Welcome to the Launch Briefing, a daily feature, where you will find a roundup of news and interesting stories from the Astros clubhouse and from around the league.
Discuss and share in the comments!
It’s the Monday Launch!
Houston Astros News
Wesneski nearing return (CBS)
Trade deadline priorities (HC)
Teng optioned (HC)
Brown says the Astros are buyers (NYT)
HOF speeches, including two former-Astros (HC)
What did Houston do for Beltran
Arrighetti goes on the IL (ESPN)
AL West News
Langeliers tears meniscus and could miss the year (ESPN)
Rangers release Kelenic (NBC)
Blewett traded A’s (RW)
How big is Seager’s return for the Rangers? (DN)
Keuchel signs a deal with the A’s (NBC)
MLB News
Brewers DFA McCullers (ESPN)
Mets place Soto on IL (NYT)
Red Sox trade Early (NBC)
Bellinger hits the IL (CBS)
Urquidy signed by White Sox (TR)
Houston Astros birthdays
C Jack Hiatt (84)
Feature photo from Astros on X, Source Link
With a week out from the trade deadline, I feel like DB and by proxy Rome dropped some interesting tidbits…
A bat is the main mission(multiple?) but there is a less of a desire to focus on LHB or RHB but in general to improve the OF offense overall. Will take pitching if we can.
Rome mentioned that the team might like to move Walker and Javier’s salaries to free up some financial space. For all intents and purposes he considers “not selling” as only meaning Pena, Hader, Brown, and Alvarez are unavailable(basically implied Paredes could be a break in case of emergency trade candidate). Mentioned Abreu as a name that could be moved as well(all expiring contracts I hope).
DB mentioned trading from surplus’s like the the pitchers returning from the IL or some of the minor league guys they have full control of(Santa and Ullola?, Spence even though he isn’t in the minors?)?
One thing I think is worth monitoring, Hicks, Pecko, and Nezuh all need to be on the 40 man in December or will be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. So I do think it is really possible for that group to be plucked from. Hicks had a rough June in Corpus but has strung together two good starts and is more command over stuff which might make him appealing in the Rule 5 draft, Pecko is on the cusp of debuting, and Nezuh could make a case if he continues taking care of business in AAA. On the hitter side, Ferreras is also rule 5 eligible and was playing well enough in AAA before an injury that he could be a depth option on a bottom dweller.
In other words that is four players that all arguably deserve a 40 man spot next season but it might be hard to take all four. So they very well might be the minor league depth that are traded from, so I suspect one or two especially from the pitching crop to be traded.
Baseball/history nerd paradise. July 27, 1988. Tommy John makes three errors in one play.
https://www.mlb.com/cut4/tommy-john-makes-three-errors-on-one-play-during-brewers-yankees-game-c244539480