trio of lefties. That said, both King and Okert have been terrific against both righties and lefties. That gives manager Joe Espada plenty of options late in the game, but the loss of Hader is nonetheless a crucial blow as Houston tries to fend off a surging Mariners club that has rattled off seven straight wins to pull within one game of the AL West lead.
Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment
4:50pm: McTaggart adds that the club is calling up outfielder Jacob Melton, so he will presumably take Hummel’s active roster spot.
3:30pm: The Astros have designated infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. That opens a 40-man spot for right-hander Cristian Javier to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported earlier. McTaggart was among those to relay earlier today that left-hander Colton Gordon has been optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot for Javier. It’s unclear if the Astros will recall another position player to replace Hummel on the active roster or play a man down tonight.
Hummel has clearly intrigued teams with his minor league numbers. However, since he is out of options and has struggled in his major league looks, he has been frequently mentioned in the transaction logs.
This year alone, he has been on MLBTR a number of times. He was with the Astros during spring training but didn’t crack the Opening Day roster and was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. He opted out of that deal and signed a big league deal with the Orioles in late May. He was designated for assignment again the next day, clearing waivers and electing free agency again. He re-signed with the O’s a few days later but got another DFA a few days after that. He again elected free agency and landed a minor league deal with the Astros, which was selected to the big league roster just over a week later.
Around all of those transactions, Hummel has appeared in 37 games and stepped to the plate 105 times but has mustered a line of just .170/.298/.273. For his career, he now has a .163/.268/.275 line in 340 trips to the plate.
He’ll be back on waivers in the coming days. Perhaps a club again takes a chance on his minor league track record. He has a .284/.418/.480 line and 132 wRC+ in almost 1500 Triple-A plate appearances since the canceled 2020 season. He’s capable of playing first base and the outfield corners. He also has some experience at catcher and third base but hasn’t played those spots in a few years. If he lands somewhere, he is out of options but is still cheap and controllable, as he has between one and two years of service time.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Ronel Blanco To Go On IL For Elbow Soreness
May 22: General manager Dana Brown appeared on Sports Talk 790’s Sean Salisbury Show this morning and did not give an immediate update but said the team would provide more information later today (presumably, when meeting with the entire Houston beat). Brown noted that the team has hoping for the best, but the suggestion of a formal announcement at a scheduled time does little to quell concerns about an already ominous injury scenario.
Unsurprisingly, manager Joe Espada said that Blanco will be placed on the injured list, per Leah Vann of Chron.com. Blanco will be getting a second opinion about his elbow. Espada added that Gordon will be recalled as the corresponding move, per Vann.
May 21: The Astros are in Tampa but right-hander Ronel Blanco isn’t with them. Manager Joe Espada tells Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle that the righty reported elbow soreness two days ago and flew back to Houston to be evaluated.
At this point, there’s not too much information to go on. Blanco started on Saturday and threw 92 pitches over six innings against the Rangers. His fastball velocity held fairly steady compared to his previous start but has been trending down in recent weeks. His fastball velo crept up over his first five starts of the season, topping out at 94.3 miles per hour on April 22nd. But it dropped to 93.5 mph in the start after that, then 93.4, 93.0 and 92.8 mph in his most recent outings.
There are many things that could explain such a trend and the current testing will surely provide more information. Until there’s more clarity, it’s too soon for a full-blown panic, but it’s a worrisome situation. It’s always a bit alarming when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is injured, of course. For the Astros, it’s especially notable, given their larger rotation picture.
Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and J.P. France are all on the 60-day injured list, recovering from major surgeries in previous seasons. Just three days ago, it was reported that Hayden Wesneski would require Tommy John surgery. He has already joined those other three hurlers on the 60-day IL. Houston also has Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day IL, as he fractured a thumb in early April.
Around those injuries, they are down to a rotation core of Blanco, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers only just returned from his own lengthy injury layoff, making three starts so far this month, his first big league action since 2022. The Astros have recently turned to Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon and Brandon Walter to make spot starts as they are trying to trudge through a 17-game stretch with no off days.
If Blanco needs to miss some time, that would further subtract from a group that already feels thin. The righty has emerged as a key piece of the rotation in recent years. He logged 167 1/3 innings last season with a 2.80 earned run average. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 24.6% of batters faced.
There was a bit of luck in that thanks to a .220 batting average on balls in play and 83.6% strand rate, which is why his 4.15 FIP and 4.17 SIERA were a bit skeptical of that ERA. This year, his ERA has indeed normalized to 4.10, even with his strikeout and walk rates holding fairly steady. Even if Blanco’s true talent is an ERA just above 4.00, that’s a decent starter and not one a club wants to lose, especially when they are already so snakebit.
