Houston Astros News And Notes: Round Rock Back To The Astros And Much More

Jul 5, 2013; Round Rock, TX, USA; Round Rock Express left fielder warms up prior to the first pitch against the Omaha Storm Chasers at the Dell Diamond. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

The offseason is slowly coming to an end, which means you could start smelling the fresh blades of grass on the baseball fields, unless you’re anywhere north of Atlanta. (DARN WINTER!) Here, I’m going to recap all the latest tidbits of the last week. The pieces of big news received its own articles but all small information will be recapped in Houston Astros News and Notes on each Friday as we get ready for Spring Training to officially begin.

Brett Wallace was DFA’d last week to make room for Jerome Williams. Wallace surprisingly cleared waivers and will head to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. He has a shot to regain his first base gig, but it’s more likely the Astros go with Jesus Guzman or Japhet Amador when April begins.

Though some believe Jason Castro may be suited better for first base, Evan Drellich (Houston Chronicle) spoke with Jeff Luhnow who said it’s currently not in the plans to make the switch.

"“It’s not anything we’ve talked about at this point. Castro played some DH last year. I’m sure he’ll play some DH this year. We’ve got a lot of guys that are going to be taking reps at first base, but I don’t know. We haven’t discussed that yet. It’s something that, if we do discuss it, it’ll be discussed next week, and then we’ll talk to the player about it. But no nothing’s been discussed or determined at all in regard to that.”"

With Nolan Ryan back in the fold, will the Astros bring back Triple-A Round Rock as their official Triple-A affiliate? According to Brian Mctaggart (MLB.com) it’s a possibility since the club is co-owned by Nolan. The Rangers recently extended their contract with the Express through the 2018 season, though the Astros and RedHawks contract is up at the end of this season.

"“There are rules in place, things in place, that enable an organization to switch during an active PDC, and so, are those things something we would look at? As the season nears an end, we probably would,” Reid Ryan said. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, and we always look to keep all our options open to find out the best for the Houston Astros.”"

Great news Astros fans! Pitchers and catchers finally report tomorrow! An exciting 55-75 win season (I’ll play it safe) is just about to get underway!

Some Astros Articles From The Past Week At FanSided (House Of Houston / Climbing Tal’s Hill)

• Nolan To Join Astros Front Office (HoH)
• Comcast To Buy Time Warner (CTH)
• Fantasy Baseball ESPN Astros Projections (HoH)
• Feldman Will Provide Leadership (CTH)
• Cosart: The Man, The Myth, The Troll (HoH)
• Cosart Gate Part II (CTH)
• Oswalt Announces His Retirement (HoH)
• The Batting Order (CTH)
• The Astrodome: National Treasure or Impending Implosion (HoH)
• One More Move? (CTH)
• FanGraphs Includes 6 Astros In Top 100 List (HoH)
• Who Will Play First Base For The Astros (CTH)
• Berkman And Oswalt To Sign One-Day Contracts (HoH)
• Another Team In Texas? (CTH)
• Appel Recovery And More (HoH)
• Wallace DFA Reactions (CTH)

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