Astros add Lewis Brinson to bolster farm system depth

The Astros add outfielder Lewis Brinson on a minor-league deal for Triple-A depth.

Over the past year, the Houston Astros have promoted countless minor leaguers from their system to add to the depth of their active roster. With Myles Straw’s departure, the club was able to showcase their farm system depth with Chas McCormick and Jake Myers.

As the season wound down, the Astros also added Jose Siri to the 40-man roster, leaving a large hole in the Triple-A roster that had not been filled, until now. Michael Schwab reports, the Astros signed Lewis Brinson on Saturday to a minor-league deal, adding the former Miami Marlin to the farm system depth.

Brinson’s signing bolsters the newly named Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ roster. The former 2012 first-round pick by the Texas Rangers has a high ceiling that has never materialized, but his potential is real.

Through his two stints in the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers and Marlins, he is a career .199 hitter with .323 slugging and an OPS of .570, none of which will turn heads but his second half last year showed renewed strength.

Brinson slashed .228/.384/.656 in the second-half of the 2021 season with the Marlins, all of which greatly surpassed his career averages. The hope for Brinson could be a great potential star if he can continue to improve his approach hitting off-speed pitches and his strikeout rate.

Through four seasons with the Marlins, he hit 23 home runs in close to 1000 at-bats. The 27-year-old righty hits lefties a lot better than righties but still doesn’t have the splits to make it to a big league roster.

If Sugar Land can develop him like they did Meyers and Siri, we could see Brinson added to the 40-man roster and up at some point this season especially if there are injuries, or he could be added as trade option around the deadline. Either way, the Astros added a solid minor leaguer with plenty of big league experience to add depth to their farm system.

Astros Orbit:

Right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Catcher Robinson Chirinos also signed a one-year deal with the Orioles, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports.

Right-hander Vince Velasquez is in agreement to sign with the Chicago White Sox, Robert Murray of FanSided reports.

Astros minor-league outfielder Chandler Taylor voluntarily retired.