After rotation, bullpen questions emerge
The Astros’ starting rotation offers James Click comfort he can’t quite quantify. The first-year general manager arrived in February from the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise on the financial margins that always makes more out of less. The Rays created the “opener” and made it a major league phenomenon — only because they didn’t have five established starters to slot into a rotation.
Now, Click confronts no such problem. Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke headline Houston’s rotation. Lance McCullers Jr., Josh James and Framber Valdez loom afterward, nowhere near the same stature but still talented options nonetheless.
“I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve had a one-through-five starting rotation to think about, so I’m probably still getting my head around that,” Click quipped Thursday, one day before the first regular-season game of his tenure.
“I’m looking forward to just sitting back until the sixth or seventh inning and seeing who we have to go to in the bullpen.”
Who emerges remains anyone’s guess. Injuries and lingering absences forced Click to assemble a bullpen brimming with potential but without much advanced professional experience.
Houston will carry 15 pitchers on its 30-man opening day roster. Of the team’s 10 presumed relievers, four have never appeared in a major league game. Two — Enoli
Paredes and Brandon Bailey — have never thrown above Class AA.
Lefthander Blake Taylor has just 111⁄3 Class AAA innings. Cristian Javier threw 11 frames in Class AAA last season, one that he started at Class A Advanced Fayetteville.
“We do have some guys who are a little short on experience, but they are long on talent,” Click said. “We feel like that is going to play out in the long run. In addition, given that there aren’t going to be fans in the ballpark for a while, it may actually be a little easier for these guys to make their major league debuts or transition to the major leagues a little bit better than they can when you’ve got 40 or 50,000 people screaming at you.”
Inexperience seemed inevitable given the absences of Austin Pruitt, Brad Peacock, Joe Smith and Jose Urquidy.
Pruitt (elbow inflammation), Peacock (shoulder soreness) and Urquidy (undisclosed) will all begin the season on the injured list. Smith, the veteran sidearmer, is on the restricted list and has not appeared in summer camp due to safety concerns for his family.
Closer Roberto Osuna’s status is still unclear, too. That the Astros included him on the opening-day roster and not on the injured list suggests he will be ready sooner than later. Click said a timeline for the closer’s return is “still TBD.” Osuna threw a bullpen session at Minute Maid Park earlier this week. Click ascribed Osuna’s slow build-up to a “longer intake process” than that of other players.
If Osuna is unavailable, All-Star setup man Ryan Pressly will assume the closer’s role. Who precedes him is a mystery. Will Harris is gone to the Washington Nationals. Smith was re-signed this offseason to compensate for the departure.
If the Astros seek experience with their late-inning relief, Chris Devenski and Joe Biagini are logical options. But the urgency associated with a 60-game schedule, and an uncertainty of how built up starting pitchers are after such a short summer camp, will require contributions from those without major league experience.
As the team’s only lefthanded reliever in camp, Taylor seemed a shoo-in for the roster.
Paredes punched his ticket with a dazzling outing Tuesday at Kansas City.
Javier, the organization’s reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Year, was a candidate to break camp with the major league team in spring training. His work in summer camp only reinforced the notion.
Bailey’s inclusion was something of a surprise.
He was not among the group of prospect pitchers brought to Minute Maid Park during summer camp workouts to throw live batting practices or intrasquad games.
The Astros acquired Bailey from the Oakland A’s in 2016. Though Houston left the righthander unprotected in last season’s Rule 5 Draft, Astros special assistant Kevin Goldstein called him “the most big league ready” of the team’s Rule 5 eligible prospects.
Bailey was selected by the Baltimore Orioles, run by former Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias. Baltimore returned Bailey to the Astros toward the end of spring training.
Bailey struck out 103 in 922⁄3 innings for Class AA Corpus Christi last season.
He has walked only 3.5 batters per nine innings across his professional career.
That ability to pound the strike zone stood out during summer camp workouts. Goldstein gushed about his changeup as well last December.
“The command was very impressive,” Click said. “We’re going to need him to soak up some innings from time to time, but it’s also an opportunity for him to show what he can do and earn his way into a bigger role.”
Click’s acknowledgment that Bailey needs to eat innings suggests he could serve as a long reliever, perhaps even the second part of a tandem start at the back of Houston’s rotation. Javier or Cy Sneed fits that same description.
Houston’s collection of opening-day position players offered far fewer surprises. Jack Mayfield and Abraham Toro won the final spots on the bench due to their defensive versatility. Catcher Garrett Stubbs could also contribute time in left field.
Yordan Alvarez remains absent. Like Urquidy, he will begin the season on the injured list for an undisclosed reason.
Manager Dusty Baker said both men have “conditions that prevent them from reporting to the field.”
Click gave no update on either player’s status Thursday. Asked if he were confident Alvarez and Urquidy would play for the Astros in 2020, Click did not answer the question.
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on timelines or expectations on that,” Click said. “We’re doing everything we can to get them back on the field as soon as we possibly can.”
Rosters will trim to 28 on Aug. 6 before going down to 26 on Aug. 20.