Houston Astros raising eyebrows with sudden roster move to reinforce offense

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The Houston Astros are coming off a series split against the New York Yankees, with the AL leading Baltimore Orioles next on the schedule.

While the Astros are still in a good spot with their pitching (2nd in team ERA), the offense continues to be the group struggling for consistency. Houston has now fallen to 15th in team OPS and slugging, with several players going through a tough stretch right now.

While many have been quick to point at Jeremy Pena's issues as of late, he actually has more hits than Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu combined over the last seven games.

Astros GM Dana Brown made it clear before the All-Star break that the team would like to add a left-handed bat to the roster, but Brown wasn't able to find a trade that wouldn't include an Astro on the current major league roster.

But the Astros do have Jon Singleton in Triple A hitting the cover off the ball with an OPS over 1100 in his 33 games with the Space Cowboys. According to reports, he is heading to Baltimore to join the Astros with Corey Julks being optioned back to Sugar Land.

Can Singleton provide a much-needed spark down the stretch for Houston? If he hits well in his limited opportunities, perhaps he can get some starts at first base from time to time, and give Jose Abreu some much-needed rest.

Be sure to watch the video above as we break it all down.

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The Astros defeated the Mets 8-5 on Tuesday, in a game that featured several of the club's biggest offseason additions, along with two of their top three prospects (Cam Smith, Brice Matthews).

Below are my brief notes from the game:

Ronel Blanco (1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K) started the game and allowed 3 runs, one of which was a solo home run to Jose Siri. He allowed a lot of contact, but the changeup looked good, and it's his first appearance of the spring.

Hayden Wesneski (2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K) surrendered a solo homer to Brett Baty. He mixed in a curveball to lefties. Wesneski settled down in his second inning.

Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats. It may take a while to break these free swinging habits.

Isaac Paredes (0-2, 1 R) worked a full count and walked in his first at-bat. His reputation for being a patient hitter showed.

Christian Walker (1-1, 2B, BB, 2 R) hit a 400-foot double to center on a full count. He also had a nice catch in foul territory and a good scoop.

Victor Caratini (2-3, 2 R) blasted a homer to right field. He made up for a throwing error early in the game.

Dubon (0-3) out on the first pitch in his second at-bat. Only saw two pitches before popping out in his third at-bat. The free swinging continues.

McCormick (0-2, RBI, HBP) and Jake Meyers (0-3) both struck out vs. Chris Devenski. At least McCormick worked a deeper count in this at-bat. Meyers did hit a ball to the warning track in his first trip to the plate. So there's something.

Bennett Sousa (1IP, 1 BB, 0 R) worked out of a jam, Jon Singleton with a good scoop to end the inning. Looks like Sousa's velocity is up a bit.

Brice Matthews (0-1, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K) walked and struck out. We'll see if he can improve against breaking balls. He looked comfortable at second base.

Cam Smith (2-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR) hammered a first pitch fastball to right field for his first home run.

In his second at-bat, he took a slider and a curve. Then hit another homer off a fastball to right center. Impressive.

Forrest Whitley (1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2K) struck out the final batter with a 97 MPH fastball. He looks good. I can see why the Astros are cautiously optimistic.

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