As the season looms oh so near teams all around baseball continue to narrow down their 25-man rosters for Opening Day.
The Astros optioned four more today, two pitchers and two position players.
Relievers Luis Cruz, a lefty and David Martinez, a right-hander, were sent to minor league camp along with catcher Max Stassi and outfielder Domingo Santana.
Stassi turns 23 in five days
Cruz hasn’t pitched past AA and had a rough go of it in Florida in MLB camp, while Martinez didn’t offer much to grab a spot after making four appearances with the Astros in 2013, notching an ERA over 7 in 11.1 IP. (In his defense, the brutality of that bullpen seemed to be contagious) Signed in 2005 as an amateur free agent, he will most likely start his 9th season with the club in AAA, a first for him.
The position players are obviously bigger names in the grand scheme of Houston Astros baseball things, but Santana was due for his “demotion” any day as he remains a late 2014 call-up at the very earliest.
Stassi is the one with the most topic-relevant interest. In limited time with the ‘Stros in 2013, Stassi was nothing short of impressive. But with All-Star Jason Castro behind the plate and Carlos Corporan a very solid backup, Stassi, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in five days, is definitely better off receiving the AB’s in AAA.
The Astros remaining moves seem destined to re-assign/demote one more bat and a few more pitchers.