2013/2014 Astros Off-Season Transactions

Last off-season, I started keeping a master list of transactions because they were coming so fast and furious, I was having trouble keeping track of everything. I intend to do so again this off-season. I will update the list as various moves are made and keep it pinned to the front page of the blog for easy reference.

Updated through 3/27/14

40-MAN ROSTER (CURRENTLY AT 40)

RHP Matt Albers
RHP Anthony Bass
LHP Kevin Chapman

RHP Jose Cisnero

RHP Paul Clemens

RHP Jarred Cosart
RHP Jesse Crain
LHP Luis Cruz

LHP Darin Downs

RHP Josh Fields
RHP Scott Feldman

RHP Lucas Harrell

LHP Dallas Keuchel

RHP Chia-Jen Lo

RHP David Martinez
RHP Collin McHugh

LHP Brett Oberholtzer

LHP Rudy Owens

RHP Brad Peacock
OF Alex Presley

RHP Chad Qualls

RHP Alex White
RHP Jerome Williams
RHP Asher Wojciechowski

RHP Josh Zeid

*C Jason Castro

#C Carlos Corporan

C Max Stassi

2B Jose Altuve

1B/DH/OF Chris Carter

3B Matt Dominguez

#SS Marwin Gonzalez
1B/LF Jesus Guzman
OF Domingo Santana

*1B Jon Singleton

#SS Jonathan Villar

#OF Dexter Fowler

#OF Robbie Grossman

OF L.J. Hoes

*OF Marc Krauss

*Left-handed hitter

#Switch hitter

NEW TO THE ASTROS ORGANIZATION

ADDED TO THE TEAM AND THE 40-MAN ROSTER

LHP Raul Valdes (Waiver Claim from Philadelphia) - designated for assignment
LHP Darin Downs (Waiver Claim from Detroit)
IF Ryan Jackson (Waiver Claim from St. Louis) - traded to San Diego
OF Dexter Fowler (Trade with Colorado)
RHP Scott Feldman (Free Agent Signing)
RHP Chad Qualls (Free Agent Signing)
RHP Anthony Bass (Trade with San Diego)
RHP Matt Albers (Free Agent Signing)
RHP Collin McHugh (Waiver Claim from Colorado)
1B/LF Jesus Guzman (Trade with San Diego)
RHP Jesse Crain (Free Agent Signing)
RHP Jerome Williams (Free Agent Signing)

ADDED TO THE TEAM ON MINOR LEAGUE AGREEMENTS W/ST INVITES
RHP Peter Moylan - no longer with the Astros by mutual agreement
OF Adron Chambers
IF Cesar Izturis - released
IF Gregorio Petit

RULE 5 DRAFT PICKS IN THE MINOR LEAGUE PHASE OF THE DRAFT
OF Ravel Santana - Drafted from the Yankees
LHP Carlos Vazquez - Drafted from the Mets - Outrighted to the Mexican League
LHP Blaine Sims - Drafted from the Braves

NO LONGER IN THE ORGANIZATION

RETIRED
RHP Tanner Bushue
OF D'Andre Toney
LHP Wes Musick
RHP/1B - Jack Armstrong, Jr.
1B/DH Chase Davidson

LOST TO FREE AGENCY
RHP Philip Humber
LHP Erik Bedard (signed by the Rays)
IF Brandon Laird
LHP Wade LeBlanc
IF Jose Martinez
C Matt Pagnozzi
OF Che-Hsuan Lin
OF Trevor Crowe
RHP Edgar Gonzalez
RHP Hector Ambriz

WAIVER CLAIM
OF Jimmy Paredes - Claimed off waivers by the Marlins
IF Jake Elmore - Claimed off waivers by the White Sox

RELEASED
RHP Alan Abreu
RHP Charles Basford
IF Jean Batista
LHP Joe Bircher
RHP Jesus Castillo
RHP Ryan Connolly
IF Jean Carlos Cortorreal
RHP Zach Dando
OF Luis de la Rosa
IF Ryan Dineen
RHP John Ely
LHP Geronimo Franzua
RHP Christian Garcia
C Ernesto Genoves
RHP Alex Gillingham
RHP Erick Gonzalez
LHP Kyle Hallock
IF Parker Hipp
IF Angel Ibanez
IF Cesar Izturis
OF/1B Mesac Laguna
LHP Kenny Long
RHP Javier Lozano
OF J.D. Martinez
1B/DH Mike Martinez
RHP Yonquelys Martinez
RHP Victor Mesa
C Cristian Moronta
RHP Euris Quezada
OF Javaris Reynolds
OF Jarico Reynoso
3B Darwin Rivera
RHP Rauldison Rodriguez
RHP Gera Sanchez
LF Edward Santana
LHP Javier Saucedo
1B/DH Victor Tavarez
OF Eric Thames
RHP Carlos Vasquez
1B Brett Wallace
LHP Blair Walters
1B Jesse Wierzbicki
IF Brandon Wikoff

