Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment

The Astros have chosen the contract of right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, a transfer that was reported final night time. Proper-hander Wander Suero was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to open an energetic roster spot whereas utility participant Cooper Hummel was designated for task to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was amongst these to relay the record of transactions.

Hummel, 29, was simply claimed off waivers final week however the Astros have been coping with a notable roster churn of late. Every of Suero, Arrighetti and Blair Henley have been chosen to the 40-man up to now few days, which has squeezed Hummel out of his spot.

It’s been fairly a nomadic few months for Hummel, who was with the Mariners in 2023. Since December, he’s gone to the Mets, Giants and Astros through waiver claims or money offers. It’s attainable yet one more jersey swap is over the horizon, because the Astros will now have per week to commerce him or attempt to cross him by means of waivers.

His 227 main league plate appearances have resulted in an unimpressive batting line of .166/.264/.286 however he’s naturally been significantly better within the minors. From the beginning of 2021 by means of the current day, he has 992 Triple-A plate appearances. He has drawn a stroll in an enormous 17.3% of these whereas retaining his strikeout charge right down to a decent 21.2% charge. His mixed batting line of .287/.419/.488 in that point interprets to a wRC+ of 131.

Defensively, Hummel provides a novel degree of versatility, having spent vital time behind the plate in addition to the outfield corners, first base and even a small period of time at third base. He additionally has one possibility yr remaining, which suggests he may be saved in Triple-A for depth till wanted. With lower than a yr of service time, he’s nonetheless not near qualifying for arbitration or free company.

That mixture of his Triple-A offense, his defensive flexibility and his contract standing clearly makes him interesting to golf equipment, judging by what number of of them have tried to seize him because the finish of final yr. Taking all that into consideration, he could also be on the transfer but once more within the days to return. If he have been to lastly cross by means of waivers unclaimed, he would follow the Astros as non-roster depth, since he has neither the three years of service time nor the earlier profession outright that might give him the correct to elect free company.