Plus: Coaching staff finalized
As he embarks on his first Winter Meetings as general manager, Dana Brown of the Astros has clear-cut needs as he looks to improve a roster that was one win away from a fifth American League pennant in seven seasons and returns most of its key players from last season. "You can never have enough arms," Brown said at the General Managers Meetings earlier this month. Specifically, the Astros will be in search of relief pitching and catching help when Brown and members of his front office arrive at the Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn., next week. Brown said the focus will be reinforcing the bullpen, as well as finding a backup catcher, with Yainer Diaz set to take over as the starter next year. The Astros return closer Ryan Pressly and a dominant setup man in Bryan Abreu, so they're in good shape at the back end of the bullpen. But three key relievers – Hector Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek – are free agents and will need to have their innings replaced. Neris (71 games), Maton (68 games) and Stanek (55 games) combined to throw 185 innings last season – 33.9 percent of the team's relief innings in 2023. |
"If it comes down to getting a seventh-inning guy or we have to use money that we could use for a sixth-inning guy and a catcher, we'll probably get the sixth-inning guy and a catcher and fill the seventh-inning guy from within," Brown said. One way to improve the bullpen could be adding a starter and moving another arm to relief, but don't expect the Astros to seek high-end starters. After all, they'll return injured starters Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia sometime next season and begin the season with a rotation anchored by Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and José Urquidy, along with Hunter Brown and J.P. France, who were impact rookies in '23. "I think we're good enough to get back to the postseason with the current rotation, but I'm not being closed-minded to if a starter falls into our lap and we can make it fit financially, I could be interested," Brown said. "Most of all, the priority is a backup catcher and bullpen. And I think that kind of sets us up for at least getting back to the postseason, potentially winning the division and going deep again. If we get that starter, it may make it a little easier." Offensively, Houston returns six players on offense who posted an OPS+ of at least 120 in '23 – Yordan Alvarez (170), Jose Altuve (151), team MVP Kyle Tucker (142), Chas McCormick (130), Diaz (128) and Alex Bregman (122). They'll hope for more from shortstop Jeremy Peña, who posted a .705 OPS in his sophomore season, and veteran first baseman José Abreu, who finished with a .680 OPS after a strong September. |
"I think we're pretty good in the outfield defensive-wise," Brown said. "I think we go get offensive production form Alvarez and McCormick and [Gold Glove utility player Mauricio] Dubón. I think we can catch the ball defensively and I'd rather focus on maybe getting more depth in the rotation or getting stronger in the bullpen, or getting the backup catcher. The backup catcher and the bullpen are priority. But we get an opportunity to add a legit third starter or better, we'll definitely be in the mix for that." |
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LOPEZ TO BECOME BENCH COACH |
First-year Astros manager Joe Espada has finalized his coaching staff, a source told MLB.com on Tuesday. Omar López, who had been the first-base coach, has been promoted to bench coach. The new first-base coach will be Dave Clark, a former Astros player and coach who spent last year managing Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. Clark finished his 13-year Major League playing career with the Astros in 1998 and was on Houston's coaching staff from 2009-13. He was also on the Major League coaching staff in Pittsburgh (2001-02) and Detroit (2014-2020). Clark managed the Astros' Double-A affiliate in Corpus Christi from 2005-07 and Triple-A Round Rock in 2008 before he was promoted to third-base coach in 2009. He was the team's interim manager for the final 13 games of the 2009 season. Meanwhile, Jason Bell, who has been the Minor League field coordinator and assistant director of player development, will join the Major League staff as quality assurance coach – a role held last season by Dan Firova, who left the team when manager Dusty Baker retired following last season. The Astros have not confirmed the moves. The rest of the staff will remain intact: Gary Pettis (third-base coach), Josh Miller and Bill Murphy (pitching coaches), Alex Cintron and Troy Snitker (hitting coaches), Jason Kanzler (assistant hitting coach), Michael Collins (Major League coach) and Tommy Kawamura (game planning coach). |
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