TRADED
RHP Jordan Lyles - Traded to the Rockies for Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL
OF Brandon Barnes - Traded to the Rockies for Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL
IF Ryan Jackson - Traded to San Diego for Jesus Guzman

LOST IN THE RULE 5 DRAFT (MINOR LEAGUE PHASE)
RHP Enderson Franco

OUTRIGHTED TO THE MEXICAN LEAGUE
LHP Carlos Vazquez

OTHER
C Cody Clark - Hired as a replay coordinator for Kansas City
RHP Peter Moylan - left the Astros my mutual agreement

OTHER MOVES

DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT
LHP Raul Valdes

ADDED TO THE 40-MAN ROSTER IN ADVANCE OF THE RULE 5 DRAFT

LHP Luis Cruz
OF Domingo Santana
1B Jon Singleton
RHP Asher Wojciechowski

OPTIONED TO OKLAHOMA CITY

RHP Paul Clemens
LHP Darrin Downs

OUTRIGHTED TO OKC AND REMOVED FROM THE 40-MAN ROSTER

C Cody Clark - hired by the Royals as a replay coordinator

OF Trevor Crowe - signed with the Tigers

RHP Jorge de Leon

RHP Philip Humber (option declined) - signed with the A's

IF Brandon Laird - signed with the Royals

C Matt Pagnozzi - signed with the Brewers
OF J.D. Martinez - released
RHP Rhiner Cruz

CURRENT FREE AGENTS

C Luis Alvarez
RHP Hector Ambriz - signed by the Padres
LHP Erik Bedard - signed by the Rays
OF Michael Burgess
C Cody Clark - hired by the Royals organization
OF Trevor Crowe - signed a minor league deal with the Tigers
RHP Jorge de Leon - re-signed by the Astros
LHP Sergio Escalona

RHP Edgar Gonzalez - signed with the Reds
RHP Murilo Gouvea - re-signed by the Astros

RHP Philip Humber - signed a minor league deal with the A's

IF Brandon Laird - signed with the Royals
RHP Cameron Lamb

LHP Wade LeBlanc - signed with the Angels
OF Che-Hsuan Lin - signed with the Rangers
2B Jose Martinez - signed with the A's

C Matt Pagnozzi - signed with the Brewers
RHP Carlos Quevedo

RE-SIGNED
RHP Jorge de Leon
RHP Murilo Gouvea

RULE 5 PICK TRADED
LHP Patrick Schuster - Drafted from the Diamondbacks & traded to San Diego

Some Analysis on the Astros 40-Man Roster Changes

Let's look at the players who were protected yesterday in advance of the Rule 5 Draft and those who weren't and try to figure out some of the thought processes that went into the decisions.

First of all, the Astros were able to protect more of the young players than I had anticipated with the removal of Mickey Storey (more about this later) and Scott Moore from the 40-man roster. The 40-man had stood at 31 players going in to yesterday, but those two moves reduced the starting number to 29 giving the Astros much more room to maneuver. I also anticipated that they would want to keep 3 to 4 spots open for the Rule 5 draft, waiver claims and free agent signings. The magic number for the Astros turned out to be 4 openings. Long story long, I thought they would be protecting about 5 players, but they were able to protect 7 instead.

Of the players protected, here's how they break down:

No-Brainers - RHP Jarred Cosart and LHP Brett Oberholtzer
To not protect Cosart and Oberholtzer would have constituted GM malpractice. Both of these pitchers are virtually ready to start at the major league level and would have been picked up in a nanosecond.

No-Brainers (if room was available) - RHP Jose Cisnero and RHP Ross Seaton
Although I personally don't think that Cisnero and Seaton are quite ready for prime-time, they are very close.  I personally thought that Cisnero would be in greater danger of being taken in the Rule 5 simply because he would be more apt to stick on a 25-man roster for a full year in that I can see him working out of the bullpen if necessary. I cannot see Seaton as a bullpen pitcher and a drafting team having that luxury with him if he struggled in the starting rotation.

Position Players - OF Robbie Grossman and SS Jonathan Villar
Here's where things get interesting. It is much more common for teams to draft pitchers than position players in the Rule 5 draft. Why? As I alluded to before, it's a little easier to "hide" a pitcher in the bullpen, using them sparingly if they struggle. With a position player, a team really needs that player to contribute on a fairly regular basis. Otherwise, it not only hurts the team, it can hurt that player's development. So what this tells us is that the Astros are pretty high on Grossman and Villar because, as unlikely as it is for them to be taken in the Rule 5, they were willing to use roster spots to protect them. I understand Grossman more than Villar. Grossman had a pretty successful season at AA and could conceivably make the leap to a major league roster. Villar? Frankly I cannot see him sticking on a 25-man roster for an entire season. He is still very raw and personally, I think he would struggle mightily, but the Astros apparently aren't willing to take the chance.

A Special Case - RHP Chia-Jen Lo
I thought that there was a possibility that Lo would be protected if room allowed. He did not pitch above Advanced A in 2012 after coming off surgery, but he showed enough in the Arizona Fall League that he could draw interest from other teams. As a bullpen pitcher, it would be relatively easy to keep him on a 25-man roster for a full season.

Of the players that weren't protected:

Relievers
Looking at relievers in conjunction with the Rule 5 draft is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, they are easier for a drafting team to keep on a 25-man roster for a full season, but they are also ultimately the most replaceable components on a team. That is a harsh reality, but other than the closer and possibly the set-up man, most teams do not keep a stable bullpen rotation for any appreciable length of time. So it is understandable that the Astros were willing to gamble (and lose) with Mickey Storey rather than risk losing a potential closer in Chia-Jen Lo. All one can really take away from the choices made is that the Astros value Fernando Rodriguez and Chia-Jen Lo more highly in their long-term plans than they do Storey and Jason Stoffel.

Position Players
Judging from the comments on twitter yesterday, more people are alarmed by the choice not to protect Marc Krauss than any other position player. Frankly, I'm not that surprised by this. The Astros could only protect so many players. Krauss struggled a great deal in his first taste of AAA. I don't think it's likely that another team would take a chance that he's ready for the major leagues when he hasn't even adjusted to AAA yet. If I only had room to protect Grossman or Krauss, I would have made the same decision.

What would I have done differently? Given the same number of openings, I probably would have made the same choices except that I would have been sorely tempted to protect Carlos Perez instead of Jonathan Villar. I realize that he hasn't played above Advanced A, but Perez is one of the best catching prospects out there while I find it highly unlikely the still very raw Villar will be able to stick with a team. This one makes me nervous. The other possible change would be Jason Stoffel over Chia-Jen Lo. I'll admit, though, that if Lo has regained his pre-surgery form (and velocity), he would probably be the most likely player to be taken.

Some final thoughts ~

There are really two things at play in how we look at these moves. First of all, it really is incredibly difficult to keep a marginal player on a 25-man roster for a full season. The player has to be able to contribute unless the team is in a serious re-building mode such as the Astros have been. Otherwise, it's difficult to justify keeping a player who may struggle greatly at times on a roster without negatively impacting a team. Secondly, we, as fans, often value the talent in our minor league system more highly than front office personnel from other teams do. For example, is Marc Krauss a better player than someone they already have in their system? Are they willing to take a chance on that and use a roster spot that they could otherwise use to pick up a free agent?

The fact is that in 2011, 12 players were drafted in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft and 2 were returned. In 2010, 19 players were drafted in the Rule 5 draft and 11 were returned. And for every Johan Santana, there are a dozen Lance Pendletons. We're not talking about a lot of players who are being drafted year in and year out.

The strategy involved in finalizing the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft is all about determining calculated risks. It tells us more about who the Astros value highly than anything else. And if a player or two are drafted from the Astros, it also tells us that the Astros have more depth of talent than they have had in a while. And that is not necessarily a bad problem to have.

Roster Moves in Advance of the Rule 5 Draft

The Astros protected the following players in advance of the Rule 5 draft. The 40-man roster now stands at 36.

