The Crawfish Boxes

Abraham Toro | Photo by Tim Warner/ While it’s not quite the answer to life, the universe, and everything, it is, in fact, chapter XLII of Everystros. Welcome to the Weekend Boil. Although nothing as heady as the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, we do in fact have the 42nd chapter of Everystros on tap. Houston Astros News Injuries & Moves: Astros sign veteran catcher Caratini Astros agree to deal with Caratini, bolster catching depth Houston Astros players among several A-listers attending 2024 Celebrity Golf Classic in Florida hosted by Reggie...

Photo by Logan Riely/ The Astros may have found something if the recently acquired right-hander from Kansas City is healthy once again. With seemingly limited financial resources this offseason, the Astros are now navigating how to improve a roster without spending too much. It's an easier said than done kind of job. While the main core of the roster is only a year removed from winning the World Series, there were losses on the margins. That same core has also become increasingly expensive, especially as Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker become one year closer to their...

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports On December 5th, the Astros signed catcher Victor Caratini to a two year, $12 million dollar contract. Most Astros fans will be elated to not have to see Martin Maldonado take important plate appearances in 2024. Managers will always make sub-optimal decisions, but seeing Dusty Baker start Maldy in almost every playoff game last year was probably one of the most mind boggling decisions I’ve ever seen, and that is coming from a guy who has worked for the government. Adding Victor Caratini gives the Astros a lot of depth at backstop and...

Seth Martinez | Photo by Logan Riely/ It’s your Thursday Boil, plus Everystros XLI. Welcome to the Thirsty Thursday Boil. Your Thursday Boil comes with news, birthdays, and the 41st part of our Everystros. Houston Astros News New skipper Espada looks ahead to 2024 With moves on the periphery, Astros roster taking shape after Winter Meetings (The Athletics) Astros reach 2-year deal with C Victor Caratini (WKZO) Era of excellence: The pinnacle of Houston sports history unveiled (SportsMap) Houston Astros: Two added, three lost in minor-league Rule 5 draft (Houston...

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Once again, the Astros, like most contenders, passed on the big league phase of the Rule 5 draft, but the team did make a selection in the minor league phase. The Astros joined over half the league in passing on the big league phase of the Rule 5 draft, and also avoided losing any players as top candidates Shay Whitcomb and Justin Dirden went unselected. There was more action in the Triple-A phase, in both directions- Cleveland selected Astros righthander Tyler Brown, a 3rd round pick in 2020 out of Vanderbilt. Brown’s pitch data has...

Yordan Alvarez scores in ALCS game 6. He is again projected as the Astros’ top batting threat. | Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports A look at preliminary ZIPS projections for the Astros Fangraphs has begun releasing ZIPS 2024 projections for each team. The Astros 2024 projections were released last week. At this point, the projections are preliminary, since teams have not yet completed their off-season player acquistions. Team composition may change in the coming months, but these projections give us a good starting point for estimating how teams will perform in 2024. ...

Oct 8, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Jon Singleton (28) before game two of the ALDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs against the Minnesota Twins at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea | Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports See how the first base position played out down on the farm. Now that the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system during the 2023 season. This week we will look at the first base position. Previous Positions: Catcher TOP PERFORMERS J.J. Matijevic Matijevic has been in the system since 2017. This...

Enoli Paredes (right) and Korey Lee. | Photo by Bob Levey/ Your midweek Boil, along with Everystros XL. Welcome to your midweek Boil. Houston Astros News Astros want Meyers to stick in center field Jake Meyers to man center field as Astros’ outfield picture clears up (The Athletic) Astros’ Winter Meeting plans | 12/05/2023 | Houston Astros Astros pitchers Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia playing catch again (Houston Chronicle) AL West News Oakland Athletics — Forst admits A’s 2024 MLB draft lottery result ‘stinks’ (Yahoo Sports) Seattle Mariners —...

Vince Velasquez | Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ Waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Crawfish Boil for Tuesday features all of your normal accoutrements, including Chapter 39 of Everystros. Houston Astros News The Astros aren’t trading Alex Bregman. So what else can they do? (The Athletic) Let’s examine if the Astros should sign flamethrower Jordan Hicks (SportsMap) AL West News Los Angeles Angels — Angels ready to be aggressive at Meetings Oakland Athletics — David Forst cites A’s relocation as factor in free agent talks Texas Rangers —...

Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via There is so much quality baseball content nowadays that it is hard to squeeze all of your reading into a single day. Or a couple of days. Heck, sometimes even within a week or two. Personally, if I don’t have time at that moment, I copy the URL link and add it to my queue for future reading. An article that I find interesting today will likely remain so in, say, March. I only somewhat exaggerate about the timeline. But there are instances when someone’s material will become a higher priority whenever there is a free...

Ronel Blanco | Photo by Duane Burleson/ Welcome back to the Boil. Houston Astros News Astros’ new execs prep for Winter Meetings Astros, Diamondbacks Interested In Tucker Barnhart (MLBTR) The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are interested in Dominican Domingo Germán (East Africa News Post) MLB rumors: Astros don’t want to trade Alex Bregman, but there’s a catch (ClutchPoints) All Astros’ fans want for Christmas… (Chipalatta) AL West News Oakland Athletics — Much At Stake This Week For The “99 Cent Store” A’s (Athletics Nation) Texas Rangers —...

C.J. Fick, Houston Astros It’s the 37th chapter of the Everystros Countdown. Everystros Countdown, Chapter XXXVII This offseason, I’m running down all 975 players to appear on the field in a Houston Astros regular season game. We’re still in the fourth bracket of such players, those who collected between 101 and 500 plate transactions with the team. In today’s chapter, we’re looking at Astros who were replacement level while with the team and between 103 and 204 Astros PA/BF. We also reach the midpoint of the countdown. 495. George Throop is a...

Scott Kazmir | Set Number: X160024 TK1 Welcome to the 36th chapter of the Everystros Countdown. Everystros XXXVI 506. Roberto Hernández is a six-foot-four right-handed pitcher from Santo Domingo, DR. Born on August 30, 1980, he was formerly also known as Fausto Carmona. He reached the majors for the first time in 2006, then in his first two seasons was 1-10 and 19-8 respectively. The 20-win differential may be the greatest one-season swing for a pitcher ever. It’s the biggest I can remember seeing anyway. Hernández pitched for seven seasons with the Tribe (53-69,...

Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports If his manager had no faith in him, why should the ROY voters? Earlier this week, I published an article arguing that rookie Yainer Diaz showed remarkable adaptability during the course of his 377 plate appearances this year. His obvious Achilles heel was his tendency to swing wildly outside the strike zone, although somehow this did not translate into a high K%. He did show improved plate discipline as the season progressed. It seems I put the cart before the horse. I did not anticipate that I would need to argue that he was an excellent,...

Alex Bregman | Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/MLB Photos via Thanks for joining our Friday Boil. Welcome to the weekend! Houston Astros News Astros mailbag: Trades, extensions and a new manager’s tendencies (The Athletic) From award-winning salsas to family horse racing: The diverse business portfolio of Astros superstar Alex Bregman (Sportskeeda) Astros offseason primer: 5 burning questions, including how aggressively will they reload? (FOX Sports) How the Houston Astros are finally feeling the sting from MLB’s hypocrisy (SportsMap) Pirates hire Astros research,...