Astros sign second baseman Rodgers to Minors deal
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros added another player to their infield mix, signing second baseman Brendan Rodgers to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The team announced the deal on Friday.
Rodgers has spent his entire career with the Rockies and won the National League Gold Glove at second base in 2022. Last year, he appeared in 135 games and hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs for Colorado. Rodgers was the third pick in the 2015 MLB Draft behind Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, the former Astros third baseman who signed with Boston last week.
The addition of Rodgers gives the Astros another option to start at second base in place of Jose Altuve, who will be tried out in left field by the team this spring. Houston signed veteran infielder Luis Guillorme to a Minor League deal last week, and utility player Mauricio Dub¨®n can also play second base.
Rodgers, 28, has slashed .266/.316/.409 with 45 homers and 197 RBIs in 452 career games with the Rockies. He¡¯s played exclusively at second base in the past three seasons, though he has 36 games in his career at shortstop in addition to 411 games at second base.
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Altuve, who won his only Gold Glove at second base in 2015, has slipped defensively in recent years. His outs above average, which peaked at plus-6 in 2018, dropped from plus-1 in '22 to minus-3 in ¡¯23 and minus-9 last year, which was the second-worst among qualifying second basemen. He had a minus-13 defensive runs saved in ¡¯23 and ¡¯24 and minus-15 in ¡®22.
The Astros are trying Altuve out in left field, where there¡¯s an opening with slugger Yordan Alvarez moving into a full-time designated hitter role. The addition of Rodgers should make it easier for the Astros to play Altuve in left field if they think he¡¯s capable of handling the position.