Abreu, Mayfield optioned; James on bullpen

The Astros reduced their roster down to the 28-man limit that was required by Major League Baseball on Thursday by optioning right-hander Bryan Abreu and infielder Jack Mayfield to the alternate training site, though both will remain with the club on the taxi squad during the road trip. The taxi squad also includes catcher Michael Papierski.

Abreu, who made his Major League debut last year and was part of the team’s American League Championship Series roster, has appeared in four games in 2020, walking seven hitters and striking out three in 3 1/3 innings. Last year, he struck out 13 and walked three in 8 2/3 regular-season innings with the big league club.

“He needed a break to get his head together,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Things snowballed negatively -- the same things that can snowball positively. We talked to him yesterday, and he said he was thinking while he was throwing. It’s almost impossible to do both at the same time. You’ve got to practice, practice, practice until your muscles memorize it, and then go out there and be as natural as possible.”

Baker said Abreu was putting too much pressure on himself and also reported to Summer Camp overweight and out of shape.

“It’s hard to get into shape and also perform at the same time,” he said.

Mayfield, meanwhile, went 1-for-4 with a run scored in two games in 2020.

James on move to bullpen
Expressing disappointment over being moved from the rotation to the bullpen earlier this week, right-hander Josh James said the decision was “self-inflicted.” James won a rotation spot to begin the season, and he lasted three innings in both starts, walking 11 batters while allowing seven earned runs and striking out nine in six innings.

“If I pitched a little bit better, I’d still be in the rotation,” James said. “To be honest, I’ve always been, as you guys know, a team player. So whatever the team needs, and right now it seems to be in the bullpen, I’m OK with that decision. It was a little disappointing.”

James, who can touch 100 mph with his fastball in a relief role, will give the Astros another veteran arm in the bullpen to go along with All-Star Ryan Pressly. Houston’s bullpen has been decimated by injuries, at one point carrying 10 rookies. James spent the entire 2019 season in relief and averaged 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

James said he just needs a solid outing or two to get some momentum.

“I didn’t do a good job of challenging guys, and a lot of it came because of not being able to throw offspeed pitches for strikes,” James said. “I do that and they have to respect it and I get swings and misses, even on a bad slider. My mechanics, I feel great. I’ve got to do a better job of landing that offspeed.”

Emanuel suspended 80 games
Astros pitcher Kent Emanuel, a lefty drafted in 2013 who is on the 40-man roster, received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. MLB made the announcement Thursday.

Emanuel, 28, spent the entire 2019 season at Triple-A Round Rock, going 8-2 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He came to Spring Training with an outside shot at winning a spot in Houston’s bullpen, which lacks lefty depth, but battled an elbow injury. He was the only player on the team’s 40-man roster not invited to the Astros’ 60-man player pool.

Through the Major League Baseball Players Association, Emanuel released the following statement: “I do not know how 7 picograms of the long-term metabolite of DHCMT got into my system, but I know I have never knowingly or intentionally taken oral turinabol.”

The suspension is effective Thursday.

Worth noting
• Designated hitter Yordan Alvarez -- the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner -- is taking batting practice and running at the team’s alternate training site in Corpus Christi, Texas, Baker said. Meanwhile, right-hander José Urquidy threw off a mound for the first time this week in Corpus Christi since he and Alvarez went on the injured list July 12 for undisclosed reasons. Still, Baker lamented that “the cavalry's a ways off.”

• Prior to pitching the ninth inning of Houston's 5-4 walk-off loss to Arizona on Thursday, Pressly had appeared in only one of the Astros’ first 11 games. Baker maintained that the veteran reliever wasn't hurt; the manager said he wanted to find a spot to use Pressly without having him unavailable for a close game. Pressly, who gave up the game-winning two-run double to Kole Calhoun, dealt with a sore elbow early in the season.