Altuve: Altered team to be ‘on same page’
SEATTLE — In his first comments since the Astros’ acquisition of Roberto Osuna, second baseman Jose Altuve said the team will “be on the same page” after the embattled reliever joins the club in Los Angeles this weekend.
Charged with one count of assaulting a woman, Osuna will reach the end of his leaguemandated 75-game suspension on Saturday. He is scheduled to meet his new team at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
“It’s really hard for me to get behind a mic and a camera and just fire up a guy when I don’t have an idea what really happened,” Altuve said Wednesday. “But now he’s one of our teammates, so now you have to be paying attention of the details. He’s going to be here any time soon … and after that happens, we’re all going to find out what happened. We’re a team, so everything we do, we’re going to be on the same page.”
Asked if he had any concerns about how Osuna’s presence could impact the clubhouse, Altuve acknowledged it was a “tough question.”
“We all know that this conversation is a little bit hard for me,” Altuve said. “I think it’s OK if I don’t know what to say, because, like I said, I don’t know what happened.”
Altuve is the only known player contacted by general manager Jeff Luhnow, who said Monday he reached out to “several” members of the team and coaching staff before completing the controversial trade.
“When you have a conversation with your general manag- er, you’re only available to answer whatever he asks you,” said Altuve, who is on the 10day disabled list with knee soreness. “I did, and I think that’s between him and me. It’s tough to come here and say whatever Jeff talked to me (about).”
Osuna will venture to an Astros minor league affiliate for an outing prior to his activation. Manager A.J. Hinch had no clarity Wednesday on a destination or timetable.
Tucker sent down; Marisnick recalled
Prior to Wednesday’s 8-3 victory over the Mariners, the Astros optioned Kyle Tucker — their No. 2 overall prospect — to Class AAA Fresno and recalled Jake Marisnick.
Recalled on July 7 for his major league debut, Tucker produced a .156/.240/.222 slash line in 50 plate appearances, striking out 10 times with just two extra-base hits. He also made two errors in left field.
“When he didn’t have immediate success, that can pile up on you a little bit. I saw the frustration start to grow with him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s got great potential, and he’s going to be a big part of this organization, and we believe in him. But the adjustability, the swing, where they were attacking him with pitches and with defensive shifts gave him a quick glimpse of what he’s going to need to do to be successful at this level.”
In his 16-game stint, Tucker demonstrated an ultra aggressive approach — he saw just 3.91 pitches per plate appearance — and was almost immediately greeted with a drastic shift to his pull side.
“That changed the way they’re going to attack him entering the counts,” Hinch said of Tucker’s approach. “You’re going to have to cover other areas of the strike zone at the major league level.”
Tucker’s anemic hitting coincided with Tony Kemp’s continued emergence, forcing Hinch to relinquish the everyday playing time he gave Tucker upon his arrival. After starting the first five games of his major league career — and finishing 4-for-18 — Tucker started just twice in the nine games prior to his demotion.
Marisnick, who homered in Wednesday’s win, rejoined the club after 17 games in Class AAA. He led off mostly, posting a .999 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in 73 plate appearances.
“From a development purpose, we really need Tucker to play every day,” Hinch said. “Jake had done his part to go down and get his work in. Tough call when you have a young player with the potential Tucker has. We just felt like it was better for him to go down and play, continue to develop, take the lessons that he learned here and hopefully come back soon.”
Correa starts AA rehab stint today
While his teammates dressed for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners, Carlos Correa grabbed two suitcases and departed the clubhouse for his final hurdle to clear.
Correa flew to Dallas, where he will start his rehab assignment with Class AA Corpus Christi during the Hooks’ fourgame series at Frisco, which begins Thursday.
“I was going crazy. It’s been super boring to sit here and doing nothing to help the boys,” said Correa, who has missed 30 games with a lower back injury.
Correa said he will play shortstop for seven innings in Thursday’s game and targeted the upcoming homestand that begins Aug. 9 for his much anticipated return.
“We’ll re-evaluate him over the weekend,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I don’t know if it’s going to take five days, seven days, 10 days. We’ve got to watch him every day to see what his readiness is, see where he is cardio-wise as he gets back on the field playing.”
Springer sits out, but shoulder is OK
George Springer waited in his manager’s office after Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Mariners, a game he exited after the first inning with a shoulder injury. Any concern was mitigated instantly.
A.J. Hinch arrived inside. Springer removed his shirt and began doing jumping jacks to reassure Hinch he maintained a full range of motion with his left shoulder.
“Certainly the greatest news that we could have, given the thought that when he came off the field, he had hurt his shoulder,” Hinch said.
Springer didn’t play Wednesday but was available off the bench.