The Astros still have five more games until their next day off. Brown is going today. Per Kawahara, the Astros plan to have McCullers, Gusto and Valdez take the next three with Sunday’s starter to be determined. It seems fair to assume Blanco won’t be an option for that Sunday game.
Gordon and Walter were both just optioned to the minors in recent days. An optional assignment for a pitcher comes with a 15-day minimum unless they are being recalled as the corresponding move for a pitcher going on the IL. AJ Blubaugh is also on the 40-man and is pitching in Triple-A. Jason Alexander was just claimed off waivers from the Athletics three days ago and he could factor in. Guys like Tyler Ivey and Miguel Ullola are also pitching in Triple-A but not on the 40-man.
Beyond this weekend, the Astros will perhaps have to come up with a long-term rotation plan that doesn’t involve Blanco. Valdez and Brown give them a strong one-two punch but there would be plenty of uncertainty beyond that. McCullers is still a wild card after missing two full seasons and the Astros may need to cobble together something for two rotation spots behind him.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Select Brandon Walter
May 20: Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Walter has been selected and Wesneski transferred to the 60-day IL, as expected. Gordon has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move.
May 19: Left-hander Brandon Walter will start for the Astros tomorrow against Tampa Bay, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The Astros will need to add him to the 40-man roster. They can move Hayden Wesneski, who is ticketed for Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man spot. They’ll also need to make a corresponding active roster move involving a pitcher.
Walter signed a minor league contract with the Astros last August. It was apparently a two-year deal, as the southpaw spent last season on the injured list rehabbing a rotator cuff injury. Walter made his return to the mound during Spring Training, allowing four runs through seven innings.
He’s been working in a swing role at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he has started five of nine appearances. Walter owns a 2.27 ERA across 35 2/3 innings, backing that up with strong underlying marks. He’s getting grounders at a huge 60% rate, striking out upwards of a quarter of opponents, and has kept his walk rate to a minuscule 5.2% clip.
It has been a nice rebound effort for the 28-year-old lefty. Walter went from an unheralded 26th-round draft choice to one of the better pitching prospects in the Red Sox’s system a couple years ago. He was hit hard in his nine MLB appearances with the Sox, allowing a 6.26 ERA over 23 innings two seasons back. He owns a 4.19 ERA across parts of three Triple-A seasons. Walter isn’t going to overpower many hitters, as his four-seam and sinker each average 91 MPH. His five-pitch mix is headlined by his upper-70s sweeping slider.
Walter still has an option remaining, so the Astros can send him back to Sugar Land without putting him on waivers. For now, he joins rookie Ryan Gusto as swing options. Colton Gordon has taken Wesneski’s rotation spot, rounding out the starting five behind Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco and Lance McCullers Jr. The Astros haven’t had an off day since May 8 and won’t be off until next Monday. They’ll likely use Walter and Gusto in some kind of tandem outing tomorrow to reduce the workload on the rest of the staff.
Astros Designate Tayler Scott For Assignment
The Astros have designated right-hander Tayler Scott for assignment, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. That’s the corresponding move for lefty Colton Gordon, whose promotion was reported earlier this week. Gordon was already on the 40-man, so this drops the club’s count to 39.
Scott, 33 next month, seemed to have a bit of a breakout with the Astros in 2024. After years of bouncing around to various major league clubs, minor league clubs, indy ball teams and a stint in Japan, he signed a minor league pact with Houston in December of 2023.
He made the Opening Day roster last year and went on to log 68 2/3 innings on the season, allowing just 2.23 earned runs per nine. His 12.4% walk rate was certainly on the high side but his 42.4% ground ball rate was around league average, while his 25.2% strikeout rate was a few ticks above par. He likely got a bit of help from his .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate, but even ERA estimators like his 4.13 FIP and 4.04 SIERA suggested he could be a useful bullpen arm even with a bit less luck.
Unfortunately, almost everything has gone in the wrong direction this year. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has a 5.40 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 15.4% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. That has clearly worn out Houston’s patience. Scott is out of options, so they had little choice but to bump him off the 40-man entirely.
Scott will now be in DFA limbo for a maximum of one week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Astros could take five days to explore trade possibilities. Perhaps some club in need of bullpen help could be interested, if they feel there’s a way for Scott to get back to last year’s results.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea,Imagn Images