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Facing a crunch with several players set to come off the 60-day injured list and be added to the 40-man roster, the Astros cut ties with five players Monday. That includes veteran starting pitcher José Urquidy, who was outrighted and became a free agent.

Urquidy has three World Series wins under his belt for the Astros, but he couldn¡¯t stay healthy in recent years and underwent a second Tommy John surgery on June 5.

The Astros cleared four additional spots by outrighting right-hander Oliver Ortego, who was injured all last year. Right-handers Seth Martinez (D-backs) and Penn Murfee (White Sox) and outfielder Trey Cabbage (Pirates) were claimed off waivers. Like Ortega, the injured Murfee never appeared in a game for the Astros.

Meanwhile, right-handers J.P. France, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. and left-hander Bennett Sousa were activated from the 60-day IL. And the club filled out its 40-man roster by acquiring outfielder Taylor Trammell from the Yankees in exchange for cash. The Astros could clear more 40-man spots ahead of the Nov. 19 deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.

¡°Roster moves are always difficult,¡± Astros general manager Dana Brown said. ¡°You have to do them because you have to continue to think about the future of the club. They¡¯re always difficult to make, particularly when you¡¯ve had guys around for a long time [like Urquidy and Martinez]. It makes it more difficult.¡±

Brown arrived in San Antonio on Monday for the annual General Managers Meetings, which serves as a primer for next month¡¯s Winter Meetings in Dallas.

¡°First of all, the big thing is getting in front of some of the agents and having some good conversations and also talking to some of the other clubs,¡± Brown said. ¡°Of course, the main goal is to see what we can do this offseason to improve the roster to get back to the postseason. That¡¯s the whole purpose.¡±

Brown said Monday he¡¯s had multiple conversations with Scott Boras, the agent for Alex Bregman, about the free-agent third baseman returning to the Astros.

¡°We¡¯re optimistic that we¡¯ll get something done and I¡¯m sure Bregman likes playing here,¡± Brown said. ¡°We love having him. We just going to continue to have conversations.¡±

Trammell, 27, split his 2024 season between the Dodgers' and Yankees' organizations -- the two teams that made the World Series. He played in five games for each team, but spent the majority of his year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees' system. He played in 106 games, hitting .256 with 20 doubles, 18 homers, 63 RBIs, a .381 OBP and .869 OPS.

¡°This is an opportunity to add a left-handed bat with some power,¡± Brown said. ¡°He¡¯s a former first-round pick and was a pretty good prospect at one point. He¡¯s trending in the right direction. Hopefully, he¡¯s going to turn the corner here.¡±

Trammell has a .633 OPS in 126 career Major League games for the Mariners (2021-23), Dodgers and Yankees. He was selected by the Reds with the 35th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.