Veracruz announcement coming at 2:00

The Astros have scheduled a 2:00 press conference at which they will announce the details of a joint venture with the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Its always fun to make predictions, so I’m going to take a shot at calling this one.

The Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz  (Red Eagles) currently play in the Mexican League’s south  division. They play there home games in the coastal city of Veracruz at a 7,782-seat stadium named after former major leaguer Beto Avila.

The Mexican League is considered to be the equivalent of AAA baseball. It is home to both young up-and-coming players as well as a number of aging former big leaguers. The Astros signed two players, Japhet Amador and Leonardo Heras, from the Mexico City team earlier this season.

Now that we are a bit more familiar with Veracruz, here comes the prognostication. In an attempt to make this more fun and entertaining, I’m going to propose three possibilities — maybe four. They will be listed in order from least likely to most likely.

One. The Astros, embarrassed by another terrible season, are moving the team to the Mexican League. Just kidding! Perhaps the Astros are going to sign a player development deal with the Red Eagles. This seems a bit unlikely because, unlike the International League and the PCL, the Mexican League’s clubs don’t serve as farm teams for MLB.

Two. The Astros are going to play a regular season home game, or series in Veracruz. This is also a bit unlikely due to the limited seating capacity of the stadium. But, it makes sense for the Astros to play some home games in Mexico. In fact, I wrote an article on the subject over a year ago and I am a bit surprised that it has yet to happen.

Three. The Astros and the Red Eagles will play a home-and-away series of exhibition games against each other during Spring Training. This seems like a good idea. The Astros fan base has dwindled dramatically over the past few years and the team needs to drum up interest any way they can.

Either way, regardless of what today’s announcement brings us, it appears as though the Astros are reaching out and attempting to establish a presence in the Veracruz market. Who knows? Maybe they’re going to get Comcast.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports