Houston Astros Rumors: Could an Evan Gattis return be on the horizon?

A charity event in Houston this past weekend has left some to speculate a possible re-signing of El Oso Blanco himself, Evan Gattis. Would the Houston Astros do it?

Time is running short until Spring Training begins. Even now, so many players remain without a team. Evan Gattis is included among them. The Houston Astros have some spots left on the roster they could look to fill with these free agents.

In light of this, some word came late on Saturday that has plenty of Astros fans raising their eyebrows. DST (Dynamic Sports Training) held a charity ping pong event, inviting some big names from the team. Among those in attendance were Carlos Correa, Tyler White, Forrest Whitley, and you guessed it, Evan Gattis.

When interviewed during the event, Gattis had THIS to say to Fox 26 sports reporter, Mark Berman:

Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle picked up on the words of Gattis through a tweet of his own as well. Additionally, MLB Trade Rumors has their own take on the matter.

True, the team does have enough options at DH. Jeff Luhnow also feels comfortable about having Robinson Chirinos and Max Stassi as the two catchers on the team. Clearly, that should be a signal that there is no more room for Evan Gattis on the Houston Astros roster.

Or is there?

Pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training soon, but this in no way means that teams are necessarily done acquiring pieces. To that end, as I previously proposed, some of the fringe major league guys like Max Stassi and Tony Kemp could be dealt for the right price. No one really wants to see that, but fans need to be aware that this sort of thing can still happen, even up until opening day.

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Should Stassi or one of the minor league catchers be dealt, a veteran backstop like Gattis can pair nicely with Robinson Chirinos and still give the needed offensive production out of the catcher’s spot that the Astros still crave.

Again, all speculation at this point, but not a terrible option to be sure. The Bear could very well get another decisive hit that sends the Houston Astros back to the World Series, reference his homer off of C.C. Sabathia in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2017.

There is also the option that Gattis could sign a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training to see how both he and White, the presumed DH on opening day at this point, pan out in preseason games in Grapefruit League. Heaven forbid, something happens to White or either of the catchers, and you have a seasoned veteran in Gattis ready to go.

Not to mention, there is the clubhouse culture that El Oso Blanco brings along with his experience years. Lest we forget, the hugs for homers started by him and Tony Kemp. Honestly, how can any self-respecting baseball fan be against anything like that?

Look, I’m no way saying that this is a must. Free agency is a tricky limbo situation, as the Bear himself pointed out. Nevertheless, taking a chance on Gattis again is not the worst idea in the world. If it happens, fans should be embracing off it. If it doesn’t, hopefully, there is a team out there that can utilize his services.

Whatever occurs, we should all respect what Evan Gattis helped to bring to Houston. It’s very first of hopefully many more to come World Series championships. The Houston Astros definitely wouldn’t be worse for wear with him on the squad.