The Houston Astros might carry an all-righty bullpen this year
Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch is running out of options. Among several left-handed relievers that entered camp, just Tony Sipp remains. But he might stay on the roster for long, meaning the team’s pen could look unique.
Matchups dictate how managers in the MLB construct and utilize their bullpens. But the Houston Astros, who currently have two left-handed pitchers on their roster, might employ a different strategy this year.
Opening Day is still a few weeks away, and Houston already exhausted a majority of its southpaw relief options. Thus, manager A.J. Hinch might lead the team into the new campaign with strictly righties in the pen.
The early weeks of Spring Training acted as a tryout for a medley of pitchers. The Astros entered March with a multitude of left-handers, taking chances on inexperienced guys like Anthony Gose and more tenured arms like Buddy Boshers. It didn’t take long for Hinch to whittle down his list to a single guy.
Tony Sipp remains as the last man standing, but even he hasn’t looked utterly sharp – not since 2015, a career year. He’s not locked into a spot just yet, as David Paulino, James Hoyt, and Frances Martes all have legitimate shots to claim the opening.
If Hinch decides to leave Sipp out of the loop, chaos will not ensue. Houston possesses a surplus of serviceable hurlers at this point, each with a particular role.
Colin McHugh and Brad Peacock serve as long relievers, while newcomers Hector Rondon and Joe Smith look like possible seventh- and eight-inning men. Will Harris and Ken Giles retain their former positions, and Chris Devenski is once again the team’s Swiss army knife.
Despite ranking 17th in ERA last year, relievers fared well enough to contribute to a World Series championship. Yet just two bullpen guys dominated left-handed hitters – Giles and Devenski.
Sipp has done well out of the pen in his career, surprisingly better against right-handed hitters compared to lefties. However, his splits are very similar nonetheless.
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But the 34-year-old has been one of the worst pitchers on the Astros during the past two years. His ERA sat near 5.00 in 2016, and it was even worse last season at 5.79.
A significant reason for his decline was his vulnerability to the long ball and his control issues. After improving with his command in 2014 and 2015, he yielded 3.7 and 3.9 walks per nine innings the past two years, respectively. His strikeout rate lowered in that span as well.
Sipp may have experienced his peak already, but it seems that Luhnow and Hinch will allow him one last chance. The front office – and Sipp – hopes he can return to his 2015 form. Looking at his trends, it may be too late.
Overall, Houston held left-handers to a lower triple-slash mark compared to right-handers, but that includes starters’ stats as well. And the Astros shouldn’t keep Sipp just to have a southpaw on the roster for the later innings.
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However, with the matchup-obsessed game plan managers take nowadays, Hinch may be motivated to keep him in the bigs, unless he gets shelled or another lefty in the minors works their way up.
At this point, it shouldn’t matter too much. But that could change once the season begins.