Astros 25 Man Roster Is Set

Earlier this morning, the Astros announced their final moves as they set their 25 man roster. They announced that Edgar Gonzalez will be sent to Triple-A, after failing to make a good impression in his last showing. With Gonzalez headed to Triple-A, the Astros will go with Rhiner Cruz, Hector Ambriz, and Rule-5 pick Josh Fields, in the bullpen.

The Astros also announced that Brad Peacock won the #4 spot, and that Alex White will be sent to the bullpen in a long-relief role. Peacock had a 3.52 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 19.2 innings pitched, and his 15/6 K/BB ratio helped him earn that spot. White, on the other hand, struggled a bit this spring with a 6.86 ERA and 2.03 WHIP. With these final announcements made today, we now know which 25 men will be on the opening day roster.

The Likely Opening Day Position Players:

C – Jason Castro

1B – Brett Wallace

2B – Jose Altuve

SS – Ronny Cedeno

3B – Matt Dominguez

LF – Chris Carter

CF – Justin Maxwell

RF – Rick Ankiel

DH – Carlos Pena

Bench – Carlos Corporan (C), Marwin Gonzalez (INF), Fernando Martinez (OF), Brandon Barnes (OF)

Starting Rotation:

1. Bud Norris

2. Lucas Harrell

3. Philip Humber

4. Brad Peacock

5. Erik Bedard (L)

Bullpen – Alex White, Rhiner Cruz, Hector Ambriz, Josh Fields, Wesley Wright (L), Xavier Cedeno (L), Jose Veras

As Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle pointed out earlier today, the Astros only have seven players (Norris, Harrell, Wright, Cruz, Altuve, Gonzalez, Castro) from last year’s opening day roster.

The Astros will go with these 25 players to start the season, but I expect a lot of movement with the Astros and their farm systems, as they will likely be shipping players up and down from both Oklahoma City and Corpus Christi throughout the whole season.