ROSTERS ARE SET

Examining several surprising omissions from Houston Astros ALDS roster

Astros Dusty Baker
Here's who made the cut. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
How moves by Astros GM could shine light on Dusty Baker's future in Houston

The Houston Astros announced their ALDS roster on Tuesday morning, and for the most part, this is what most Astros fans expected. The big question was how many pitchers the team would carry, and how that would impact the amount of position players that would make the cut.


The Astros have decided to roll with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. By doing this, they have the luxury of Jake Meyers, David Hensley, and Mauricio Dubon all making the roster. While these aren't exactly the players that first come to mind when you think of the Astros, they have however looked more serviceable at the plate than Trey Mancini. As much as fans love Mancini, he hasn't hit over .200 since joining the club. If Mancini's struggles continue in the postseason, the Astros have other options.

Jake Meyers has played well since rejoining the team, and he could be used as a pinch runner if the team goes with McCormick in center field as expected. David Hensley has an OPS of 1.027 this year in limited action, and he can play all the infield positions and some outfield. The only worry with Dubon making the roster is that he will be used to play center field during Justin Verlander's starts. But Dusty Baker told the media recently, the team may look to add more offense to the lineup in the postseason, and that's why McCormick made the start in center for Verlander's last start. Baker wanted McCormick to get a feel for how the ball comes off the bat with JV on the hill.

Who didn't make the cut?

Relief pitchers Phil Maton (3.84 ERA) and Will Smith (3.97 ERA) are not on the ALDS roster. Both pitchers have struggled as of late, and despite those struggles, it is a bit surprising that manager Dusty Baker left both pitchers off the roster. Both relievers have been used to match up against left-handed hitters. Maton is right-handed, but was used a ton by Dusty against left-handed hitters last postseason. Many believed Baker would have kept at least one of these guys for that role.

Instead, the Astros decided to keep two starting pitchers (Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia) in their place. I certainly understand why Dusty trusts Urquidy and Garcia more, but I am surprised an old school manager like Baker would go into the ALDS with no lefty specialist coming out of the bullpen. Of course, with the recent rule changes, lefty specialists aren't as valuable as they once were. Baseball is evolving, that's for sure. Just wait until next year, when we see even more dramatic changes to the rules.

Editor's note: Phil Maton's injury may have impacted his spot on the roster.

Up next: The Astros face the Mariners on Tuesday afternoon at 2:37 PM for Game 1 of the ALDS.

Looking ahead: We finally have confirmation. Dusty Baker announced on Tuesday that Framber Valdez will pitch Game 2 with Lance McCullers getting the ball in Game 3.



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The Jets host the Texans and their scary defense on Halloween night! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6)

Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime

BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 2.

Against the spread: Texans 3-4-1; Jets 2-6.

Series record: Jets lead 7-3.

Last meeting: Jets beat Texans 30-6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 10, 2023.

Last week: Texans beat Colts 23-20; Jets lost to Patriots 25-22.

Texans offense: overall (9t), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (14).

Texans defense: overall (2), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (15t).

Jets offense: overall (24), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (25).

Jets defense: overall (4), rush (17), pass (2), scoring (11t).

Turnover differential: Texans plus-4; Jets minus-3.

Texans player to watch

RB Joe Mixon. He has carried Houston's offense in the three games since he returned from an injury and could be even more important this week after wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore the ACL in his right knee last Sunday and is out for the season. Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 100.6 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD run in three straight games.

Jets player to watch

Edge rusher Haason Reddick. After ending his lengthy contract holdout early last week, Reddick made his Jets debut and played 26 snaps on defense with two quarterback pressures while working mostly on third downs. His snaps might increase a bit Thursday and he could help the Jets get after C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked 22 times this season — tied for third most in the NFL.

Key matchup

Jets offensive line vs. Texans' pass rush. New York has had issues this season with injuries, consistency and protecting Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will face a tough test Thursday night against the Texans, whose 27 sacks are third in the NFL. DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the league with a career-high 7 1/2 sacks, including at least one in his past three games. DE Danielle Hunter has 5 1/2 sacks and DT Tim Settle has four, powering a formidable defensive front for Houston. Hunter leads the league with 51 quarterback pressures and Anderson is fourth with 39, the only teammates in the top 15, according to Next Gen Stats.

Key injuries

Diggs' injury leaves Houston without its top two receivers. Nico Collins, who leads the Texans with 567 yards receiving, is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. ... S Calen Bullock was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday after injuring his shoulder Sunday. … LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) both missed the Colts game, but could return this week. … S Jimmie Ward could miss a fifth straight game with a groin injury. … LG Jarrett Patterson is in the concussion protocol and is likely out. … RB Dameon Pierce missed practice this week with a groin injury. ... Jets LB C.J. Mosley suffered a stinger in his neck during pregame warmups at New England and was meeting with neck and spine specialists this week. ... RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), WR Allen Lazard (chest), DL Leki Fotu (knee) and safeties Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) all missed the game vs. the Patriots and their availability for this week was uncertain. ... K Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR. Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader were signed to the practice squad, and one will be promoted for the game.

Series notes

The Jets have won the past two meetings. ... New York won the first five meetings, including the first game between the franchises in 2003, when LaMont Jordan's late 8-yard touchdown run helped lift the Jets to a 19-14 victory. ... Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the most recent meeting, a 30-6 rout by New York during which Stroud left with a concussion.

Stats and stuff

The AFC South-leading Texans have won four of their past five. ... Stroud is 2-0 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two career starts in prime time. He had 285 yards passing last week for his ninth career game with at least that many yards passing, which is tied for second most in the NFL since 2023. ... WR Tank Dell had a touchdown reception last week and has a TD catch in two of his past three games. ... TE Dalton Schultz had a season-high 52 yards receiving against the Colts. He has two TD receptions in each of his past two Thursday night games. ... Hunter has 10½ sacks in eight career Thursday night games. … LB Neville Hewitt, who spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Jets, forced a fumble last week. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high three passes defended last week. … S Jalen Pitre had his first interception of the season last week. ... S Eric Murray had seven tackles and a season-high three passes defended last week. ... New York is trying to snap a five-game skid. ... Jeff Ulbrich is 0-3 as the Jets’ interim head coach since replacing the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. Ulbrich, also the team's defensive coordinator, said earlier this week he'll continue to call plays on defense. … Rodgers snapped a streak of three consecutive games with an interception. He has seven in eight games, six shy of his single-season career high set in 2008 in his first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. ... Rodgers hasn't passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 30 regular-season games and 31 overall, including one playoff game. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the NFL with 84 targets, 11 more than the Giants’ Malik Nabers. Wilson’s 51 receptions are second in the league behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, who has 52. ... WR Davante Adams had four catches for 54 yards, giving him seven receptions for 84 yards in two games since being acquired from the Raiders. ... Second-year WR Xavier Gipson caught his first career TD pass last Sunday. ... TE Tyler Conklin has a TD catch in consecutive games after not having one since catching two TD passes in Week 8 of the 2022 season against New England. ... RB Breece Hall has 316 yards receiving, the most among NFL running backs. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald has eight sacks, second in the NFL to the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (nine). … The Jets have only six takeaways, ranking among the fewest in the league. Backup CB Brandin Echols has New York's only two interceptions.

Fantasy tip

Houston wide receiver John Metchie is coming off a career-best three-catch game and could see more targets — and perhaps his first NFL touchdown — with both Diggs and Collins out. Might be worth a stash as a potential WR3.

_______________________

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