Why the Astros might go with an all-righty ‘pen again
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Astros’ choice to possibility left-handed pitcher Matt Gage to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday got here as considerably of a shock, contemplating the shortage of wholesome southpaws in camp and normal supervisor Dana Brown’s gushing reward for Gage within the final couple of weeks.
In the top, the Astros’ need to hold one or two reduction pitchers who can throw a number of innings received out over carrying a lefty, which has lengthy been a need of supervisor Dusty Baker. Houston hasn’t been capable of finding a constant left-handed possibility in its bullpen since Tony Sipp departed after the 2019 season, however that didn’t cease the Astros from having the perfect bullpen in baseball final yr.
“I’m always crying for a lefty, but the righties we have, we feel confident with them,” Baker mentioned. “Gage is a man who’s undoubtedly on the radar. We urged him to go down and pitch and pitch properly, and hopefully we will name him again fairly quickly.”
Gage, claimed off waivers by the Astros on Feb. 13, allowed one earned run and 4 hits with six strikeouts in six innings this spring. He made his debut June 6 of final yr and posted a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings for Toronto, bouncing between Triple-A and the massive leagues.
“He threw the ball really well,” pitching coach Josh Miller mentioned. “It was a good first impression in the organization. Innings are getting short. We’re getting our guys back from the [World Baseball Classic], so getting him in regular work these last five games in Major League Spring Training games wasn’t going to be easy to do, and I felt like it was best for him to go down and get ready for the season in a Minor League game.”
Here’s the projected bullpen:
Lefties Blake Taylor, who pitched in his first Grapefruit League sport of the yr Tuesday after a left elbow damage, and Parker Mushinski (again) have been slowed by accidents and non-roster lefty reliever Austin Davis stays in camp, however the Astros seem headed to an all-right-handed bullpen to start out the yr.
Among the right-handed relievers on the roster, Abreu (.189 batting common in opposition to in 2022), Montero (.158) and Stanek (.175) dealt with lefty hitters properly final yr.
“I think you saw the last couple of years, even dating back to ’19, when we didn’t carry a lefty in the ‘pen, we feel confident in our right-handed pitchers to get left-handed hitters out,” Miller mentioned. “Plenty of good options that we have returning from last year that we’re comfortable with putting up against any three-batter pocket in the league, and I expect those guys to get the ball in those spots.”
At the urging of Brown, the Astros determined to stretch out Blanco to be a starter early in camp. Blanco’s fastball averaged 95.2 mph final yr, and his slider averaged 87.3 mph. He additionally throws a changeup and curveball. Blanco made final yr’s Opening Day roster and pitched in solely seven video games earlier than being despatched to Sugar Land, the place he posted a 3.68 ERA with 58 strikeouts and 19 walks in 44 2/3 innings.
“He’s handled the work quite well,” Miller mentioned. “The results speak for themselves.”
The Astros returned all the important thing items from their 2022 bullpen that posted a MLB-best 2.80 ERA and was lights-out within the playoffs: 0.83 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings. Four relievers — Abreu, Neris, Montero and Pressly — pitched within the WBC. The Astros count on to have Pressly again in camp Wednesday following Team USA’s WBC championship sport in opposition to Japan on Tuesday night time.
“We got some guys in camp that are still vying for that last spot,” Miller mentioned. “Ronel has thrown the ball really well, Bielak is always an option that can provide length, Seth is a guy that did it for us last year in spots. I think that weighed into the decision a little bit [to option Gage].”
