Japhet Amador sent back to Mexican League

The Astros have returned 1B Japhet Amador to Diablos Rojos de Mexico. Facing a May 3 deadline to make a decision on the portly slugger, the club has determined Amador is not part of its immediate future. Japhet will play the rest of the season in his home country.

Forced to the disabled list after only 31 plate appearances at AAA Oklahoma City, Amador wasn’t going to be in Houston any time soon. So the move was basically a formality. Amador got a late start this spring due to health concerns surrounding his pregnant wife. Even his agent, Oscar Suarez, said Amador wasn’t in top condition.

"Getting there late killed him, because he was way behind the eight-ball. Especially with everything going on with his wife and everything, I don’t think he worked out all that hard. (h/t Evan Drellich)"

First base has been a problem for the Astros offensively thus far. After a hot spring earned him a spot on the Astros Opening Day roster, Marc Krauss started the regular season by going 0 for 15. Yesterday’s two hits, including his second homer of the year, brought Marc’s average all the way up to .167. That puts him almost 50 points ahead of Chris Carter and only a few behind Jesus Guzman‘s .194 mark.

With Amador officially out of the picture, Jon Singleton would seem like the logical solution to the 1B problem. Singleton has been on fire in the Pacific Coast League. But the Astros are more likely to stick with the three aforementioned players and hope one or more of them get things turned around soon.