Joe Espada’s description of Mike Burrows at camp was truly bizarre (and awesome)

This is absolutely the time of year when the Houston Astros and every other team in the league oversells their players and teams. Everyone is at 0-0, and there haven't been many reasons for skepticism yet. You will find no shortage of variations of "I'm in the best shape of my life" coming from every single spring training camp around the league. However, Astros manager Joe Espada's description of Mike Burrows is one that most fans probably haven't heard before.

When the Astros traded for Burrows, it was the result of a long-held fascination with him. Houston was not shy in coveting Burrows, and they were able to finally get the deal done thanks to a three-team swap with the Pirates and Rays. While some were skeptical of Burrows on paper, Houston seemed convinced of his stuff and their ability to make changes that could unlock him even further.

On top of that, Burrows has the mentality that the Astros love. In Espada's own words, when describing Burrows, he said that the righty "got a little bit of red-ass in him, which I like a lot.” That somewhat NSFW description may require some explanation.

Mike Burrows is impressing down at Astros camp on a number of levels

Now, the term "red-ass" isn't one that is widely used or known outside of certain sports circles, but we promise it is a good thing. As Burrows himself explained, it simply means that he is very competitive and fiery when he is on the mound. The vast majority of the time, this is a trait that serves players extremely well, although it can lead to conflicts escalating in the most extreme cases.

That said, Burrows seems to be exactly the kind of guy the Astros wanted. Houston is uniquely good at identifying players that they can get to make adjustments in order to extract even more value out of, with Yusei Kikuchi being one clear example from the past. The Astros are having him add a pitch (probably), and thankfully, it sounds like Burrows has the mindset to successfully pull it off. At minimum, it doesn't sound like not putting in the work to make it happen is going to be much of a problem.

Usually, teams have to go out and bring in a seasoned veteran to add this type of edge to a clubhouse. That the Astros were able to do so while also getting a 26-year-old with a live arm who isn't even arbitration-eligible yet is pretty remarkable. Competitive fire is no guarantee of success in the game of baseball, as it is a really hard game, but it sure does help.