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Shawn Dubin

Orioles Claim Shawn Dubin, Designate Matt Bowman For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | August 26, 2025 at 1:40pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have claimed right-hander Shawn Dubin off waivers. The Astros designated him for assignment earlier this week. The O’s also announced that righty Kyle Bradish has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move which was previously reported. To open 40-man spots for those two, the O’s transferred righty Scott Blewett to the 60-day injured list and designated righty Matt Bowman for assignment. Bowman’s DFA opens an active roster spot for Bradish. Dubin is out of options and will also need an active roster spot once he reports to the club.

Dubin, 29, isn’t having his best season but has shown promise in the past. He came into the year with 54 1/3 big league innings and a 4.64 earned run average. His 11.6% walk rate was a bit high but he had struck out 24.1% of batters faced and kept balls in play on the ground at a 45.5% clip.

Here in 2025, he has spent time on the IL due to shoulder inflammation and a forearm strain. Around those IL stints, he tossed 25 2/3 innings for the Astros with a 5.61 ERA. His 46.9% ground ball rate was still good and he dropped his walk rate to 7.2% but his strikeout rate also fell to 18.9%. Since he is out of options, he got nudged off Houston’s roster and onto the waiver wire.

He’s a sensible flier for the O’s. They are playing out the string on a lost season. Their bullpen has been stripped down a lot this year. They traded Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge ahead of the deadline. Closer Félix Bautista recently underwent shoulder surgery and will be out of action well into 2026. That gives them a lot of roles to fill on the 2026 team.

They can use the remainder of this season to take chances on guys like Dubin to see what happens. He is out of options but could be a long-term piece if he bounces back. His service time is between one and two years, meaning he could be controlled for five seasons beyond this one if he continues to hold onto a roster spot. It’s also possible the O’s try to run him through waivers in the future in order to keep him as a non-roster depth piece.

As for Blewett, he was acquired from Atlanta in a June cash deal. He was placed on the 15-day IL July 13th due to elbow discomfort. This transfer is backdated to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in a couple of weeks. That gives him a window to pitch again this season but it’s unclear if that’s possible from a health perspective.

This was Bowman’s fourth stint of the season with the Orioles. He appeared in one game, pitching 1 1/3 innings but allowing a pair of runs. That ballooned his season-long earned run average to an ugly 6.20. Bowman has been solid in Triple-A Norfolk, tossing 26 1/3 innings for the Tides and posting a 4.10 ERA. He’s set down 21.8% of his opponents there on strikes and notched a 5.5% walk rate.

Bowman will be placed on outright waivers or release waivers within the next few days. He’s cleared waivers at multiple points this season and accepted an outright assignment to Norfolk each time, so it seems there’s a strong chance the O’s will hang onto him as a depth arm for the final month or so of the regular season.

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Baltimore Orioles Houston Astros Transactions Kyle Bradish Matt Bowman Scott Blewett Shawn Dubin

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Astros Designate Shawn Dubin For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | August 23, 2025 at 2:44pm CDT

The Astros have designated right-hander Shawn Dubin for assignment, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.  Righty AJ Blubaugh has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move (KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reported earlier today that Blubaugh was on his way to the Astros’ active roster).

Dubin is out of minor league options, so Houston had to go the DFA route in order to remove him from its active roster.  Dubin doesn’t have the service time or the past outright necessary to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, so chances are he’ll just remain in the Astros’ farm system if he clears waivers.  A pitching-needy team might consider claiming Dubin off the waiver wire, though is out-of-options status will probably scare off a few clubs, plus his case for sticking on a big league roster isn’t helped by his brutal month of August.

Dubin had a 1.33 ERA over his first 20 1/3 innings of 2025, even if that standout ERA wasn’t quite supported by his secondary metrics.  A forearm strain sent him to the 15-day injured list near the end of June, however, and since returning on August 12, Dubin simply hasn’t looked the same.  He has been torched for 13 earned runs over five appearances and 5 1/3 innings since being activated from the IL, inflating his ERA up to 5.61 over 25 2/3 total frames.

A bout of shoulder inflammation during Spring Training already put Dubin on the IL to begin the season, and he then didn’t make his 2025 debut until May 11 since an ankle injury set back his recovery.  Things seemed fine once he finally got onto the Astros’ mound, yet whether Dubin is just rusty or is still feeling some after-effects from his forearm issue, his recent performance has been too rough for Houston to ignore.

