Every year this puzzles me how many players have to have "suprise rehab in my home country drinking and dancing did't work surgery". Just get it done right after season ends if player is under contract/control. Maybe it's in general contract that team can't bother players off season but seems so stupid or maybe players just don't wanna waste vacay rehabbing from surgery and reveal the injury only when forced. Lindor is gonna have one too, Mets must be real happy .
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/rangers-to-sign-jordan-montgomery.html Great signing by the Rangers.
The 3 players who I think represent the shortest route to bridge the gap between this Astros roster and the roster quality from 2017-2022: Mike Burrows: you could list Cristian Javier or Tatsuya Imai (or maybe even Spencer Arrighetti) here, but the bottom line is that if Houston is going to be a real contender, at least one of their non-Hunter SP is going to have to dramatically exceed projections. I think Burrows has the best shot to do that. Zach Cole/Cam Smith: you could have Brice Matthews and/or Zach Dezenzo as options here as well, but for the Astros lineup to be on par with the glory years, they are going to need 2 OF to dramatically exceed their projections. All 4 of those guys have legit ceiling as elite hitters, and all but Dezenzo have high defensive upside. But Cole, Dezenzo, and Matthews have significant strikeout concerns, and Smith looked pretty weak in the 2nd half of last season. I think Jesus Sanchez and Jake Meyers will effectively form a serviceable platoon, but with all the questions among their more established hitters, the Astros desperately need a couple of young players to step up. opening day roster prediction as ST gets going: SS Pena 1B Paredes DH Alvarez 3B Correa 2B Altuve LF Sanchez C Diaz RF Cole CF Meyers Bench: Walker, Salazar, Allen, Dezenzo SP: Brown, Javier, Imai, Burrows, Arrighetti, Pearson RP: Abreu, King, Okert, Sousa, Munoz, Roa, Teng IL: Blanco, De Los Santos, Hader, McCullers, Walter, Wesneski Optioned: Alexander, Blubaugh, Gordon, Weiss, Murray, Ullola, Matthews, Smith, Whitcomb
If Espada tries to make this man pitch more than one inning this season - he needs to be dragged onto the field and tarred and feathered by the pitching staff.
If Espada does that, throwing baseballs at his junk without him wearing a cup could be in order. Also, unless he just looks awful in Spring Training, Cam Smith will be starting in the Astros’ outfield. He would have to look completely lost at the plate to begin the season in AAA.
And, No, Ullola won't be the guy who gets chosen to do the throwing. As for Smith, he is the most talented OF on the roster. That said, he needs to earn it. Him playing at least 3 weeks in AAA this year is a huge benefit to the Astros organization so if 4 guys outplay him he should not be on the team.
Each player on the Astros has to earn their spot, every season. That’s not unique to Cam Smith. He just has more to prove than established big-league players. Also, Cam Smith spending three weeks in AAA would have benefited the Astros from a club control perspective last season, and Dana Brown didn’t do it. The Astros aren’t going to screw with their top young player’s development over service time. That’s stuff teams like the Pirates would do. Smith needs to show he can make adjustments against MLB pitching. If he can’t, then he gets sent down sometime during the season. Thinking Zach Cole has a better chance of starting opening day over Smith right now is crazy. Cole has 52 at bats in the big leagues and struck out 20 times. What happens when pitchers have the book on him, and he must adjust his approach at the plate to get out of a slump?
I'm not advocating the Astros to manipulate service time. I'm pointing out the additional benefit in just making a baseball decision of sending a guy who had a 530 OPS the last 2 months of last year to AAA where he belonged. If he is not one of the 4 best OFers then have the balls to make that call this time.
He is one of the Astros four best outfielders, and it’s not particularly close in my mind. Smith played Gold Glove defense in right field. That has value regardless of his offensive struggles in the second half of last season. For example, Jesus Sanchez is a defensive liability in the field and had a .474 OPS in September. If Zach Cole plays well in Spring Training, Sanchez is the player who most likely becomes trade bait with his $6.8 million salary. Stranger things have happened, but I would be surprised if Cam Smith isn’t starting opening day for the Astros.
