Astros rumors: Michael Brantley returning on 2-year deal

Astros rumors: Michael Brantley slides back home, according to reports

After reports earlier Wednesday indicating Michael Brantley had a deal in place to join the Toronto Blue Jays, reports that were later quashed, multiple sources have Houston Astros rumors reporting Brantley has agreed to a two-year, $32 million deal to remain with the Astros.

Free-agent outfielder George Springer left Houston and signed Tuesday night with the Blue Jays.

The Astros retaining Brantley was first reported by Mark Berman of KRIV Fox 26 in Houston.

That report was later echoed by ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Brantley originally came to the Astros in December 2018, signing a two-year, $32 million deal as a free agent after playing parts of 10 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. Originally drafted in 2005 by the Milwaukee Brewers, Brantley would up as the player to be named later in a July 2008 trade that sent CC Sabathia to Beer Town.

He was an All-Star in his first season in Houston, clubbing a career-high 22 home runs and driving in 90. In 148 games and 637 plate appearances, Brantley slashed .311/.372/.503, adding 40 doubles and two triples while scoring 88 runs. He had 51 walks and just 66 strikeouts.

Brantley had earlier been a three-time All-Star for Cleveland, finishing third in the AL MVP voting in 2014 before injuries derailed him for most of the 2016 season and a large chunk of 2017.

He is entering his age-34 season still in pursuit of his first World Series ring. He was not on Cleveland’s postseason roster when they lost to the Chicago Cubs in 2016, while he hit .321/.406/.321 in Houston’s seven-game loss to the Washington Nationals in 2019.

In the abbreviated 2020 season, Brantley appeared in 46 games, starting 26 as the designated hitter, 19 in left field and eight in right.

He slashed .300/.364/.476 — his third consecutive season hitting better than .300 — in 187 plate appearances, with 15 doubles, five homers and 22 RBI to go with 24 runs scored. He drew 17 walks and struck out 28 times.

Brantley is not likely a candidate to replace Springer in center field. While he has been a regular center fielder in his career, the last time was in 2012 and he hasn’t played the position at all since 2015, before sustaining shoulder (2016) and ankle (2017) injuries.

Brantley’s return would leave the Astros with two holes in the outfield. Besides Springer, right fielder Josh Reddick is a free agent, leaving only young Kyle Tucker from last season’s starting trio.

Manager Dusty Baker may opt to give Brantley more time in left field this season while shifting Tucker to right, where he played for much of his minor-league career, and give 26-year-old Miles Straw a shot at winning the center field job.

Straw, a 12th-round pick of the Astros in 2015, played in 33 games last season and made 18 starts in center field. In 86 plate appearances, he hit just .207/.244/.256 with four doubles, eight RBI and eight runs scored. He was also 6-for-8 as a base stealer, with four walks and 22 strikeouts.

He was a rookie in 2019 after playing in nine regular season games (and making the postseason roster) in 2018. In 2019, he hit .269/.378/.343 in 56 games and 128 plate appearances. He had four doubles, two triples and seven RBI, while scoring 27 runs and stealing eight bases in nine attempts. He walked 19 times and fanned 24.

He was left off the 2019 postseason roster, but was on the playoff roster in 2020. In eight career postseason games, he has appeared five times as a defensive replacement and three as a pinch-runner. He has yet to make a plate appearance.

Youngsters Abraham Toro and Yordan Alvarez, meanwhile, could be in the mix at DH.