Astros leave Meetings with new reliever, clarity at two positions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- While they added to their bullpen competition by trading for relief pitcher Dylan Coleman from the Royals on Wednesday, the Astros also offered some clarity to their center field and catching situations at the Winter Meetings.

The Astros reached a two-year, $12 million deal with free-agent catcher Victor Caratini, according to a source, meaning he’ll serve as the backup to newly minted starter Yainer Diaz. The club hasn’t confirmed the deal, which was pending a physical. Meanwhile, general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that Jake Meyers would begin the season as the starter in center field, with Chas McCormick getting most of the starts in left field.

With that, the Astros left the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center feeling better about their club than they did when they arrived and could be done with any impact moves.

WHAT THEY ACCOMPLISHED

The Astros made a trade on the final day of the Winter Meetings to acquire Coleman, who had a solid 2022 for the Royals but suffered a velocity drop last season and wound up pitching most of the year in Triple-A. He’ll be thrown into the bullpen competition in the spring, with hopes he can recapture his '22 form.

After losing three key relievers to free agency -- Hector Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek -- the Astros chose to spend money at catcher and will explore their internal options to compete for bullpen spots in ’24. That list includes Seth Martinez, Oliver Ortega, Ronel Blanco, Forrest Whitley, Shawn Dubin and lefties Parker Mushinski and Bennett Sousa.

The Astros will return closer Ryan Pressly and have a dominant setup man in Bryan Abreu. They also have a healthy Kendall Graveman to help anchor the bullpen, along with veteran Rafael Montero. If a couple of the internal candidates can fill the void left by Neris, Maton and Stanek, the Astros will be thrilled. If not, they’ll likely have to search for trade options as the summer progresses.

Coleman, 27, appeared in 96 games in the past three seasons, including 68 games in 2022, when he posted a 2.78 ERA. Last season, he walked 19 batters in 18 1/3 big league innings. He has options, which gives the Astros flexibility. He hasn’t always been in sync with his delivery, but the Astros will try to get him back on track.

RULE 5 DRAFT

The Astros didn’t take any players or lose any players in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. In the Triple-A phase, they selected a pair of right-handed pitchers: Railin Perez from the Red Sox organization and Carlos Betancourt from the Phillies organization. Both will help fill out the rosters at the lower levels of the Minor Leagues.

The Astros lost three players in the Minor League phase: right-handed pitcher Tyler Brown went to the Guardians, righty Kervin Castro went to the Yankees and outfielder Marty Costes went to the Marlins. Brown was a third-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2020 who spent most of last year at Double-A; Castro was just signed to a Minor League deal by Houston in November; Costes, a 22nd-round pick in 2018, will turn 28 on Dec. 18.

GM’S BOTTOM LINE

With new manager Joe Espada at the helm, the Astros will be a force in the American League again in 2024 with most of their key performers returning. Star players Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are facing free agency after next season, and All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and All-Star pitcher Framber Valdez will be free agents after the '25 season.

Keeping the window of contention open will be a challenge to Brown, who came from the Atlanta organization that made locking up its core players a priority. He’d like to be able to do that in Houston. That’s a goal that will continue as the winter progresses and into next season.

“Philosophically, that was one of the things that I felt we did well in Atlanta,” Brown said. “We started early and so we’ll try that when we could here. If it makes sense for the organization, we’ll do it. But we want to keep our team together, ultimately. You’re winning, you’re going deep into the CS every year, you want to keep this club together. You try to do whatever you have to do to keep it together.”