BALTIMORE – Each day, perhaps for the rest of the season, Astros manager Joe Espada is going to make multiple lineups: One will have Alex Bregman playing third base, another will have him at designated hitter and another will have him at first base – a position he hasn't played since summer ball in high school. Which lineup Espada decides to hand over to the umpire will depend on how Bregman tells him he's feeling earlier in the day. Bregman came down with a sore right elbow about a week ago, and he missed five consecutive games before returning to the lineup at designated hitter on Wednesday. Friday marked the third consecutive day Bregman started at DH, though he was originally scheduled to play third base before Yordan Alvarez was scratched with a stiff neck. Bregman contends his elbow feels good enough for him to play primarily third base the rest of the season, though he will get time at first base as well. He worked out at first during batting practice on Thursday and Friday by practicing his footwork and movements, but he didn't throw. He was using catcher Victor Caratini's first-base mitt. Even when Bregman's elbow doesn't feel good, the Astros must find a way to keep his bat in the lineup on days Alvarez is at DH. "I think I'll play third most of the time," Bregman said Friday. "Maybe a few games at first, but I'll play a lot of third. As long as the elbow is feeling good, [I can] play third and kind of mix and match. Whenever Yordan plays left, maybe DH. The arm feels good enough to play third right now. I've just got to keep it feeling that way." |
Bregman threw at 120 feet postgame Thursday, which is what gave Espada the confidence to initially put him at third base for Friday's game. Bregman hasn't played first base since high school, so putting him at the position in high-stakes games in August and September comes with risk. Espada was encouraged by watching Bregman practice at first. "He looked good," Espada said. "He didn't throw the ball, but the footwork looked good, the angles he took looked fine. He's a ballplayer. If that day comes [to play first], he should be fine. He should be able to handle it." For Bregman, there's a much different mentality playing first base than there is at third base. "Normally you're taught to go get every ball and react to where the ball's hit, but when [a] ball's not hit to you [at first base], you have to bust your tail to get over to first base," Bregman said. Caratini made an appearance at first base in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Orioles, making him the eighth player to play the position for Houston this year. The Astros have struggled at filling the spot since they released Jose Abreu, though Jon Singleton has gotten the most at-bats there and has posted a .683 OPS with 11 homers. Bregman said there is no structural damage to his UCL and that he had some "gremlins" in the elbow. If the gremlins persist, Bregman at first base could be a little more routine. "His baseball acumen is fine," Espada said. "He's going to catch the ball. We'll still talk through stuff and make sure that we cover all the lines when it comes to what to do when the ball is hit to him, especially relays and bunt plays." |
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ABREU SHOULDERING THE LOAD |
Astros reliever Bryan Abreu appeared in his American League-best 63rd game of the season Friday, giving up five runs – including a grand slam to Anthony Santander – in the eighth inning. Abreu has been terrific this year, with his ERA ballooning from 2.71 to 3.41 by recording just one out. Abreu remains a huge piece to the Astros' postseason hope and insists he's holding up well physically despite being on pace to break his career high of 72 innings in 2023. "The main thing is to keep healthy," Abreu said. "We all know this is part of the sport. We have really good personal trainers, we have strength and conditioning guys who are helping me out to condition my body and keep my arm and body in shape to be out there with the team." |
It should be a happy homecoming Saturday afternoon when veteran reliever Héctor Neris rejoins the Astros. Neris was released by the Cubs on Tuesday, and he signed with Houston on Thursday, after being a key member of the Astros' 2022 and '23 teams. "That's a good thing for us, adding a guy at this time of year that's been successful and done so much in this organization and means so much to the players here," general manager Dana Brown said. Neris made 141 relief appearances for the Astros over those two seasons, putting up a 2.69 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 133 2/3 innings (10.5 K/9). Houston is without Ryan Pressly for another week, so the club hopes Neris can recapture the success he had before. The 35-year-old right-hander signed with the Cubs as a free agent on Feb. 1 and made 46 appearances for Chicago, recording 17 saves with a 3.89 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 44 innings (9.4 K/9). |
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