Houston Astros: How the club will deal with Yuri Gurriel’s injury
By Kyle Cardoza
The Houston Astros already endured one major injury after the first few weeks of Spring Training. Now the team has to find a replacement for the next month or so.
A key Houston Astros player is already hurt less than a week since Spring Training games commenced. But the loss of infielder Yuli Gurriel provides hope for players in major league purgatory.
Now the focus is on which player will make the most of this opportunity.
Houston essentially had two roster spots – at most – up for graphs prior to Spring Training. Analysts dubbed Tony Sipp, Anthony Gose and Buddy Boshers as competitors for the pitching vacancy. Meanwhile, a handful of position players had a chance to snag the last opening.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch has a surfeit of options at his disposal to replace Gurriel as he recovers. And several of them have experience in the bigs – it varies player to player.
Exchanged emails with #Astros GM Luhnow who says anticipates Gurriel missing about 2 reg-season weeks and, thus, Hou plans to stay internal with a Davis, Reed, White. Me: I think Carlos Gonzalez would look fascinating there.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 28, 2018
Speculatively, A.J. Reed and Tyler White have a better chance based on their position, but that’s certainly not set in stone. J.D. Davis, Derek Fisher and Tony Kemp are all on the Spring Training roster, so they can definitely convince Hinch to keep them.
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Gurriel surely would occupy first base at the start of the season, but he won’t be back until mid-to-late-April thanks to his hamate bone surgery. The most rational way to resolve this issue would be to move Marwin Gonzalez to first in an everyday role. He seemed poised to start in left field on most days prior to this.
Nevertheless, if that does happen, Derek Fisher and Tony Kemp would have an advantage over the other minor-leagues. Both logged innings in the outfield, and they are more versatile. Reed and White hit well in Triple-A, but they can’t run or play multiple positions.
Houston could also choose to play Jake Marisnick, George Springer and Josh Reddick in the outfield for the time being. Yet, the club would still have to rely on the others mentioned on the bench and for starters’ days off.
Thus far, Reed and Kemp look atrocious at the plate. It is, however, still Spring Training, so anything and everything should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, they’ve played just five to six games, so there is time to improve.
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This problem ultimately seems insignificant. The Houston Astros possess one of the best lineups in the league, as well as an immense amount of depth. Considering that Gurriel should return before May, Houston likely won’t suffer in any way.