Selected in the 13th round of the 2018 draft, Dubin has spent his entire career in Houston’s organization, debuting in the Show with seven innings during the 2023 season.  He then had a 4.17 ERA over 45 1/3 innings in 2024, getting a couple of spot starts but primarily working out of the bullpen.  Dubin battled control problems last year but while his walk rate is vastly improved in 2025, his strikeout rate has dropped (from 23.7% to 18.9%).

The Astros’ bullpen has been strong for most of 2025, but the relief corps has hit some major roadblocks beyond just Dubin’s struggles.  Star closer Josh Hader will miss at least the rest of the regular season due to a capsule sprain, and southpaw Bennett Sousa (already on the 15-day IL) is now also a question mark, as he’ll be shut down for the next two weeks while dealing with a flexor/pronator strain.  Blubaugh is a rookie who has only nine MLB innings on his resume, but he’ll at least be a short-term fresh arm to act as a long man in the pen.

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Houston Astros Transactions A.J. Blubaugh Bennett Sousa Shawn Dubin

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Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

By Steve Adams | August 13, 2025 at 3:10pm CDT

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.

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Houston Astros Newsstand Transactions Colton Gordon Hector Neris Josh Hader Shawn Dubin

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Astros Select Jordan Weems

By Darragh McDonald | June 24, 2025 at 3:50pm CDT

The Astros announced to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that right-hander Jordan Weems has been selected to the roster. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow righty Shawn Dubin, who has landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain. Outfielder Pedro León has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

Dubin has thrown 20 1/3 innings for the Astros this year with a 1.33 earned run average. That’s a fairly misleading number, however, as he won’t be able to maintain a 99.1% strand rate forever. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are closer to average, hence his 3.76 FIP and 3.73 SIERA being closer to par as well. Per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle, Dubin hopes the strain is minor and believes he can avoid surgery. He had an MRI yesterday which will presumably determine if his feelings are accurate or not.

For now, Weems will take his roster spot. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with Houston earlier this month. He has since tossed 11 1/3 innings over nine Triple-A appearances with a 3.97 ERA. His 19.6% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate in that time were both subpar figures but his 54.3% ground ball rate was quite strong.

That’s obviously a small sample of work to judge. Weems has a larger track record of major league pitching, mostly with the Nationals. He had a decent two-year run for Washington over 2022 and 2023, logging 94 1/3 innings over those two seasons with a 4.29 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a tad high but he also struck out 25.4% of batters faced.

Since then, his results have backed up. His ERA spiked to 6.70 last year, with his strikeout and walk rate each worsening to 17.9% and 12.2% respectively. He was outrighted off the roster during the season and became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta but was released after posting a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 Triple-A innings.

Weems will give the Astros a fresh arm with some major league experience on his track record. He is out of options, so he’ll effectively have to be designated for assignment if the club wants to remove him from the active roster at any point.

As for León, he started the season on the 15-day IL due to a left MCL sprain. He’s already been on the shelf more than 60 days, so he’s eligible for reinstatement at any time. He doesn’t appear close to a return, however. He started a rehab assignment in late May but was pulled off that after just five games.

Photo courtesy of Mike Lang, Imagn Images

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Houston Astros Transactions Jordan Weems Pedro Leon Shawn Dubin

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Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | March 27, 2025 at 11:34am CDT

The Astros have designated catcher/infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment and placed righty J.P. France on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from last summer’s shoulder surgery. That pair of moves opens two additional spots on a 40-man roster that already had two vacancies. The four openings will go to righty Rafael Montero, lefty Steven Okert, second baseman Brendan Rodgers and top prospect Cam Smith, all of whom have been selected to the 40-man roster and are on the Opening Day club.

Houston also placed outfielders Pedro Leon and Taylor Trammell on the 10-day injured list due to a knee strain and calf strain, respectively. Right-handers Shawn Dubin, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley have all been placed on the 15-day IL.

The Astros had telegraphed all these moves. They’d already announced that Montero, Okert, Smith and Rodgers were making the team. Houston had previously informed Hummel that he would not break camp. Since he’s out of options, that made a DFA or waiver placement inevitable. France, who’ll be out into at least July rehabbing last year’s shoulder procedure, was an obvious 60-day IL candidate to open the final roster spot.

