This Astros player all but officially played his way off the roster as Houston enters home stretch

As the Houston Astros head down the home stretch, with 21 games remaining after today's series finale with the Chicago White Sox, they find themselves in a dogfight with the Texas Rangers for the AL West. This is a time when the Astros need to be all in, and the best/hottest players should be on the roster to give the team it's best chance to win every night.

Jake Meyers is not one of those best players. Somehow, he is on the roster.

Meyers has been nothing short of dreadful this season. He is batting a career-worst .213 this season, with a career-worst .268 OBP and Maldy-esque .594 OPS in 141 AB. While he gave the Astros career-best numbers last season (.292 AVG, .354 OBP) as well as a .727 OPS, he had not come close to breaching those numbers at any point over the previous 3 seasons. After last season, I posited on AREA45 on then-Sportsradio 610 (now 95.7 The Fan) Houston that the Astros should trade him as his value would never be higher.

Today, his value has never been lower.

In fact, Meyers was demoted to Triple-A Sugar Land on July 4 because of how poorly he has hit this season. He was briefly recalled August 7, but optioned back August 11 to make room for OF Nelson Velazquez.

So when rosters expanded September 1 and the Astros had the ability to add another bat (operative word: BAT), they somehow decided to recall Meyers. Meyers hasn't had anything close to a bat this season.

If the Astros thought sending him to Triple-A to find his swing would help, it did not. Jake hit .231 with a .295 OBP and .643 OPS in the very hitter-friendly PCL over 121 AB.

It should also be noted that after Jake returned from injury last season in September, he went 11x54 (.204) with a .271 OBP and .475 OPS. The bloom was off the rose, and the whole organization either knew it or should have known it.

To make matters worse, Jake hasn't been the strong defensive force he once was either. While not venturing into below average territory, Meyers this season is worth only 2 OAA (outs above average) in CF this season. For comparison, Daulton Varsho is worth the same 2 OAA in his one month with the team, and Brice Matthews was worth 3 OAA in CF this season for the Astros.

Meyers weak arm only ranks in the 23rd percentile on Statcast. He also grades to a -2 baserunning run value.

Meyers brings nothing to the table the Astros don't already have in any positive fashion, and he only plays CF.

If the team needed another OF, Joey Loperfido would have been a better choice. Loperfido can play all 3 OF positions, and he has hit markedly better than Meyers at Sugar Land. Loperfido is batting .280 with a .380 OBP and .782 OPS in 189 AB for the Space Cowboys.

While Loperfido hasn't hit a bunch of HR, he does have 14 2B in that stretch, along with 27 walks and has stolen 7 bases in 8 attempts. Loperfido may be a bench player, but he is certainly a better bench player than Jake Meyers.

How long Meyers stays on the active roster remains to be seen. He is certainly a name to watch to be moved in the offseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow