Houston makes flurry of 40-man moves

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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.