Morton might return vs. Yankees
Charlie Morton returned to Minute Maid Park on Wednesday and played catch with the rest of the Astros’ pitchers a few hours before first pitch of their game against the Athletics.
The team is still weighing the next step for Morton, who pitched four innings for Class AAA Fresno on Tuesday night in the second start of his rehab assignment. He will either rejoin the Astros’ rotation for Sunday’s series finale against the New York Yankees or pitch in one more rehab outing, likely with Class AA Corpus Christi.
“He’s going to pitch somewhere,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve got a lot to consider before that.”
Morton, who has missed all of June with a strained right lat, threw 47 pitches in Tuesday’s rehab start and an additional 15 in the bullpen after completing his fourth inning. The 33-year-old righthander yielded two hits and a walk but no runs. He wasn’t made available by the team to speak to reporters Wednesday upon his arrival at Minute Maid.
“I heard that things were really good for him,” Hinch said. “He was very efficient with his pitches. He got exactly four innings. He got some extra work in the bullpen. All things that we would hope would be the bestcase scenario. We’ll wait to see if he feels great. But a very encouraging sign that he could have an outing like that.”
If the Astros decide to give Morton one more rehab start, Mike Fiers would start against the Yankees on Sunday. In that scenario, Morton would then be in line to return to the Astros’ rotation during their fourgame set in Toronto from July 6-9, their final series before the All-Star break.
The team might hold off on making its decision until after Morton throws his next bullpen session, which he’s expected to do on Thursday or Friday.
Lance McCullers Jr. and Francis Martes will start Friday and Saturday against the Yankees. If Morton returns Sunday, it’s expected Martes would be the odd man out of the rotation.
Morton’s potential third rehab start would probably come with Corpus Christi as opposed to Class AAA Fresno because of proximity and because the Fresno affiliate plays at Sacramento this weekend.
Morton had a 4.06 ERA in 10 starts before his injury. Whether it comes Sunday or next week, his return will leave Dallas Keuchel (pinched nerve in neck) and Collin McHugh (elbow impingement) as the only members of the Astros’ rotation still on the disabled list. Keuchel is expected to return shortly after the All-Star break. McHugh, who has yet to pitch this year, will begin a rehab assignment Friday with Corpus Christi.
Draftee Martin gets $1M bonus
After putting pen to paper with the Astros on Wednesday afternoon, Corbin Martin sat in the dugout at Minute Maid Park and let it all sink in.
“The last couple days leading up to it, a lot have thoughts have been going through my mind. But now that it’s all said and done and I’m actually here sitting in Minute Maid Park, it’s unreal,” said the Cypress native and former Texas A&M righthander. “It’s a dream come true.”
Martin, the 56th overall pick in the recent MLB draft who signed for a reported $1 million bonus, will report Thursday to the Astros’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., where the team will oversee his ramp-up. Martin, who said he grew up a “huge Astros fan,” wasn’t sure of the plan beyond that. He had a 3.80 ERA in 24 appearances (13 starts) covering 872⁄3 innings for Texas A&M this year.
The deadline for teams to sign drafted players is July 7 at 4 p.m. Firstrounder J.B. Bukauskas (15th overall) is among the 15 Astros draftees who remain unsigned.
Odds and ends
Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of Craig Biggio’s 3,000th career hit. … The Astros will face A’s righthander Daniel Gossett on Thursday instead of righthander Jharel Cotton, who’s dealing with a blister. Gossett held the Astros to two runs over 62 ⁄3 innings on June 19 at Oakland. … Joe Musgrove will start for Class AAA Fresno on Thursday, his first outing since his demotion from the Astros over the weekend. … Class AAA Fresno is scheduled to face a rehabbing Madison Bumgarner on Friday in Sacramento.