Astros’ pitching plans may have alienated one new arrival before season started

The Houston Astros are no strangers to making choices that their players don't like or agree with. Most famously was the saga that unfolded when the Astros signed Josh Hader and effectively demoted Ryan Pressly. Ultimately, the relationship between the two sides remained strained, and Houston ultimately decided to trade Pressly to the Cubs to resolve the situation and clear some salary. Unfortunately, a somewhat similar situation could be unfolding with new addition, Ryan Weiss.

Weiss joined the Astros this past offseason after a successful stint in the KBO. Upon his entry into the pool of free agents, many considered Weiss to be one of the bigger potential bargains among the free agent rotation arms. When Houston landed him, it was assumed that he would play a role in their rotation plans.

Unfortunately, the Astros instead decided to start Weiss in the bullpen for now. While there are roster-building and baseball reasons for Houston to do that, the problem is that Weiss had been adamant that he wants to start, and that could prove problematic.

Ryan Weiss immediately getting pushed to the bullpen by the Astros is asking for trouble

In all likelihood, everyone is going to play nice in public here. The Astros will make some vague statements about talking to Weiss about the move and wanting to make the moves that give the best chance for the team to succeed over a long season. Weiss will probably say that he was disappointed, but that he just wants to help the team win.

It is probably best not to believe either side for now in terms of public statements. Houston is clearly just wanting as many bullpen arms that can go multi-innings as possible while trying to get some sort of value out of Lance McCullers Jr. in the rotation. Weiss' previous declarations that he wanted to be a starter tell us all we need to know and may explain why his previous preferences keep getting mentioned by Astros beat writers.

Unfortunately, Weiss has very little leverage here. He isn't making enough money, nor does he have the track record to force the issue beyond a strongly worded email. Weiss also has a $5 million club option that will almost certainly get exercised if he pitches well, whether it be in the bullpen or the rotation. However, this is not an auspicious start to Weiss' time with the Astros, and other free agents may take notice of how he was treated when evaluating their options in the coming years.