The Astros have chosen the contract of right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, a transfer that was reported final evening. Proper-hander Wander Suero was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to open an energetic roster spot whereas utility participant Cooper Hummel was designated for project to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was amongst these to relay the record of transactions.
Hummel, 29, was simply claimed off waivers final week however the Astros have been coping with a notable roster churn of late. Every of Suero, Arrighetti and Blair Henley have been chosen to the 40-man prior to now few days, which has squeezed Hummel out of his spot.
It’s been fairly a nomadic few months for Hummel, who was with the Mariners in 2023. Since December, he’s gone to the Mets, Giants and Astros through waiver claims or money offers. It’s doable yet one more jersey swap is over the horizon, because the Astros will now have every week to commerce him or attempt to cross him by waivers.
His 227 main league plate appearances have resulted in an unimpressive batting line of .166/.264/.286 however he’s naturally been significantly better within the minors. From the beginning of 2021 by the current day, he has 992 Triple-A plate appearances. He has drawn a stroll in an enormous 17.3% of these whereas conserving his strikeout fee all the way down to a good 21.2% fee. His mixed batting line of .287/.419/.488 in that point interprets to a wRC+ of 131.
Defensively, Hummel affords a singular degree of versatility, having spent important time behind the plate in addition to the outfield corners, first base and even a small period of time at third base. He additionally has one possibility 12 months remaining, which suggests he will be stored in Triple-A for depth till wanted. With lower than a 12 months of service time, he’s nonetheless not near qualifying for arbitration or free company.
That mixture of his Triple-A offense, his defensive flexibility and his contract standing clearly makes him interesting to golf equipment, judging by what number of of them have tried to seize him because the finish of final 12 months. Taking all that into consideration, he could also be on the transfer but once more within the days to return. If he had been to lastly cross by waivers unclaimed, he would stick to the Astros as non-roster depth, since he has neither the three years of service time nor the earlier profession outright that may give him the appropriate to elect free company.