ANAHEIM, Calif. — A trip to Anaheim can cure any careening ballclub. The Houston Astros had lost six of nine before arriving at Angel Stadium on Friday. Manager Joe Espada acknowledged a sweep “was kind of what the goal was.”
His team accomplished it, outclassing a hapless Los Angeles Angels team to maintain a 4 1/2-game advantage in the American League West. Three upcoming games against the San Diego Padres will provide far a tougher challenge, one the Astros must meet as the calendar nears October.
Here are three takeaways before it begins.
Second base for Alex Bregman?
Alex Bregman will be the best third baseman available on the free-agent market this winter, but Scott Boras isn’t one to pigeonhole his clients. Markets expand if his players are versatile, even one of baseball’s best defensive third basemen.
Boras isn’t promoting a position change, though this weekend he did offer a reminder to clubs that Bregman “can also play second base.” Asked if he would “sell” that to clubs this winter, Boras offered a wry smile.
“When you represent people like Bregman, you don’t sell them,” Boras said on Friday. “People come to you and ask, ‘I want him to do that, I want him to do that.’ They’ve been asking me about that for him for two years.”
Bregman played his entire collegiate career at shortstop before moving to third base in pro ball. He has started two major-league games at second base, a byproduct of playing his entire career alongside Jose Altuve and his ascension atop most defensive leaderboards at third base.
Since Bregman’s first full season in 2017, only five qualified third basemen have been worth more outs above average: Nolan Arenado, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Ryan McMahon, José Ramírez and Matt Chapman. Among them, only Ramírez, Arenado and Chapman have been full-time third basemen since Bregman’s debut.
The six-year, $151 million extension Boras negotiated for Chapman last week should be a starting point in negotiations with Bregman, who is a year younger than Chapman and a more accomplished offensive player.
Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez both go yard as the @Astros have now won all 8 of Yusei Kikuchi’s starts. pic.twitter.com/5OiQfQD3nz
— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2024
Bregman should have a robust market regardless of position, but an ability to play elsewhere could expand interest from teams with entrenched third basemen. Last week, for example, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal explored Bregman’s fit in Boston alongside Rafael Devers.
Playing Bregman at second base — if even for one season while the Red Sox await the arrival of prospect Kristian Campbell — would seem logical. Gleyber Torres’ impending free agency could leave the New York Yankees seeking a second baseman, too, though Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a candidate to move there in Torres’ absence. Third base, then, would be vacated.
The Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers are obvious suitors for Bregman as a third baseman. The Astros should be, too, though owner Jim Crane’s reluctance to give anything longer than a five-year free-agent deal may prevent a reunion from being realistic.
Rotation roundup
That the Astros’ rotation will remain on turn for this week’s series against the San Diego Padres is no surprise. Houston is already starved for pitching depth and deploying a six-man rotation during its current stretch of 16 consecutive games, so there is little flexibility to alter much.
Staying on schedule will allow the staff’s two best starters — Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez — to pitch in the final two games against the Padres’ high-profile lineup. It should also guarantee Brown and Valdez will start Houston’s first two games against the Seattle Mariners next week at Minute Maid Park.
Yusei Kikuchi, who has started eight consecutive wins since his trade deadline acquisition, would be on schedule to pitch the series finale against Seattle.
Anything after that is a mystery. Whether Houston has already clinched the American League West will factor into how it schedules its starters for its final regular-season series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Of greater intrigue will be the Astros’ chances to capture one of the American League’s top two seeds. Houston ended Sunday 4 1/2 games behind the Guardians for the second seed and trailing the New York Yankees by 5 1/2 games for the top seed. FanGraphs gave the Astros a 14.7 percent chance of clinching a bye.
Closing the gap could create a fascinating conundrum for Espada and his pitching coaches — and four more games against this awful Angels team make it somewhat realistic.
An off day on Sept. 26 would allow Brown to be on four days of rest for the club’s penultimate regular-season game against the Guardians. Valdez could start the Sept. 29 series finale on regular rest, too. The Wild Card Series is scheduled to start on Oct. 1.
Framber Valdez’s 3Ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/fgWVRuGsLL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 12, 2024
Pitching either Brown or Valdez in the final two games against the Guardians could prevent them from contributing. Whoever starts the second game against Cleveland wouldn’t be on regular rest until an if-necessary Game 3 of a Wild Card series.
Preserving both of them — while affording some extra rest — may be the most prudent decision. That Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti are pitching well only reinforces the thought.
Blanco and Valdez are the team’s two most trusted starters, but the club could do a lot worse than throwing Blanco — he of a 2.88 ERA — or Arrighetti into a game with playoff implications.
Tucker’s trajectory
Ambushing a first-pitch sinker for a pinch-hit home run on Saturday night may have announced Kyle Tucker’s return, but what he did on defense an evening earlier may have been more impactful.
Swinging and hitting never bothered Tucker during his three-month recovery from a fractured shin. Running and decelerating did. So, when Jack López struck a 235-foot, sinking line drive toward Tucker in right field on Friday night, it qualified as one of his first true tests.
Tucker passed. He caught the baseball waist-high and, afterward, reported no ill effects. The Angels hit just two fly balls in Tucker’s direction during Friday’s game — Tucker’s first in right field since June 3.
Tucker pursued others in the right-center gap and charged some ground balls, all tasks he seemed to handle without incident. He started in right field again on Sunday, continuing the club’s gradual plan to reintroduce him to a full-time role after three months away.
“I feel great,” Tucker said on Saturday. “Hopefully, relatively soon, I can start playing every single day. I came back a little over a week ago, so I’m still doing some rehab and conditioning stuff just to keep up with it, but hopefully I can get everyday at-bats and play every day going forward.”
Tucker did not start Saturday’s game, before which Espada acknowledged, “We’re getting close to where he could go back-to-back games, but we’re not quite there yet.”
Tucker has six hits in his first 24 at-bats since coming off the injured list. He is pleased with his pitch selection, but he bemoaned some inconsistencies with his swing that he hoped Saturday’s home run can help correct.
“I’ve kind of been cutting my swing off a little bit, kind of pulling off lately,” Tucker said. “I haven’t really been staying through the ball great, but right there I was staying through and everything direction-wise felt great. Hopefully I can build off that swing moving forward.”
(Photo of Alex Bregman: Brad Penner / USA Today)
