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Is Danny Worth an option in the Houston Astros’ lineup?
Danny Worth signed a minor-league contract with the Houston Astros on January 26 and has made the most of his time with the organization. Worth, a 30-year-old veteran with 133 MLB games under his belt, played parts of five seasons with the Detroit Tigers before spending all of 2015 with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate.
Worth impressed Astros fans in Spring Training by slashing .326/.408./.581 with a pair of home runs, but there was no realistic shot for the middle infielder to break in on Opening Day with the team.
At Triple-A Fresno, Worth has slashed an outstanding .345/.452/.571 while splitting time at shortstop and second base. What stands out most for Worth in 2016, though, is the .571 slugging percentage. His eight home runs are already two more than he had in twice as many games last season and his 34 RBIs are only 13 shy of his 2015 total.
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There are three problems the Astros face if they want to insert Worth on the team’s 25-man roster:
1) Placing Worth on the 40-man roster
The two most likely options here are replacing either Brad Peacock or Kevin Chapman. Both pitchers have spent time with the Astros in the past but don’t fit into the team’s future.
Peacock holds a 5.94 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 10 starts this season at Fresno. Chapman is a lefty reliever but holds a 7.23 ERA at Fresno this season with a bad 1.61 WHIP.
The two are usually better than their 2016 numbers suggest, but they are nonetheless expendable.
2) Placing Worth on the 25-man roster
Alright, now that Worth is on the team’s 40-man roster the team will have to demote a player from the 25-man roster. My suggestion? Send Tyler White down to regain confidence and tee off on Triple-A pitching.
White burst onto the scene in 2015 when he slashed .362/.467/.559 in 57 games with the Fresno Grizzlies. The first baseman followed that up by earning a spot on the Astros’ Opening Day roster after an impressive Spring Training.
White earned AL Player of the Week honors by hitting .545 with the three home runs in his first seven games as a big leaguer. It seemed like White was here to stay, but since those first seven games, he has slashed .175/.255/.307 with 15 more strikeouts than hits. A little time back in Fresno would benefit the rookie.
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3) Finding a spot in the lineup for Worth
Worth is a second baseman by trade and plays shortstop occasionally. He’s obviously not taking everyday playing time from arguably the best middle-infield combo in baseball, but there are ways to get creative and insert Worth’s bat in the team’s lineup.
The first option is to give Worth an opportunity at third base where he has played a few games in the big leagues already. The other infield option is to play Worth at first base, but it makes more sense to move Luis Valbuena to first where he has played several games as an Astro already.
Second, Worth could play as the team’s DH. The emergence of Evan Gattis behind the plate lead’s to a need at the position. Worth doesn’t have the make-up of a traditional designated hitter, but there is plenty of pop throughout the team’s lineup to make up for it.
Lastly, the team could place Worth in left field, but I value the team’s outfield defense and don’t want to tinker with it. Still, if a player is producing at the plate, a smart team will find a way to get him a lineup spot.
Conclusion
The Astros’ bats have come around as of late, but any smart team should always look to improve.
Worth could provide depth to the team’s bottom half of the lineup. Also, his versatility paired with that of Marwin Gonzalez would give A.J. Hinch several different defensive and lineup combinations.
Next: The Evan Gattis Catching Experience
Worth has spent time facing MLB pitching so the learning curve will not be as steep either. Now is a good time to see what they have in him before promoting another young talent. It’s time to give Worth his shot.
**Statistics provided by Baseball Reference, MILB.com and MLB.com**