Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, joins The Matt Thomas Show to recap spring training and preview the Astros Opening Day matchup against the New York Yankees.
The Astros announced Wednesday that pitcher Parker Mushinski will be included on the Opening Day roster. It "speaks to the good spring he's had" and "we'll see how Joe Espada deploys him as a weapon this year," McTaggart said.
With many injuries to the Astros pitching staff, McTaggart points to middle relief who "have a lot of unproven guys," but says it shouldn't be a big issue "if the starting pitching is strong."
Starter Framber Valdez will take the mound on Opening Day. "If he's Framber of old, they're going to be in pretty good shape." However, with injuries to starting pitchers, the Astros "absolutely need [Framber] to deliver 200 quality innings."
One of the injuries is ace Justin Verlander, who threw 32 pitches during live batting practice Tuesday. McTaggart expects Verlander to return to the lineup by the "end of April," depending on "if he builds up to 95 pitches."
Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia join Verlander on the injured list to start the season. The Astros offered free agent Blake Snell to help aid the starting rotation before Snell signed with the San Francisco Giants. Another free agent pitcher that was available was Jordan Montgomery; however, Montgomery agreed to terms with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year, $25 million deal, and McTaggart "never heard Jordan Montgomery's name" within the Astros organization.
Third baseman Alex Bregman is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and McTaggart thinks that Bregman wants to be in Houston, but "also wants to get paid."
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