Houston Astros officially activate star outfielder, prospect option to Triple-A

Entering Tuesday’s slate of games, the Houston Astros looked much better compared to what they were putting on the field early in the season.

Winners of seven of their last 10 matches, they are starting to make up ground in the race for the division which places them in third place and just five out of first despite a slow start to the year.

What they needed was their starting pitching unit to be healthy.

This happened when Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier all returned to the rotation after various stints on the injured list.

However, they were still missing a piece from last season’s team that posted an American League-record seven straight ALCS appearances because Chas McCormick was sidelined with a hip injury. right hamstrings.

This is changing now as Chandler Rome Athleticism reported the Astros have officially activated the 29-year-old off the IL. They optioned Trey Cabbage to Triple-A to free up a roster spot.

McCormick was a breakout player for Houston in 2023 when he set career highs in home runs (22) and RBIs (70), while also producing his best slash line of .273/.353/.489.

He was thought to be a staple in their outfield moving forward, alongside Kyle Tucker in right and Jake Meyers in center, but things haven’t translated for him so far this season with a line slash line of just .236/.325/.278 and just three extra-base hits, no homers and eight RBIs in 21 games.

The Astros need his bat to wake up if they want to reach their ceiling.

He was huge for them at the back end of their lineup last year, being a consistent producer who elevated their overall offense as they didn’t always have to rely on their stars.

Cabbage was acquired during the offseason and was seen as someone who could be considered for their Major League roster after having a strong performance with the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.

But he only played in 10 games with Houston where he went 3-14 in his limited opportunities.

It will be interesting to see how the Astros use him as this roster recovers.