Houston Astros add seven to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft Deadline - MLB News
The Houston Astros added seven players to their 40 man roster to protect them from potentially being lost to other teams during the Rule 5 draft. The team out-righted infielder Scott Moore to Triple-A Oklahoma. The left-handed relief pitcher Mickey Storey
was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees.
Those who were added to the 40 man roster, which now stands at 36 after the current moves, include infielder Jonathan Villar, outfielder Robbie Grossman, right-handed pitchers Chia-Jen Lo and Jose Cisnero, left-hander Brett Oberholtzer, Ross Seaton and Jarred
Cosart.
The ball club right now has a fair space for free agents and it will be interesting to see what picks will be made. So far, the Astros have adopted the wait and see policy and are in no rush to signing players available in the free agent market.
The club did not give any indication if there was any serious contender they are in talks with and are looking to sign. Jeff Luhnow, the Houston Astros’ general manager said that they are in contact with several guys but they will not be closing deals with
them any time soon.
“We have had several conversations with numerous agents about numerous types of players but nothing’s close at this point,” Luhnow said.
Lance Berkman appears to be the only name that has been associated with the Astros. Lance is also being considered by a number of other teams and unless the Houston ball club brings serious money to table, he may not be signed.
Luhnow said his team is looking to build depth in its roster and they may lose some guys along the way.
"We're at the point now as an organisation we are starting to build some depth, so you are risking losing some guys by leaving them off the 40-man," Jeff said. "We felt good about the guys we added."
There were other young players who were not protected by the team including outfielder Marc Krauss and pitchers Jason Stoffel and Josh Zeid.
Houston Astros will be getting the first picks in the draft as they ended at the bottom of MLB table in 2012, for a second year running. They are looking to get some good names added to their ranks during the draft in December.
"Theoretically, we should have access to the best available player that's not going to be on the 40-man roster during the Rule 5 Draft and we plan to take advantage of that opportunity," Jeff said.
It is yet to be seen as to what will be the final shape of the 40 man roster for the Astros. They certainly have some space and can add value to it by signing players intelligently.
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