RHP Jose Cisnero
RHP Jarred Cosart
OF Robbie Grossman
RHP Chia-Jen Lo
LHP Brett Oberholtzer
RHP Ross Seaton
SS Jonathan Villar

In conjunction with these moves, RHP Mickey Storey was claimed off waivers by the Yankees and IF Scott Moore was outrighted to Oklahoma City.

A few of the players who were not protected (from the full list published by Brian McTaggart this morning):

IF Erik Castro
RHP Chuckie Fick
OF Jake Goebbert
LF Marc Krauss
2B Jose Martinez
LHP Wes Musick
RHP David Martinez
SS Ben Orloff
RHP Carlos Quevedo
RHP Jason Stoffel
RHP Kyle Weiland
RHP Josh Zeid

I also thought that C Carlos Perez was subject to the Rule 5 draft, but he wasn't McTaggart's list. I will try to confirm. The only real surprise for me is that Jason Stoffel was not protected.

The 40-Man Roster and the Rule 5 Draft - Pt. 2

Yesterday I took a look at some of the players who may need to come off the 40-man roster in order to provide room to protect current Astros players who are now Rule 5 eligible and to give Jeff Luhnow room to add one or two Rule 5 draftees of his own (keeping in mind that the Astros have the first selection). Let's take a look at some of the higher profile players who will merit consideration for a 40-man roster spot.

PITCHERS
Since players taken in the Rule 5 draft have to remain on the drafting team's 25-man roster for the full season*, pitchers are taken much more frequently than position players simply because it's fairly easy to use a pitcher sparingly out of the bullpen. Position players can't be tucked away quite so neatly if they struggle. With that said, here are five pitchers who are newly eligible for the Rule 5 draft who merit consideration for a roster spot.

RHP Jarred Cosart/Starter - Cosart projects as a front of the rotation starter with his high octane fastball and "electric stuff." Despite some blister issues, he had a successful 2012 season and handled his promotion to AAA well. For the season, he was 6-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.395 WHIP. I cannot see any scenario in which he is NOT placed on the 40-man roster.

LHP Brett Oberholtzer/Starter - Oberholtzer had the most experience at AAA of any of my candidates and he will certainly be in the mix for a possible spot in the rotation as he heads to spring training next February. Despite the infusion of talent into the Astros system in 2012, Oberholtzer is still on Jonathan Mayo's top prospect list, albeit he dropped to number 20 out of 20. Between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City in 2012, he was 10-10 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.356 WHIP and he was a workhorse, throwing the second most innings in the Astros minor league system. I don't think Jeff Luhnow added so many lefties via trade this year just to let one slip away via the Rule 5 draft. I think he will be protected, but then I thought he would be a September call-up, so what do I know?

RHP Jose Cisnero/Starter - Cisnero isn't a high profile name for most casual Astros fans, but he had a very good season at Corpus Christi leading to a call-up to Oklahoma City for eight games. For the season, he was 13-7 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.409 WHIP. He didn't pitch as strongly at Oklahoma City as Cosart and Oberholtzer, and I don't see him quite as close to major league ready as those two, but someone may see his strong strikeout numbers and take a chance on him in a bullpen role. I wouldn't be surprised if the Astros protected him in the Rule 5 draft, but I also wouldn't be too terribly surprised if they didn't. It will be a calculated risk.

RHP Ross Seaton/Starter - Despite strong steps forward in 2012, Seaton is the least major league ready of these four starters (in my opinion). He only started four games at AAA in 2012 and, although he pitched well there, I can't really see him being taken in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He ended the season with an 8-9 record with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.281 WHIP. I don't think he'll be protected on the 40-man roster, but will be put on the AAA reserve list.

RHP Jason Stoffel/Reliever - Stoffel led the Astros minor league system in saves (27) and appearances (56) while compiling a 2.33 ERA and an extremely stingy WHIP of 0.983 at AA Corpus Christi. I think the only reason Stoffel did not get promoted to AAA during the 2012 season was because Corpus was in a pennant race and he was too valuable to lose. Personally, I would absolutely protect Stoffel on the 40-man roster because I think he's the most major league ready reliever in the organization who's not already on the 40-man.

POSITION PLAYERS
As I noted above, position players are not taken as often as pitchers in the Rule 5 draft. Those who are taken are usually very close to being major league ready. But even if a player isn't ready for the bigs, leaving a top prospect unprotected could prove too tempting for other teams. Here are four players who are newly eligible for the Rule 5 draft who may merit consideration for the 40-man roster.

