Hinch hopes Gomez can stay off DL
OAKLAND, Calif. — Carlos Gomez is expected to ramp up baseball activities Monday in Houston as the Astros center fielder tries to work his way back from left rib cage soreness suffered in Friday night’s loss to the Athletics.
The Astros are hoping to avoid placing Gomez on the 15-day disabled list, a determination they would like to make during this week’s series against the Twins. Gomez did not perform any baseball activities Saturday or Sunday. X-rays came back negative.
With Gomez sidelined, the Astros have only three available outfielders: George Springer, Colby Rasmus and Preston Tucker. If the soreness lingers, the team might need to place Gomez on the DL — such a roster move would be retroactive to Saturday — so it can play with a full bench.
Jake Marisnick would be eligible to be recalled from Class AAA Fresno if Gomez required a DL stint. Otherwise, Thursday is the earliest Marisnick can be brought back to Houston.
“We’ve got a limited bench, and it does tie us up a little bit,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We don’t want to lose Gomez for 15 days unless we absolutely have to.
“We’ve got a couple days here to play with. If (the injury) leaks into another series, it becomes more difficult. If it’s going to get into a third series, then we’ve probably got to talk about bringing in some reinforcements one way or another, whether we go down to 12 pitchers or whether we ultimately have to decide on (a DL stint for) Gomez.”
Gomez struggled through April, batting .213 with no home runs and just two RBIs. His .516 OPS ranked 168th among the 171 major leaguers who entered Saturday with at least 80 plate appearances.
Rotation turn yet to be decided
The Astros have yet to set their rotation beyond Wednesday’s series finale against the Twins, so it remains unclear whether Chris Devenski or Scott Feldman will start Thursday night’s series opener against the Mariners at Minute Maid Park.
Devenski pitched in Feldman’s spot in the rotation Saturday, allowing two runs over five innings against the Athletics in his first major league start. Feldman came out of the bullpen and logged three perfect innings.
Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers will start for the Astros in the Minnesota series, which begins a 10game homestand that will conclude with three games against the Indians. Doug Fister started Sunday’s series finale in Oakland.
Once they’re back in Houston, the Astros’ brass will meet to determine the rotation for the rest of the week. By the middle of the week, they will also have more information on Lance McCullers, who is set to pitch four or five innings in an extended spring training game Monday in Florida. He is likely at least a couple of weeks away from returning to the rotation.
“We’ve got the luxury of having a lot of options,” manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday. “Scott Feldman threw the ball very well (Saturday). Devenski threw the ball very well. ... That first series (against the Twins) is set, but we’ve got to figure out exactly what the best options are as we get to the Seattle series.”
Correa, Berrios to meet again
In high school games and showcases in Puerto Rico before the 2012 draft, Carlos Correa often faced the best amateur pitcher on the island.
Understandably, major league front offices wanted to scout the star shortstop against comparable talent.
And so come the bottom of the first inning Monday night at Minute Maid Park, batter and pitcher will be more than familiar with one another.
Correa will again match up against Jose Berrios, his fellow Puerto Rican and 2012 first-round draft pick, who will make his second major league start for the Twins.
“It will be fun to get to face him once again,” Correa said. “We’ve come a long ways from high school, so it’s going to be really interesting and very special for both of us.”
Correa and Berrios, both 21, grew up playing together and against one other. About a 75-minute drive separates their hometowns of Santa Isabel and Bayamon, Correa said. Their high schools competed often, and they
were teammates in a league outside of school and in tournaments together in the United States.
“We always talked about this moment when we would be both in the big leagues,” Correa said.
The Twins drafted Berrios 31 picks after the Astros made Correa the first Puerto Rican drafted No. 1 overall. They haven’t faced each other since 2013, when Correa played for Class A Quad Cities and Berrios for the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Their paths also crossed in the lower-level Gulf Coast and Appalachian leagues.
“We both got the better of each other sometimes. It depends on the day,” Correa said, before adding with a smile, “I think you can look at minor league stats, and you will see.”
Berrios, the majors’ only active Puerto Rican starting pitcher, is one of baseball’s top mound prospects. The 6-foot, 185-pound power righthander struggled in his debut Wednesday at Target Field, allowing five runs over four innings against the Indians, but posted a 1.06 ERA over three Class AAA starts to begin the season.
“He was throwing 98 back then (in high school). So I had to face him a lot,” Correa said. “It was fun. It’s fun to compete against a fellow Puerto Rican player who’s coming up and is going to be successful in the big leagues.”
Odds and ends
After his 0-for-4 performance Sunday, Tyler White has five hits in his last 51 at-bats. … George Springer snapped his onbase streak at 15 games. … Class AA Corpus Christi faced rehabbing Rangers ace Yu Darvish on Sunday in Frisco. Darvish threw 32 pitches over two scoreless innings, striking out two and walking one, in the first start of his rehab assignment.