Don’t expect a waiver deadline deal like last year’s Justin Verlander blockluster.
As the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline nears, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said “there’s no clear missing piece” on his club.
“But that doesn’t mean we don’t continue to look for things,” he said. Houston acquired Justin
Verlander in the waning minutes of last season’s deadline, addressing a clear need and propelling it to the first World Series championship in franchise history.
Verlander had cleared revocable waivers, meaning he was eligible to be traded to any team. Players acquired after Sept. 1 are not postseason eligible.
If the Astros are to strike any deal this deadline, a similar situation would have to occur. Luhnow said the club has made “a lot of claims” on players who are on waivers, but teams with higher priority have swooped in.
Priority is determined by current record — and the worst teams have the highest priority.
Luhnow said the club has gotten “a few” claims but was unable to work out deals. The focus has shifted, Luhnow said, to players who have cleared revocable waivers.
“Last year at this time, there was a clear opportunity to improve the team by bringing in an elite starting pitcher. There’s no clear missing piece of this team this year,” Luhnow said. “Doesn’t mean there’s not a potential move out there that could happen in the next few days that could upgrade our team.”
Whitley goes back on minor league DL
After being scratched from his Friday start at Class AA Corpus Christi with right lat discomfort,
Forrest Whitley was placed on the minor league disabled list on Tuesday.
Astros general manager Jeff
Luhnow sounded unconcerned about Whitley’s injury, saying if the game were meaningful, the franchise’s No. 1 overall prospect could have pitched. Luhnow said Tuesday various visits to doctors confirmed “there’s nothing major going on.”
Nevertheless, Whitley heads to the disabled list for the second time, all but concluding a suspension-shrouded, injuryriddled third season of professional baseball.
“He’s young, and a lot of young pitchers, especially in the minor leagues, have seasons like this where, by some combination of events, they don’t get as much done as they’d like to,” Luhnow said. “We still have a chance to make up for it with some fall ball.”
Whitley’s DL stint is retroactive to Aug. 25. He is not eligible to return until Corpus Christi’s regular season has concluded and the Texas League playoffs have begun.
Luhnow did not eliminate the possibility Whitley could pitch in the minor league postseason but sounded more optimistic about a stint in a fall league.
After serving his 50-game suspension for a violation of Minor League Baseball’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the 6-7 righthander pitched just 261⁄3 innings.
Whitley was pulled from a start on July 5 after throwing 17 pitches and experiencing pain in his oblique. A month-long stint on the disabled list ensued. He made two other starts — Aug. 14 and Aug. 19 — before being scratched on Friday.
Whitley finishes his regular season with a 3.76 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Opponents hit .160 against him, and he produced a 0.99 WHIP.
“For him, really the focus is getting in a position where he can come to camp next year and impress (manager A.J. Hinch) and the staff and everybody else and put himself in position to be a reasonable option at some point next season,” Luhnow said. “I think that’s the goal with him, and I think he certainly could accomplish it.”
Tucker to be part of roster expansion
Kyle Tucker’s extraordinary return to Class AAA Fresno will warrant a September call-up, but Astros general manager Jeff
Luhnow said Tuesday “a lot would have to happen” for the organization’s No. 2 overall prospect to crack a postseason roster.
Entering Tuesday night’s game, Tucker was 14-for-25 with six home runs and 13 RBIs since his most recent demotion on Aug. 21. Tucker’s three-run walkoff homer in the ninth inning of Saturday night’s Grizzlies game handed the team a division title.
In 388 Class AAA plate appearances, Tucker has slashed .327/ .380/.527. Fifty of his 127 hits have gone for extra bases — sustained offensive success that he has not carried to the major leagues.
The Astros called him up for his major league debut on July 7 and afforded him everyday playing time with hopes he would factor into postseason roster decision-making.
In two separate stints with the Astros, Tucker mustered a .466 OPS, striking out 11 times in 52 plate appearances. He was optioned back to Class AAA on Aug. 1 after reaching base 10 times in 45 plate appearances.
"The original goal of bringing him up early in the summer was to give him enough playing time to see if he's a guy who deserves to be on a 25-man (playoff ) roster,” Luhnow said Tuesday. “I'm not going to rule anything out, but a lot would have to happen for him to get to that point."
Tucker will join a glut of roster additions once rosters expand Saturday. They will come in two waves, manager A.J.
Hinch said Tuesday.
One will include the anticipated activation of Brian McCann and Jake Marisnick from the disabled list on Saturday. The club could add another pitcher from the minor leagues that day, too, according to Hinch.
The other wave will be delayed by minor league success. All four of the Astros’ full-season affiliates have either qualified or are on pace to qualify for their respective postseasons. When Tucker or Class AAA Fresno’s other minor league 40-man position players — AJ Reed, J.D.
Davis and Derek Fisher — could be in play is contingent on the postseason run.
“Our goal is to win in the big leagues, so we’re not going to keep a player in the minor leagues if there’s a need for that player up here,” Luhnow said. “But those guys have a chance to do something pretty special in Fresno: win a championship there.”