Houston Astros: Plugging in the Astros first base/DH Holes

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Option 2: Evan Gattis

Jul 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis (11) hits an RBI single during the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

2. Evan Gattis

2016 AGE: 29

2016 SALARY: Arbitration-Eligible (Made Minimum in 2015); Under Team Control Through 2018

25 HR! 83 RBI! Nine triples! A blue collar attitude AND a beard! What else could you want?

Look, Gattis has been no better than Carter. I know, hot take alert. It is very hard to provide zero defensive value, be a slow baserunner with poor instincts, post a .280 on-base percentage, and be valuable. All of the underlying variables are equally troubling: Gattis’s hard-contact rate has dropped from 38.7% with the Braves last year to 31.5%. He is hitting more infield pop-ups and more ground balls than ever.

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And as for those RBIs? Gattis has hit .230/.256/.494 in close and late situations, similar to his overall batting line. He’s simply had more opportunities to drive in runs (151 PAs with runners in scoring position) than most hitters, and that’s why nobody cares about RBIs anymore.

Gattis’s undisciplined right-handed power is an especially poor fit for our lineup. Which already has its share of high-strikeout and free-swinging right-handed hitters, all of whom offer far more defensive and base running value than Gattis. He may have a bit of trade value if they can find a lefty-heavy, low-power team with a need at DH (Cleveland?).They will not receive a package consistent with what they spent to acquire him from Atlanta.

Bringing Gattis back for his likely arbitration salary of around $5M would be ill-advised unless recent adjustments begin to bear fruit.

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Next: Option 3: Jon Singleton

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