WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ninety-nine days after instituting it, Major League Baseball’s owners were ready to lift their lockout Thursday, striking a deal with the players union on a new collective bargaining agreement to end the sport’s messiest labor dispute in 27 years.
The new agreement must still be ratified before baseball returns to something resembling standard operating procedure. Still, lifting the lockout allows teams to contact their players for the first time in more than two months and unfreezes transactions, meaning the next few weeks might be the most frenzied in baseball history.
Procedural rituals that occur in December or January must be handled in March. The Rule 5 draft needs to happen. Teams must exchange figures with their arbitration-eligible players, and Houston has six: pitchers Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Framber Valdez, Rafael Montero and Josh James along with utilityman Aledmys Díaz.
Teams that did little before the Dec. 2 lockout now have about 25 days to address their roster deficiencies. More than 100 free agents remain unsigned, none more prominent than Carlos Correa. Clubs committed to shedding payroll or rebuilding will trade their most valuable assets in hopes of securing a slew of prospects.
Couple all this with a condensed spring training scheduled to start in a few days, and the possibilities for chaos are endless. The Astros don’t project to be central figures in the frenzy, but their 2022 roster still has areas worth upgrading. Here’s where they stand headed to West Palm Beach.
What they did
Houston re-signed starter Justin Verlander and added veteran reliever Héctor Neris before the Dec. 2 lockout. Verlander gives them an established ace and adds to a starting pitching surplus. Neris provides another veteran relief option in a bridge to closer Ryan Pressly.
How much Verlander actually will pitch is a legitimate question. Given his greatness, doubting him does not seem wise, but facts are facts: Verlander is 39 years old and 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Teams often put innings limits on pitchers during their first seasons back from Tommy John. Expecting Verlander to throw 200 innings in 2022 might be foolish.
Whether Verlander will have a governor is a mystery. The Astros are armed with enough depth to compensate if he does. Lance McCullers Jr., Valdez, José Urquidy, Cristian Javier, Jake Odorizzi and Luis Garcia return. Houston easily could go to a six-man rotation at times to give Verlander extra rest.
McCullers’ murky status adds more intrigue. He intimated last month that, because of the lockout, he is behind in his recovery from the forearm strain that sidelined him in October. He declined to discuss his health during an interview with the Chronicle during labor negotiations, but McCullers’ status for opening day is, at best, questionable.
What they could do
Even if McCullers misses opening day, Houston seems to have enough starting pitching. The bullpen, outfield and shortstop seem more pressing needs — if they even can be called that. None of the three areas is in dire shape, but if the goal is to add depth or upgrade, they are the most obvious to address.
Shortstop will draw the most attention. Correa is now represented by Scott Boras but maintains the same request he’s had since last spring: a big, long contract. The Astros do not dole out the sort of free-agent deal he desires.
Unless either Correa or owner Jim Crane changes his longstanding belief, it’s hard to envision a reunion.
If Correa does not return, the team must decide how to proceed with top prospect Jeremy Peña. Because Peña is on the 40-man roster, he was subject to all lockout restrictions and not in minor league spring training. Coaches and team officials could not contact him or monitor his development.
Are the upcoming three weeks of spring training enough time to evaluate whether he’s ready to take the keys on opening day? If not, the Astros could turn to Díaz on a stopgap basis until Peña is ready, but that could force Houston into the open market for a utilityman/bench bat. Stopgap shortstops available on short-term deals include Jonathan Villar and Andrelton Simmons.
Houston lost three members of its playoff bullpen to free agency: Kendall Graveman, Yimi Garcia and Brooks Raley. Adding Neris helped offset that, but another addition might be prudent.
Manager Dusty Baker has long made known his desire for at least one lefthanded reliever in his bullpens. Raley’s departure leaves the team without one, though Maton has the sort of stuff that plays well against lefthanded hitters. If Houston does pursue a southpaw, Andrew Chafin, Jake Diekman and Brad Hand are among those available.
It’s unknown how Jake Meyers’ recovery from offseason shoulder surgery is progressing, but the Astros already announced in November that he will not be ready for opening day. His absence gives the team two options in center field: Play Chas McCormick every day or move Kyle Tucker there in Meyers’ absence.
Neither man is a natural center fielder, and for a team that is defensive-minded, it presents a problem. The Astros could sign a speedy defensive specialist to function as their fourth outfielder or stopgap starter until Meyers returns. Jose Siri still is on the 40-man roster as an option, too, but his wild inconsistency and free-swinging approach doesn’t make everyday playing time viable.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism