HOT STOVE
Houston Astros decide the fate of two World Series roster players
Nov 9, 2022, 10:10 am
Trey Mancini is now a free agent. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
Bench Dusty
The Houston Astros have decided to decline a mutual option for DH/1B Trey Mancini. Mancini is now a free agent, with the Astros opting for the $250,000 buyout.
Add 1B Trey Mancini and LHP Will Smith to the Astros’ free agent list. Both had options for 2023 that weren’t picked up. Mancini had a $10 million option for ’23 (with a $250,000 buyout) and Smith had a $13 million option for ’23 (with $1 million buyout).
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) November 9, 2022
Astros relief pitcher Will Smith is now a free agent as well, with the team declining his $13 million option. Smith's struggles continued after being traded to Houston at the trade deadline in a deal that sent starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi to the Atlanta Braves. Houston hoped to correct some of Smith's issues, as he was ineffective with Atlanta in 2022, but unfortunately a change of scenery wasn't enough to get Smith back on track. He finished the season with a 3.97 ERA, and didn't see any action in the postseason.
Trey Mancini was a different story, much was expected of him when he was traded to the Astros from the Orioles, where he was batting .268 on the season. After coming to Houston, Mancini batted under .200 and was unable to provide the offensive output the team had hoped for.
Mancini was able to contribute in the postseason with his glove, however, after Yuli Gurriel was injured in Game 5 of the World Series, and he had to step in and play first base. Trey made a game-saving play at first base in Game 5 and recorded a hit in Game 6 contributing to the Astros World Series win over the Phillies.
These are just the first two dominoes to fall as the Astros have more decisions to make in free agency with several key players.
Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel, Rafael Montero, just to name a few.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.
Houston led by 14 before falling behind late to set up the thrilling finish.
Houston trailed by six with about 1 1/2 minutes left before Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds to go to cut the lead to one.
Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.
The Warriors had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski’s 3-point attempt.
Takeaways
Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry before losing Wednesday in a game where he had 19 points.
Rockets: This young team showed poise in finishing this one after squandering a double-digit lead.
Key moment
Green’s hustle on getting the ball late to draw the foul to set up the winning free throws.
Key stat
Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.
Up next
While Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, the Warriors will return to regular-season play Sunday at Dallas.