SS Jonathan Villar - Villar is still raw and is most decidedly not ready for prime time, but he is still one of the top prospects in the organization. Add to that the broken hand he suffered last season which limited him to 86 games. If he is not protected on the 40-man roster, he will at least be put on the AAA reserve list so that he would have to be taken in the major league portion of the draft. Are the Astros willing to take a chance? I don't think so, but we'll soon see. Villar hit .261/.336/.396 with 39 stolen bases. He also had a .938 fielding percentage and committed 24 errors.

OF Marc Krauss - Krauss was a top 20 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization coming in to the 2012 season. He had a great season with AA Mobile and AA Corpus Christi before stumbling at AAA Oklahoma City. His overall batting line for 2012 was .271/.397/.491 with 31 doubles, two triples and twenty home runs. Although there are some doubts about his bat, the lefty has a very high upside. It might be a risk to leave him unprotected.

CF Robbie Grossman - Grossman hasn't played beyond AA yet, but he was one of the top 10 prospects in the Pirates organization coming in to the 2012 season. In 2012, he hit .266/.376/.410 with 28 doubles, six triples and 10 home runs. I don't particularly think he's in danger of being taken in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft as he hasn't played beyond AA yet, but I think he will be given consideration and at least placed on the AAA reserve list.

C Carlos Perez - Although Perez has not played one game above High A, I would think twice about leaving him exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Currently listed as #18 by Jonathan Mayo in the Astros system, Perez profiles to have the highest upside offensively and defensively of any catcher in the organization. I know it's  unlikely that anyone would take him in the major league portion of the draft, but if there is even a remote possibility I would protect him.

OTHER PLAYERS
There are some other interesting players who are eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft this year, one or more of whom may need to be protected on the 40-man roster, including RHP Chia-Jen Lo, RHP Carlos Quevedo, RHP Josh Zeid, SS Ben Orloff, OF Jake Goebbert and others. Obviously, not everyone can be protected on the 40-man roster. Some players will be added to the 38-man AAA reserve list so that they will not be subject to the minor league phases of the Rule 5 draft. If those AAA reserve players are drafted, it will have to be in the major league phase of the draft in which case the players will have to remain on the drafting team's 25-man roster for the whole season*. So the Astros will have to determine which players are more likely to "stick" with another team as they make those decisions.

Rosters will have to be set by November 20th in advance of the Rule 5 draft. And for the first time in while, it may be a difficult proposition for the Astros to protect all of the players who are potentially going to be a part of this team's future. And that, my friends, is not a bad thing. Not at all!

*If the player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster, he will have to be put through waivers. If claimed, the new team will be subject to the same conditions regarding that player. If not claimed, the player will be offered back to the team from which they were drafted.

40-Man Roster Changes

As tweeted by Alyson Footer and Steve Campbell, the Astros have removed RHP Blake King, RHP Lance Pendleton and LHP Xavier Cedeno from the 40-Man Roster.  King will be assigned to Corpus, Pendleton can elect to be a free agent and Cedeno automatically becomes a free agent after the World Series.

The 40-Man Dilemma - Part I

If you haven't looked at the Astros 40-Man Roster recently, you may have missed the fact that it has gotten very crowded.  There are currently 40 players on the roster plus 4 players tucked away on the 60-day disabled list that don't count against the 40 ... for now.

Eventually, the Astros will have to activate Jason Castro.  Arguably, they will want Sergio Escalona back so they will have to make room for him.  Both Brandon Lyon and Alberto Arias are wild cards - they may or may not be activated depending on their health, but at least Lyon is a probable yes.

We can probably assume that Jason Michaels will be gone next year, so that's one spot.  And, with Castro healthy, you could conceivably erase two out of the three current catchers from the 40-man roster, particularly with Downs being groomed to do more catching.

But what about the players taking up roster spots that weren't on the active roster at the end of the season?  Let's take a look at their 2011 numbers.  If they spent time in both major and minor league levels, I included both sets of stats.



As the November deadline approaches for setting rosters prior to the Rule 5 draft in December, it will be interesting to see if all of these players remain on the 40-Man.

In Part II, which will be published tomorrow, we'll look at the 2011 stats for those players who aren't currently on the 40-Man roster who will be eligible to be drafted in the Rule 5 draft.