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In the "in case you missed it" section of Houston Astros news, spring training hero and all-around good guy Cooper Hummel is off to greener pastures after a roster crunch led to him being DFA'd earlier this month.
Hummel's impressive spring showing, which included a .316/.435/.447 line with five doubles and two steals over 46 plate appearances, wasn't enough to fend off younger players like Cam Smith and Zach Dezenzo for a roster spot as spring training came to a close.
Now he's moving on to new opportunities in the Bronx, being gobbled up by the New York Yankees on a minor league free-agent deal.
Cooper Hummell was cut loose despite a stellar spring for the Astros
Arriving in Houston around this time last year via waiver claim, the versatile 30-year-old tore up Triple-A Sugar Land posting a .277/.419/.454 slash line to go along with 10 homers and 15 steals, but managed just six games and eight plate appearances with the big-league club.
Major league opportunities have been scant for Hummel, despite regularly tearing up the minors with an intriguing combination of power, speed, and plate discipline. A late-bloomer, he made his debut in the bigs in 2022 as a 28-year-old, racking up 201 plate appearances in 61 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
During that campaign, he struggled registering a 31.8% K-rate while hitting just .176/.274/.307. He followed that up in 2023 with just 26 at-bats in 10 games for the Seattle Mariners before hitting waivers and landing in Houston's system last year.
Aside from the tools he's shown at the minor league level, versatility is a key component of the value that Hummel can provide. Over the years, he's logged significant time at catcher, first base, third base, and both corner outfield positions, making him a Swiss Army knife of sorts that increases his versatility even further with his ability to switch hit.
Former Astros utility player Cooper Hummel may crack the Yankees' big league roster this season
That versatility specifically is why Hummel may get an opportunity and actually stick in the Bronx. While his career Triple-A stat line, .285/.420/.480 over 331 games, is impressive, his inability to stick on a big league roster even at an advanced age pegs him as the quintessential Quad-A player.
The Yankees have a talented roster led by the reigning AL MVP, Aaron Judge, but lack depth at certain positions where Hummel could be of value. Their backup catcher, J.C. Escarra, was most recently an Uber driver and substitute teacher.
Elsewhere, New York has questions at third base where uninspiring options like Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Pablo Reyes reside. Furthermore, the Evil Empire is without the services of veterans like Giancarlo Stanton and D.J. LeMahieu, both of whom are currently confined to the injured list.
Hummel will likely get a shot, though all signs point to him being the same guy who tears up the minors but disappears in the majors. However, there's a chance the Yankees catch lightning in a bottle with the versatile utility man, and the Astros better hope letting him fall into a chief AL rival's lap doesn't come back to bite them.