Astros Designate Tyler White for Assignment, call up Jose Urquidy

I think everyone saw the writing on the wall. Tyler White has been designated for assignment by the Astros to make room for pitcher Jose Urquidy.

With the Astros current pitching situation and the inevitable return of Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz, some tough roster decisions had to be made. Jose Urquidy has been called back up to start Saturday’s game and Tyler White was the odd man out this time to make the roster room.

Houston now has seven days to trade White or put him up on waivers, making him available for other teams to pick him up. If neither one of those happens, the Astros have the choice to release him or assign him to one of their Minor League teams.

White, who was drafted by Houston in the 33rd round of the 2013 draft, made his debut with the Astros in 2016. He didn’t make much of a splash that first year slashing .217/.286/.378 in his 85 appearances.

In his next two years, White began to show promise batting .277 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in the 88 games he played in over the 2017/18 seasons. With no options left coming out of Spring Training, the Astros kept him on the 25-man roster hoping he’d be an asset this year as a designated hitter and part-time first baseman.

Unfortunately, for Houston and Tyler White, he just couldn’t quite get his season on track. He has appeared in 71 games and hit .225/.320/.330 and carried a career-low OPS of .650. He contributed just 21 RBIs and 3 homers in 253 plate appearances while striking out 74 times.

The decision to finally DFA White was simply a culmination of issues the Astros are facing. The Astros will carry and extra pitcher on the roster due to the shortage of starters and the necessity of utilizing their bullpen more. Then there is the return of Correa and Diaz to Houston’s infield in the very near future.

Combine those factors with the recent news that the Astros have been experimenting with Kyle Tucker at first, there simply wasn’t room for White on the roster any longer. It’s never something you want to see happen to a player that has been with the team for four years. He’ll be missed in the dugout and his teammates and fans wish him the best of luck going forward.

Jose Urquidy is back up from Round Rock and will be starting the game in tonight’s matchup with Rangers. This will be his third start for the Astros. In his Major League debut, he went 3.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits while striking out four. He got knocked around a little in his second appearance surrendering five runs, eight hits, and a home run, lasting only 2.1 innings.