Astros: Former infielder Gregorio Petit to manage AA Corpus Christi

Dusty Baker isn’t the only new manager in the Astros organization. The AA Corpus Christi Hooks will be led by former Houston infielder Gregorio Petit.

The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros AA Minor League team, has named Gregorio Petit to become their 8th manager in the team’s 16-year history. He will be replacing Omar Lopez, who has moved up to become the Astros new first base coach.

Lopez has managed the Hooks for the past two seasons and has been in the Astros organization for 22 years. He won the Texas League Manager of the Year honors in 2018. Lopez is replacing former first base coach Don Kelly, who was hired by the Pittsburg Pirates as their new bench coach.

Gregorio Petit, 35, spent 15 seasons as a professional baseball player. The native of Venezuela was a versatile infielder that bounced back and forth between the Minors and the Majors from 2003-’18, only logging in six years in the big leagues. One of those years was with the Houston Astros in 2014.

Petit made just 37 appearances with the Astros and batted .278 with two homers, eight doubles, and nine RBIs in 97 at-bats. While playing for Houston’s AAA affiliate that season, he hit .297, knocked 10 homers, and drove in 43 runs making the Pacific Coast League Midseason All-Stars. His career slash line was .249/.294/.343 during his six-years in the Majors with five different teams. He played as recently as 2018 for the Minnesota Twins.

He will be joined by new hitting coach Jason Kanzler. He served the Advanced-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers last season in the same position. Kanzler spent three years in the Twins Minor League system, never making the step up to the Majors. The 29-year-old was an assistant coach at Katy High School for three seasons from 2016-’18.

We wish them both the best of luck as they lead some of Houston’s top prospects as they pass through their team on their way to becoming future stars for the Astros.