Houston claimed Hummel off waivers from the Giants last spring. They outrighted him off the 40-man roster a couple weeks later but reselected his contract in June when they released José Abreu. He spent most of the season in Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. Hummel went 0-8 with a pair of strikeouts in his big league work. He had a solid year in Triple-A, hitting .277/.419/.454 with a massive 17.9% walk rate through 442 plate appearances.

The Astros will have five days to trade Hummel or place him on waivers. He’s not viewed as a regular behind the plate, but he can catch on occasion while playing first base or the corner outfield. His patient plate approach has translated to a .285/.419/.480 career slash in Triple-A. He owns just a .159/.255/.275 line with a 31.9% strikeout rate over 82 major league games.

Trammell, Whitley, Ort and Dubin are all out of options themselves. Their Spring Training injuries delay the Astros’ need to make a decision on any of them, as they’ll begin the year on the major league IL. Ort has the best chance of holding a roster spot once he returns after pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate last season.

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Houston Astros Transactions Brendan Rodgers Cam Smith Cooper Hummel Cristian Javier Forrest Whitley J.P. France Kaleb Ort Lance McCullers Jr. Luis Garcia (Astros RHP) Pedro Leon Rafael Montero Shawn Dubin Steven Okert Taylor Trammell

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Astros Notes: Dubin, Leon, Ort, Trammell

By Anthony Franco | February 25, 2025 at 10:59am CDT

The Astros are dealing with a handful of injuries to depth players in camp. Manager Joe Espada told reporters this morning that reliever Shawn Dubin is battling shoulder inflammation. Meanwhile, young outfielder Pedro León sustained a strained MCL in his left knee (relayed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).

While there’s no suggestion of surgery for either player, it seems they’ll each be in for notable absences. Both injuries figure to force them to begin the season on the injured list. Houston also took hits to their bullpen and outfield depth late last week. Chandler Rome of The Athletic wrote on Friday that righty reliever Kaleb Ort was battling a left oblique issue. Meanwhile, outfielder Taylor Trammell suffered what appears to be a significant right calf strain (per the MLB.com injury tracker).

In isolation, none of those injuries represents a huge blow. León has appeared in seven major league games. He’s likely to start the season with Triple-A Sugar Land once he’s healthy. The former highly-regarded prospect hit 24 homers and stole 29 bases in the minors last season. That came with an elevated 27% strikeout rate. As he enters his age-27 season, he’s unlikely to take a big step forward with his plate discipline. Baseball America ranked him the #18 prospect in a weak Houston farm system. BA writes that León projects as a depth outfielder whose power and speed are undercut by the swing-and-miss issues and fringe outfield defense.

This is a big camp for each of Dubin, Ort and Trammell. All three have exhausted their minor league options. They need to stick on the major league roster (or injured list) or be exposed to waivers. Dubin tossed 45 1/3 frames in a multi-inning relief role last year. He pitched to a 4.17 ERA with solid strikeout (23.7%) and ground-ball (46.5%) rates, but he walked almost 13% of batters faced. The Astros used him mostly in low-leverage relief.

Ort, 33, was a waiver claim from Baltimore last May. He pitched well in 22 big league appearances, working to a 2.55 ERA behind a 28% strikeout rate across 24 2/3 frames. Ort had entered the season with a career earned run average north of 6.00, but he probably showed enough in his relatively small sample with Houston to stick in middle relief. He’s a power arm who can miss bats but had inconsistent control in the minors.

Houston acquired Trammell in a minor league trade with the Yankees at the start of the offseason. The Astros added him to their 40-man roster to keep him from qualifying for minor league free agency. A former top prospect, Trammell has only hit .167/.270/.363 over 126 major league games. He had an impressive .256/.381/.488 line in Triple-A with the Yankees last year. As with León, that came with an alarming number of strikeouts (a 26.8% rate). Houston spent most of the offseason looking for lefty-hitting outfield help after the Kyle Tucker trade. Their only move was to bring back Ben Gamel on a non-guaranteed contract. Trammell and Gamel might battle for one roster spot, espeically with Jose Altuve seeing time in left field.

