Devenski to stay in bullpen
CLEVELAND — Chris Devenski has been one of the biggest surprises of this Astros season, so much so that he might merit down-ballot votes in the American League Rookie of the Year polling.
But despite the Astros’ rotation issues in the wake of injuries to Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, Devenski is primed for the rest of this season to remain in his role out of the bullpen, where the 25-year-old righthander has a 1.49 ERA in 721⁄3 innings of relief after tossing a scoreless inning in Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory over the Indians.
“Devenski is really good at his job,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s been able to respond to any challenge we’ve given him, whether that’s been a spot start, whether that’s been troubleshooting back-toback days, whether it’s multiple innings out of the pen.
“Where we’re at on the calendar, we’re in a really tricky situation where we’re trying to not have to build him up and take the time that it takes to build him up for the rest of the month.
“He’d be valuable in any role that I give him the ball. Losing him for four or five days leading up to a start (and) losing him four or five days after a start takes you out of 10 days’ worth of competition. We don’t have many 10-day stretches left. … What he’s doing right now, is best suited for this team.”
Purpura to guide Texas League
Former Astros general manager Tim Purpura will be the next president of the Texas League, it was announced Tuesday.
Purpura, who will succeed Tom Kayster in February, had been an Arlington-based, parttime major league scout for the Astros since May 2015.
“Tim is uniquely qualified to lead our league,” Corpus Christi Hooks president Ken Schrom said in a press release announcing Purpura’s appointment. “If you look at his experience throughout the industry, especially the challenges and opportunities he’s met down through the years, he may have the most comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Major League Baseball and the minor league game. He is extremely well-connected.”
Purpura, 56, joined the Astros in 1994 as assistant farm director and assumed the GM role when Gerry Hunsicker resigned following the 2004 season. He was at the helm for the franchise’s lone World Series appearance in 2005 but fired in August 2007 amid an 89loss season and replaced by Ed Wade.
Between his stints with the Astros, Purpura served as an executive vice president for minor league baseball and then as the Rangers’ senior director of player development. He also taught as an adjunct professor in SMU’s graduate school of sports management.
Odds and ends
USA Today named Alex Bregman its minor league player of the year, making him the first player in Astros history to garner the publication’s award, created in 1988. He beat out teammate Joe Musgrove, Tyler O’Neill (Mariners), David Dahl (Rockies) and Yoan Moncada (Red Sox). … Lance McCullers was named the Astros’ nominee for the 2016 Roberto Clemente Award, presented annually to the player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” Craig Biggio won the award in 2007.