Outfield Candidates
Slim pickings at the Baseball Dollar Store
With the Astros initial Spring Training game still about six weeks out (February 25) the team is ostensibly looking for another outfielder, and with good reason.
Houston’s current right-handed heavy lineup means they’ll likely be searching for a left-handed bat, or at least a switch hitter.
The pool of candidates with MLB experience isn’t getting any larger and once you rule out players that are out of the Astros budget or would take some maneuvering to sign, there aren’t many candidates to fill the role.
Let’s take a look at the candidates starting with the left fielders.
Left Field Candidates
Color me skeptical that Profar or Verdugo are even worth considering with projections of 3/$48,000,000 for Profar and 1/$8,000,000 for Verdugo.
My interest perks up slightly with Jankowski and Winker, but not that much.
At 34, Jankowski’s best days are behind him and even his “career” year with Texas in 2023 produced just a 97 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR over 287 plate appearances.
Winker split his 2024 time between Washington and the Mets and was productive, totaling a 1.3 fWAR and 118 wRC+.
He comes across as hard to like, but he could just be one of those guys you love to have on your team, but hate when he’s on the other team.
The Athletic projects Winker at 2 years and $17,000,000.
Ben Gamel added 0.1 fWAR from his 69 plate appearances with the 2024 Astros, but I would question if the .259/.377/.362 slash and 117 wRC+ he had would be sustainable over, say, 250 at-bats.
For what it’s worth Fangraphs projects Gamel to .234/.327/.369 over 203 plate appearances with a 99 wRC+, which is replacement level and closer to what I would expect.
None of the other options are appealing, but perhaps the thought process is a replacement-level player until Jacob Melton is ready.
Right Field Candidates
There is much less to choose from in right, especially with Anthony Santander projected to pull in over $100,000,000 on a five-year deal.
That leaves two not-very-appealing options, though I wouldn’t necessarily oppose another short-term commitment to Heyward, again until Melton is ready to roll.
Shopping with No Cash
Dana Brown is attempting to thread the needle and without moving current pieces (Pressly and his $14,000,000 no-trade clause contract, for example) it seems the Astros will have to settle for a replacement-level player such as Gamel or Heyward, though someone like Winker is intriguing if finances were, or become, in better shape.
Without roster adjustments, it looks like the Astros outfield will consist of a player who has struggled mightily at the MLB level (Trammell), one who has never reached his rookie potential at the plate (Meyers) and an overachiever coming off an injury-filled and disappointing season (McCormick), with an untested prospect with less than 200 at-bats above AA waiting in the wings (Melton).
That doesn’t sound like a winning formula.
Of course, Mauricio Dubon can play all three outfield positions and play them well, but he’s right-handed and that takes away from his utility role and would leave the Astros already weak bench barren except for Victor Caratini.
The options aren’t particularly good, but I’m holding out hope that Brown has a plan because, as the saying goes, hope is not a plan.
Thanks for reading!