Brian Cushing is on his way out. Tim Warner/Getty Images
Brian Cushing, the 2009 first round pick, has been told that he will be released before the start of the league year on March 14. A lot of people are saying about it’s about time. He hasn’t been the same since the knee injuries and his veteran presence is not worth it anymore. Every team and player in the league knows it is a game of replacement and the Texans finally have the talent to send Cushing on his way with a half-hearted thanks for playing.
Cushing is coming off a disappointing season in which he was suspended 10 games for a PED violation. That was probably the final nail in a coffin that was already being boarded up after a down year in 2016. His contract was worth $8.84 million this year and the savings will be $7.64 million against the cap. That’s a very useful amount for a team that has a lot of holes to be patched.
I really like this move. The Texans will now have over $60 million in cap space headed into free agency and without the early round draft picks they will be going after as many of the big names as they can. I have to think they’ve learned a valuable lesson from last offseason when they sat on their hands while the best offensive linemen and secondary players signed elsewhere.
If this is how the new front office is going to play it, then things might be looking up in Houston. They have the quarterback and receiver combo and some big time players on the defensive front seven. All they have to do is infuse some of the top talent in free agency and they could find their way right back in the mix for a playoff spot in 2018.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.