Astros Roster Moves

UPDATE: According to this tweet from J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, the Astros protected Domingo Santana, Asher Wojciechowski and Luis Cruz from the Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the 40-man roster:

Astros added OF Domingo Santana, RHP Asher Wojchiechowski, LHP Luis Cruz to their 40-man roster.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) November 21, 2013

Most surprising exclusions are RHP Jake Buchanan and C Carlos Perez. I had thought either Perez or fellow C Rene Garcia would be protected to preserve catching depth, particularly after last season's catching woes with so many injuries.

Several people have indicated some surprise regarding the inclusion of LHP Luis Cruz. I'm not terribly surprised after talking with Manager Rodney Linares, Pitching Coach Don Alexander and Morgan Ensberg about Cruz in May in Lancaster. They were all quite effusive in their praise of him. And don't forget what Kevin Goldstein had to say about Cruz in this recent MiLB.com article, "I adore him."

As of mid-afternoon, the Astros have made the following moves in advance of adding players who will need to be protected from next month's Rule 5 Draft:

RHP John Ely released
IF Jake Elmore claimed off waivers by the White Sox
OF J.D. Martinez removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Oklahoma City
IF Ryan Jackson claimed off waivers from St. Louis

There are currently 34 players on the 40-man roster. I will update this post as additional moves are made, as well as this ongoing list of all off-season Astros transactions.

As a reminder, this is what I wrote about those players who may be taken in the Rule 5 Draft if they are not protected.

Happy Birthday - 5/13

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP John Ely (27)
Ely was originally drafted by the White Sox in the third round in 2007 and came to Houston in a December 2012 trade with Los Angeles for Rob Rasmussen. Ely has pitched in 25 games at the major league level from 2010 to 2012 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.509 WHIP. However, he spent the vast majority of his 2012 season at AAA, going 14-7 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.103 WHIP. Ely made one appearance at Oklahoma City this season before being placed on the DL and subsequently having Tommy John surgery in April.

Roster Moves

There have been a few Oklahoma City roster moves the last couple of days.

C Chris Wallace assigned from Extended Spring Training to Oklahoma City
RHP John Ely placed on the 7-day DL
2B Jose Martinez placed on the 7-day DL
RHP Lance Day assigned to Oklahoma City (has been at Extended Spring Training)

Lance Day is a non-drafted free agent who signed last year with the Astros and had good results in his time at Tri-City. I am assuming that this is a temporary move while John Ely is on the DL. Even as a temporary move, it's a win/win situation. By bringing Day from Extended rather than moving in one of the established starters from another level, it limits the disruption to rosters (rather than moving players up and down in a short amount of time) and gives Day the experience and the opportunity to show what he may be able to do at a higher level.

Roster Moves

The Astros announced today that they had acquired RHP John Ely from the Dodgers in exchange for LHP Rob Rasmussen. I didn't post about this move earlier partly because I wasn't sure how I felt about it and also because of that whole pesky day job thing getting in the way.

From what I had seen and read about Rasmussen since he came to the Astros in the Carlos Lee trade in July of this year, I liked him. A lot of it boils down to his pitching performance for the Hooks in a playoff game back in September against Frisco. I watched the game on the computer and there was a moment when he stepped off the mound, took a deep breath, cleared his head and then calmly extricated himself from a difficult situation. He showed great focus and maturity. That moment, along with the things that I had heard and read about him, made me want to see more of Rasmussen in 2013.

And what I saw about Ely didn't really wow me, other than his 2012 minor league stats which were quite good by any measure. But seeing as his limited time in the majors hadn't translated into much success yet and seeing as he is three years older than Rasmussen, I confess to being a little conflicted.

So I reached out to John Manuel of Baseball America to see what he thought of the deal. I wanted to get an outsider's impression on it. According to Manuel, "I like Rasmussen probably more than most. But Ely won the pitching triple crown in the PCL; that's pretty tough. I think he's a good place-holder, and Rasmussen is probably just a reliever on a championship team, or a back-of-the-rotation starter. I like Rasmussen; I had him 19 on my list for the Handbook. But Ely is a nice sleeper pickup, for me." He also pointed me to this Baseball America article from this past summer.

So there you have it. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable about the trade and Rasmussen is over the moon happy to be playing for the team he grew up watching.

Since Rasmussen wasn't on the 40-man roster, a corresponding move was necessary in order to make room for Ely. OF Che-Hsuan Lin who had been picked up off waivers from the White Sox earlier this off-season was designated for assignment. In other news, RHP Mickey Storey was again claimed off waivers from Houston, this time by the Blue Jays. In addition, although it has been widely rumored that the Astros are signing the free agent righty Jose Veras, the deal has not been finalized. Once it is (presuming it is), another 40-man roster move will need to be made.