Tennessee’s Nashville The Astros made some clarifications regarding their center field and catching
situations at the Winter Meetings, in addition to strengthening their competition in the bullpen by acquiring relief pitcher Dylan Coleman from the Royals on Wednesday.
According to a source, the Astros signed free agent catcher Victor Caratini to a two-year, $12 million contract. This means that Caratini will back up recently signed starter Yainer Diaz. The deal was pending a physical examination, which the club has not confirmed. General manager Dana Brown announced on Tuesday that Chas McCormick will start most of the season in left field, with Jake Meyers starting in center field.
With that, the Astros were able to conclude any impact moves and felt more positive about their club than they had upon arriving at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
On the last day of the Winter Meetings, Coleman, who pitched well for the Royals in 2022 but saw a decline in velocity in his final season and ended up spending the majority of it in Triple-A, was traded to the Astros. In the spring, he will compete in the bullpen in the hopes of regaining his ’22 form.
In order to compete for bullpen spots in 2024, the Astros decided to spend money at catcher after losing three important relievers to free agency: Hector Neris, Phil Maton, and Ryne Stanek. Seth Martinez, Bennett Sousa, Ronel Blanco, Forrest Whitley, Shawn Dubin, and lefties Parker Mushinski and Forrest Whitley are on that list.
The Astros will have a potent setup man in Bryan Abreu and closer Ryan Pressly back. In addition to the seasoned Rafael Montero, they have a healthy Kendall Graveman to help stabilize the bullpen. The Astros will be ecstatic if a few internal prospects can step in and fill the void left by Neris, Maton, and Stanek. If not, as the summer wears on, they’ll probably have to look for trade possibilities.
Over the previous three seasons, Coleman, 27, has played in 96 games. In 2022, he appeared in 68 games and recorded a 2.78 ERA. He walked 19 batters in 18 1/3 big league innings during the previous season. The Astros have options, so they have flexibility. The Astros will make an effort to help him get back on track because he hasn’t always delivered his pitches in time.
The Major League round of the Rule 5 Draft saw no players selected or lost by the Astros. They selected Railin Perez of the Red Sox organization and Carlos Betancourt of the Phillies organization as their two right-handed pitchers for the Triple-A phase. Both will contribute to the Minor Leagues’ lower-level rosters being filled out.
During the Minor League stage, the Astros lost three players: outfielder Marty Costes to the Marlins, right-handed pitcher Kervin Castro to the Yankees, and pitcher Tyler Brown to the Guardians. Costes, a 22nd-round selection in 2018, will turn 28 on December 18. Brown, a third-round selection out of Vanderbilt in 2020, spent the majority of last year at Double-A. Castro, on the other hand, just signed a Minor League contract with Houston in November.
With the majority of their star players back in 2024, the Astros, led by new manager Joe Espada, should be strong contenders in the American League once more. All-Star pitcher Framber Valdez and All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker will become free agents following the 2025 season, while star players Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve will be eligible for free agency after the following season.
Brown will face difficulty maintaining the window of contention because he came from an Atlanta organization that prioritized locking up its key players. If he could do that in Houston, that would be great. That will remain the objective as the winter wears on and into the upcoming season.
“I think one of the things we did well in Atlanta was philosophically,” Brown remarked. We’ll attempt that as soon as we can because we got started early. We will take action if it benefits the organization. In the end, though, we want to maintain our team cohesive. You want to keep this team together since you’re succeeding and making it far into the Championship Series each year. You attempt to take any necessary action to maintain composure.
