Dana Brown's comments on Astros' outfield situation ignore team's harsh reality

The Houston Astros outfield underperformed in 2024. Granted, the team lost a ton of production while All-Star slugger Kyle Tucker was on the injured list, but the rest of the Astros' outfield was a mess throughout the season as well.

Two of the biggest culprits were Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick. Things got so bad for McCormick that he was actually optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. The tandem continue to flash the leather, as they have in years past, but neither player performed well in the batter's box.

Obviously both the fans and media recognized the duo's struggles last season, and with both players due a raise through the arbitration process, the topic of non-tendering both Meyers and McCormick came up during the GM Meetings. Dana Brown, however, still maintains a rather optimistic opinion when it comes to the two outfielders.

Dana Brown's comments on Astros' outfield situation ignores their harsh reality

Brown was asked directly about whether or not the Astros had plans to tender contracts to both Meyers and McCormick for the upcoming season. "Yeah," Brown said, "I mean, McCormick had a down year. McCormick is a good player and we expect him to come back and get to a .750 OPS or better."

Though Brown didn't reference Meyers directly, the Astros GM did speak about the need to get more production from the outfield and suggested the idea of platooning players.

Brown mentioned targeting a left-handed hitting outfield to play alongside McCormick, which is something the Astros once had in Joey Loperfido. Unfortunately, the former Astros prospect will be suiting up for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025 after being part of the Yusei Kikuchi trade package.

The harsh reality facing the Astros this offseason is that hanging onto McCormick and Meyers may be Houston's best bet, given the team's financial constraints (especially while trying to keep Alex Bregman). But Meyers has proven year after year that he's a below-average hitter. The 28-year-old has a career 86 OPS+.

McCormick didn't just have a down year; he had an awful year. McCormick's OPS+ dropped nearly 70 points last season and his slugging percentage was way down. The outfielder's barrel rate and whiff rate dropped, and his strikeout rate rose. And while McCormick has a good glove in left field, his below average arm and subpar speed make his overall defense marginal at best.

Brown is at least pondering the idea of adding left-handed hitting outfielder, and perhaps that will come in the form of top prospect Jacob Melton. The former second-round pick posted decent numbers in the minors last season and is sure to be a non-roster invitee this spring when the Astros descend on West Palm Beach, Florida.

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