Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Utilityman Clears Waivers After Being DFA'd

The Houston Astros have made the decision to outright the contract of a utility player.
Dylan Sanders|
Apr 3, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Cooper Hummel (21) during
Apr 3, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Cooper Hummel (21) during | Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

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Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are making a roster move to keep someone around who was only on the roster for a week.

The constant churn of bringing in new pitchers to the team because of injuries has made one player's journey confusing so far.

The Astros claimed utility player Cooper Hummel off waivers on April 4, 2024. He was then designated for assignment less than a week later when the team had to select the contract of Spencer Arrighetti.

Hummel will not be on the 40-man roster, but after clearing waivers, he will be able to stay on their Triple-A roster in Sugar Land.

The 29-year-old was drafted in the 18th round of he 2016 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his major league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022. He was then traded to the Seattle Mariners.

Hummel mostly played in the minor league system for the Mariners, with just 10 games played in Seattle.

The switch-hitter was then claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. After a month in the system, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. Now, this saga has happened. He will land on the Sugar Land Space Cowboys roster off of the 40-man.

Hummel hasn't found much success at the plate in the MLB with a line of .166/.192/.130 for his career 227 plate appearances. He has more acceptable numbers for his minor league tenure, but it hasn't really transferred over yet.

He offers a unique versatility. He's played mostly catcher and in the outfield, but also has some experience on the infield corners.

At worst, this seems like an easy guy to keep around in case something happens.

He has a lot of versatility, Houston will just need to hope his his bat will wake up.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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