Happy Birthday - 2/2

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Adrian Houser (22)
Houser was the Astros second round draft pick in 2011. He pitched for the Quad Cities team in 2014, putting up a 5-6 record, a 4.14 ERA and a 1.252 WHIP in 25 games (17 starts). In his final six appearances (three starts) in August, he had a 3.00 ERA and a 1.074 WHIP, striking out 26 while walking only four batters in 27 innings of work.

Brad Peacock (27)
Obtained by Houston in a February 2013 trade with Oakland, the former 41st round draft pick appeared in 28 games (24 starts) for Houston in 2014 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.565 WHIP.

SS Adam Everett (38)
Adam Everett was a joy to watch at short during his time here in Houston. From 2001 to 2007, Everett played in 649 games for the Astros, hitting .248/.299/.357/.656.  He won Summer Olympics gold, along with Roy Oswalt, in Sydney in 2000 and was named best shortstop by the Fielding Bible in 2006. In addition to serving as a roving infield specialist for the Astros in 2014, he also filled in as the interim bench coach for the big league club in September.

These former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

SS Buddy Biancalana (55)
A first round pick by the Royals in 1978, Biancalana came to Houston in a July 1987 trade with Kansas City. In 18 games played for the Astros that season, he had one hit in 24 at-bats.

RHP Jared Fernandez (43)
Fernandez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2002 and pitched in 14 games (seven starts) for the Astros in 2003 and 2004 with a 3-3 record, 5.26 ERA and a 1.525 WHIP.

SS Ronny Cedeno (32)

Cedeno signed with Houston as a free agent in March 2013 and played in 51 games for the Astros, hitting .200/.260/.298 before being released by Houston in July 2013. He most recently played for the AAA Diamondbacks affiliate.

And a Very Happy Birthday to the inimitable @AstrosCounty whose fierce passion, incredible intellect, flawless sense of irony and fantastic humor make Astros County an everyday must for the true Astros fan. Have a great one, James!

Happy Birthday - 2/2

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Adrian Houser (21)
Houser was the Astros second round draft pick in 2011. He had a solid season for Tri-City in 2013, putting up a 3.42 ERA and a 1.340 WHIP in 14 games (nine starts). Houser also showed dramatic improvement in his walk rate, halving his rate from the prior season.

Brad Peacock (26)
Obtained by Houston in a February 2013 trade with Oakland, the former 41st round draft pick split his season between Oklahoma City and Houston, starting and ending the season in Houston with three back-and-forths in between. In 14 games (13 starts) for the RedHawks, he was 6-2 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.101 WHIP. For the Astros, he was 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA and a 1.380 WHIP in 18 appearances (14 starts).

Several former Astros have birthdays today as well ~

SS Adam Everett (37)
Adam Everett was a joy to watch at short during his time here in Houston. From 2001 to 2007, Everett played in 649 games for the Astros, hitting .248/.299/.357/.656.  He won Summer Olympics gold, along with Roy Oswalt, in Sydney in 2000 and was named best shortstop by the Fielding Bible in 2006. Everett will be in his second season as a roving infield specialist for the Astros in 2014.

RHP Don Wilson (died January 5, 1975 at 29)
Wilson pitched for Houston from 1966 to 1974.  In 266 games, he was 104-92 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP. In 1971, his only All-Star season, he was 16-10 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.022 WHIP and 18 complete games in 268 innings pitched. He is the only Astros pitcher to have ever pitched two no-hitters for the team. His number 40 was retired in 1976, the year after death. For more, check out his Wikipedia page.

SS Buddy Biancalana (54)
A first round pick by the Royals in 1978, Biancalana came to Houston in a July 1987 trade with Kansas City. In 18 games played for the Astros that season, he had one hit in 24 at-bats.

RHP Jared Fernandez (42)
Fernandez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2002 and pitched in 14 games (seven starts) for the Astros in 2003 and 2004 with a 3-3 record, 5.26 ERA and a 1.525 WHIP.

SS Ronny Cedeno (31)

Cedeno signed with Houston as a free agent in March 2013 and played in 51 games for the Astros, hitting .200/.260/.298 before being released by Houston in July 2013. He most recently signed with the Phillies as a free agent in January.

And a Very Happy Birthday to the inimitable @AstrosCounty whose fierce passion, incredible intellect, flawless sense of irony and fantastic humor make Astros County an everyday must for the true Astros fan. Have a great one, James!

Happy Birthday - 8/16

RHP Justin Hess (23)
Hess is one of our newer Astros, having only signed with Houston as a non-drafted free agent at the end of July. He has only made one appearance for the GCL team since then. For more on the college career of the former George Southern Eagle, go here.

2B Delino DeShields (21)
The Astros first round draft pick from 2010 has had a very good season with Lancaster, despite scuffling with injuries early on in the year. In 97 games, he has hit .309/.392/.448 with 23 doubles, ten triples, four home runs and 44 stolen bases.

2B Juan Santana (19)
Santana was signed by the Astros as an NDFA from the Dominican Republic at the end of 2010 and is currently playing in his first season in Greeneville, having graduated from playing in the GCL last season. In 47 games, he has compiled a .241/.292/.335 batting line.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Xavier Hernandez (48)
Originally drafted by Toronto in the fourth round in 1986, Hernandez came to Houston via the Rule 5 draft in December 1989. Hernandez played for the Astros from 1990 to 1993 and again in 1996. In 273 games, he was 22-19 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.234 WHIP.

OF Roger Cedeno (39)
Cedeno came to Houston in a December 1999 trade with the Mets and spent one season in the Astros organization before being traded to Detroit. In 74 games with the Astros, he hit .282/.383/.398. His best season was in 1999 when he hit .313/.396/.408 for the Mets with 66 stolen bases.

Roster Moves

1B Nate Freiman was claimed off waivers by Oakland on Saturday, a move that wasn't totally unexpected as the Astros didn't have the luxury of keeping Freiman on the roster in addition to 1B Carlos Pena and 1B Brett Wallace (not to mention Chris Carter whose natural position is first base). It was widely reported that GM Jeff Luhnow tried to work a deal to keep Freiman and put him on a minor league contract, but the Rule 5 draft pick was instead claimed off waivers.

Nate Freiman

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The Astros are also going to have to clear a couple (or more) 40-man roster spots if they intend to break camp with Rick Ankiel and Erik Bedard (or even possibly Brandon Laird) since none of those players are currently on the 40-man. So, color me surprised when the 40-man vacancy was immediately gobbled up by the imminent signing of SS Ronny Cedeno who was recently released by the Cardinals. The move does not bode well for the future of Tyler Greene who has struggled during Spring Training.

In addition, according to Baseball America, the Astros signed OF Raoul Torrez to a minor league contract. Torrez was recently released by the Diamondbacks organization.

Finally, although I haven't seen any official confirmation of this, I have been told by a source that Erick Abreu and Adalberto Flores have signed to play in Mexico and that Henry Villar is out of baseball. Abreu and Villar pitched out of the bullpen for Corpus Christi last season and Flores split his time between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City. Again, I have no independent confirmation of this.

I have also updated the Off-Season Transaction List, which I have neglected for the last couple of weeks.