Last hurrah for outfield?
No matter outcome of 2020 season, entire starting outfield will enter open market in winter
Springer, Brantley, Reddick could all leave in free agency after 2020 season.
On Oct. 30, when the ninth inning arrived and the Astros’ lineup turned over, hope still hung in the Houston air. The Astros trailed by four runs in Game 7 of the World Series. Howie Kendrick’s go-ahead home run in the seventh inning sapped any energy inside Minute Maid Park. Two innings later, the crowd stood to scream for the only man who could reinvigorate it.
George Springer strode to home plate — the heartbeat among a star-laden lineup. Former manager A.J. Hinch often heralded Springer as a sparkplug, the man around whom the entire team revolved. The Astros employ better contact hitters, baserunners and power threats around him. None can combine their acumen with the visceral energy Springer so often provides.
If the Astros were to rally in Game 7, Springer needed to revitalize a ballpark devoid of excitement. He took Daniel Hudson’s first-pitch fastball for a strike. The Nationals’ reliever returned with another. Springer swung under the offering, lifting it harmlessly toward second base.
Life left the stadium. Springer flung his bat. He forced a jog up the first-base line while Asdrubal Cabrera settled under the fly ball. The first out of the season’s final inning was gut-wrenching. The thought that this was Springer’s final Astros appearance did not exist. Now it seems, at the very least, conceivable.
While the baseball world waits for a return to normalcy, the Astros must confront this uncomfortable and unprecedented scenario. This is Springer’s final season of club control — and whether games resume does not matter. An agreement between Major League Baseball and the players association promised service time to players even if the 2020 season is canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thus, the Astros’ entire starting outfield — Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick — will enter the open market this winter. Houston is ill-equipped to replace them internally. Both facts endure no matter the outcome of the 2020 season.
The pandemic’s unpredictability, coupled with a nationwide extension of social distancing guidelines, must force teams to consider all contingencies. Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged as much on ESPN last week, conceding MLB has grappled with the possibility of a year without baseball.
Manfred reiterated his desire to play a “credible” number of regular-season games. He hinted at a new playoff format and expressed that “baseball will be back.” Uncertainty around the virus’ spread or containment allows no absolutes.
Manfred had no timeline for a possible return, only offering hope the sport could “gear back up” in May. In Japan, the Nippon Professional Baseball League targeted April 24 for opening day. Three players then tested positive for COVID-19, putting their teams in a 14-day quarantine and the season-opening plan in peril.
Much of Major League Baseball’s decision-making hinges on questions that, as of now, have no answers. Avoiding a situation similar to one in Japan, where players tested positive upon the league’s return for spring training, is a must.
If there is a season, it will not contain 162 games. That much is accepted. Hope for all involved is to play as many games as possible, affording Springer, Brantley and Reddick some semblance of a normal sendoff.
Springer has spent his entire professional career as an Astro. The 11th pick of the 2011 draft is the last link to Ed Wade’s regime, an absurd athlete who blossomed into a superstar and postseason hero during the franchise’s renaissance. Reddick and Brantley helped guide Springer from excitable youngster to established veteran.
Reddick’s four-year, $53 million free-agent deal is still the most lucrative of Jim Crane’s ownership tenure. He authored the best season of his 11-year career during the team’s 2017 World Series run.
Brantley, who shares an agent with Springer, came aboard last winter and offered the 30-yearold a more routine-oriented plan for his season.
Both had the most prolific seasons of their careers. Springer slugged a career-high 39 home runs and amassed a career-best .974 OPS. Brantley’s 22 home runs were a personal best. His .503 slugging percentage and .875 OPS were second best.
Given the impending exodus and outfield scarcity within the organization, a reunion with one of the departing players seems plausible. Consecutive subpar offensive seasons from Reddick make Brantley or Springer the most likely choice — if there is one to be made.
Extension talks have stopped during baseball’s shutdown.
Speculation swirled around Springer, who said during spring training “this organization has been very special to me, but time will tell” if he remains inside it.
Crane said in January he “made it clear” to Springer and his representatives there was interest in an extension. Springer and Mookie Betts will be the most coveted free agents of an otherwise light position-player class. The 32-year-old Brantley earned $16 million last season as part of a two-year, $32 million deal.
Assuming all three outfielders leave, Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw represent the entirety of the organization’s major leagueready depth to replace them. They’ve combined to accrue 282 major league plate appearances. Yordan Alvarez’s constant knee pain offers no assurances he can play more than sparingly in the outfield.
Soon, Alvarez will be joined by another countryman. The Astros are reportedly in agreement with heralded Cuban outfielder Pedro Leon as part of their next international signing class. Leon plays both corners and is one of the most sought-after players in the 2020 signing class. His addition will afford obvious reinforcement. When he arrives is another matter entirely.
The international signing period, which usually starts July 2, might be stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the agreement between the MLB and MLBPA gave the league the right to push it back. Getting the 21year-old Leon in the Astros’ system is vital, especially with the dearth of outfielders. If he’s able to make a quick ascent, he could solve some issues.
Trades of Derek Fisher, J.D. Davis and Jake Marisnick robbed the team of more depth. Marisnick and Straw are somewhat interchangeable — speedy defensive weapons with unproven, inconsistent offensive repertoires.
Despite his hyped prospect status, Fisher could not capitalize on numerous major league opportunities. Davis, meanwhile, was afforded three major league outfield starts in his two-year Houston career.
During the two years he made big league cameos, Houston’s leftfield spot was a revolving door, most often occupied by Marwin Gonzalez or Nori Aoki. The Astros opted to keep Davis on the major league infield. Last year, he started 71 of his 99 games in left field for the New York Mets, totaling an .895 OPS.
Now, nothing resides behind Straw, Tucker and Alvarez. Of the Astros’ top 20 prospects according to both Baseball America and MLBPipeline, just two are outfielders — 2019 draftees Jordan Brewer and Colin Barber. Neither has appeared above High Class A.
Drew Ferguson is at Class AAA, but he already has been selected and returned in the Rule 5 draft — not deemed valuable enough to keep on the rebuilding San Francisco Giants’ 25-man roster in 2018.
Ronnie Dawson, a secondround pick in 2016, struck out 152 times in 113 minor league games last season. The Astros opted not to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft. No team chose him anyway. Stephen Wrenn, a sixth-round pick in that same draft, has appeared in only three games above Class AA.
In lieu of better options, the Astros have moved players around. Catcher Garrett Stubbs saw some left field in the minor leagues. So, too, did first baseman Taylor Jones. Houston is just as barren behind the plate and at first, though, necessitating both prospects remain at their primary positions.
Acquiring outside help is almost a foregone conclusion. The Astros’ farm system has little from which it can trade. Springer and Betts headline the impending outfield free-agent class. Joc Pederson and Jackie Bradley Jr. are scheduled to enter the open market as well.
Brantley is primed to be alongside them. In Game 7, two batters after Springer skied out, Brantley swung through Hudson’s fullcount slider. The stoic figure sank to one knee and bowed his head, averting his eyes from the celebration before him.
The Washington Nationals spilled from the third-base dugout.
Catcher Yan Gomes gave a guttural yell, passed by Brantley and joined in the celebration. The image will live forever in Nationals lore. Whether it’s Brantley’s last act as an Astro is still a mystery.