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Houston Astros Kaleb Ort Pedro Leon Shawn Dubin Taylor Trammell

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Astros Select Ryan Gusto

By Nick Deeds | September 29, 2024 at 11:15am CDT

The Astros announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Gusto. Gusto will make his big league debut in today’s regular season finale, starting this afternoon’s game against the Guardians. To make room for Gusto on the 40-man and active rosters, outfielder Ben Gamel was transferred to the 60-day IL while right-hander Shawn Dubin was optioned to the minor leagues.

Gusto, 25, was Houston’s 11th-round pick in the 2019 draft. He’s enjoyed something of a breakout over the past two seasons, as he impressed in 61 1/3 innings of work at the Double-A level last year with a 2.93 ERA and a 24.9% strikeout rate in his first taste of action at the level. That earned him a promotion to the Triple-A level to start the 2024 season, and while he struggled badly in his first taste of Pacific Coast League action this year (8.03 ERA in his first two months) he’s turned things around a big way since then. In 108 innings of work since the start of June, Gusto has dominated opponents with a 2.08 ERA and 23.2% strikeout rate while walking just 6.4% of opponents.

Now, Gusto will get the opportunity to show off what he can do against big league hitters. With both Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi ticketed for free agency this winter, it’s easy to imagine Gusto working his way into consideration for the club’s rotation mix next year as one of the club’s few upper-level arms who have not yet been integrated into the big league rotation. The club figures to have Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Spencer Arrighetti as rotation options headed into next year with plenty of other players due back from the IL sometime next season but Gusto could be an important depth piece for the club come Spring Training, particularly if the club doesn’t make additions to the rotation over the winter.

As for Gamel, the move to place the 32-year-old on the 60-day IL is largely procedural. The outfielder was already on the shelf due to a fractured fibula and considered likely to miss the entire postseason, though today’s roster move confirms that he won’t play again this year. Gamel hit a decent .247/.384/.333 with the Mets and Astros this year and figures to enter free agency this winter as an interesting bench option for clubs in need of outfield depth.

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Houston Astros Transactions Ben Gamel Ryan Gusto Shawn Dubin

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Astros Designate Jacob Amaya For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 11:47am CDT

The Astros announced a set of roster moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Jacob Amaya has been designated for assignment.  This opens up a 40-man roster spot for Hector Neris, who signed with Houston two days ago.  Right-handers Seth Martinez and Shawn Dubin were optioned to Triple-A to create 26-man roster space for Neris and righty Kaleb Ort, who was reinstated from the paternity list.

Amaya came to the Astros in a trade from the Marlins back in April, and the 25-year-old’s time on Houston’s active roster has thus far consisted of just a single game — an appearance as a defensive substitute in the Astros’ 10-3 loss to the Yankees on May 7.  At the Triple-A level this season, Amaya has a .221/.308/.330 slash line over 302 total plate appearances with the Astros’ and Marlins’ top affiliates.

This represents a step backwards from the more respectable numbers Amaya has posted in past stints in Triple-A (with the Marlins last season and with the Dodgers in 2022).  Amaya has always been considered more of a glove-first player dating back to his time in the Los Angeles farm system, and while his defense alone might be good enough to get him some consideration for a big league roster, he’ll need to deliver more at the plate to earn anything more than sporadic call-ups or playing time.

Finding a niche in Houston is particularly tricky for Amaya considering how Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena have the middle infield positions on lockdown, and superutilityman Mauricio Dubon bounces around at several positions.  This is the first time Amaya has been designated for assignment, and so if he clears waivers and is outrighted to Triple-A, he doesn’t have a prior outright or the MLB service time necessary to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.

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Houston Astros Transactions Hector Neris Jacob Amaya Kaleb Ort Seth Martinez Shawn Dubin

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Astros Promote Shawn Dubin, Option Brandon Bielak

By Nick Deeds | June 18, 2023 at 6:17pm CDT

The Astros announced a pair of roster moves earlier today, recalling right-hander Shawn Dubin from Triple-A while optioning fellow righty Brandon Bielak to Triple-A. As noted by the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara, Dubin told reporters that he was joining the club as a reliever.

That comes as little surprise, considering comments from manager Dusty Baker in recent weeks indicating the club didn’t consider a six-man rotation sustainable given the hits the club has taken to its starting depth. This move appears to leave Bielak as the odd man out as Houston reverts to a five-man rotation. While Bielak had pitched to a roughly league average 4.37 ERA in 47 1/3 innings since his call-up to the big leagues at the beginning of May, the move comes as little surprise considering Bielak’s significant struggles since the calendar flipped to June.

Since the beginning of the month Bielak has been shelled for 13 runs (12 earned) in just 16 1/3 innings, leaving him with a 6.61 ERA and a whopping 1.107 OPS against over his past three starts. Struggles with command seem to be the root of Bielak’s troubles, as he’s allowed six walks, four home runs, and hit a batter over that timeframe while recording just nine strikeouts.

Bielak’s woes coincide with what has proved to be a difficult stretch for the Astros. Houston has posted a 4-9 record over the last thirteen games, leaving the club with a 39-33 record that places them third in the AL West, 5.5 games behind the Rangers for the division lead. As the club attempts to right the ship, they’ll trot out a starting five of Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, J.P. France, and Ronel Blanco.

Valdez, Javier, and Brown, of course, starting the season in the club’s rotation and have formed the backbone of a starting staff that ranks 2nd in the majors with a 3.30 ERA in spite of injuries to Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Urquidy. France has played a major role in the rotation maintaining that solid performance, with a 3.42 ERA in 47 1/3 innings for the big league club since making his MLB debut earlier this season.

Blanco is perhaps even more surprising, as the 29-year-old entered the rotation at the beginning of June after struggling badly in his major league debut last season (7.11 ERA in seven appearances) and posting middling numbers as a member of the Houston bullpen earlier this year, with a 4.50 ERA in 12 innings. Since returning to the big leagues as a starter, though, Blanco has recorded two solid outings against solid offenses in Toronto and Anaheim, posting a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work. While Blanco’s 13% walk rate leaves reason for concern going forward, the Astros clearly feel secure enough with his performance to hand him the keys to a rotation spot over Bielak.

Replacing Bielak on the active roster is Dubin, whose first appearance with the big league club will constitute his big league debut. It’s been a long path to the majors for Dubin, who arrived in the Astros organization after they selected him in the 13th round of the 2018 draft. While he managed to post solid numbers in the minors from 2019 to 2021, Dubin has struggled in more recent seasons, with his 4.78 ERA in 58 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level in 2022 ballooning to a figure of 7.96 in 26 innings while repeating the level this season.

Despite those worrisome results, Dubin figures to be an asset to the club’s bullpen while he’s on the roster thanks to his ability to pitch multiple innings. Of his nine appearances at Triple-A this season, Dubin has recorded at least six outs in seven of them. He’ll likely provide long relief for a bullpen that has recently relief on Seth Martinez for multi-inning outings.

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Houston Astros Transactions Brandon Bielak Shawn Dubin

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Astros Acquire Nick Allgeyer From Phillies

By Anthony Franco | May 5, 2023 at 11:12pm CDT

The Astros acquired minor league lefty Nick Allgeyer from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations this afternoon, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. He’ll report to Houston’s top affiliate in Sugar Land.

Initially selected by the Blue Jays in the 12th round of the 2018 draft, Allgeyer pitched his way to the upper levels of the Toronto system. He earned a cup of coffee at the big league level in 2021, tossing one inning of scoreless relief. The Jays ran him through outright waivers quickly thereafter, however, and he hasn’t made it back to the majors since that point.

For the past two-plus years, the University of Iowa product has mostly pitched in Triple-A. He’s worked in a swing role, starting 36 of 61 appearances. Over 202 1/3 Triple-A frames, Allgeyer carries a 5.34 ERA with a slightly below-average 20.9% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. Allgeyer started four games with the Phils’ top affiliate after signing a minor league contract over the winter. He’s struck out 15 and walked six in 12 innings of six-run ball while keeping the ball on the ground at a solid 48.3% clip.

Allgeyer adds some upper level rotation help to an organization whose starting pitching depth is being tested. Luis Garcia, José Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. are all on the injured list. Garcia is done for the year after today’s announcement that he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery. That has pushed Brandon Bielak and J.P. France to the MLB rotation, while some of Houston’s other depth starters are battling injuries of their own.

Righty Shawn Dubin was placed on the minor league injured list today. Former top prospect Forrest Whitley is dealing with minor soreness near his throwing shoulder and will take a day or two off throwing, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Both Dubin and Whitley are on the 40-man roster, though neither has yet pitched in the majors.

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Houston Astros Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Forrest Whitley Nick Allgeyer Shawn Dubin

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