The Astros announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Braden Shewmake. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder Nick Allen, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms, retroactive to April 19th. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Cristian Javier has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Shewmake, 28, was just acquired from the Yankees yesterday. The Yanks had outrighted him off their 40-man roster in February, so he wasn’t immediately added to Houston’s roster at the time of the trade. It seemed possible at the time of the deal that Shewmake was acquired to replace Allen as the club’s bench infielder and that has indeed come to pass.
The players have similar profiles as glove-first guys with light bats. Shewmake has a .118/.127/.191 batting line in 71 big league plate appearances. His .241/.305/.384 line at Triple-A is better but still not good, translating to a 78 wRC+, indicating he has been 22% below average at that level. But he has other attributes. Over his 303 Triple-A games, he has stolen 52 bases, while getting caught only four times. He has extensive shortstop experience, with plenty of time at second and third base as well.
The Astros came into the season with an infield logjam but shortstop Jeremy Peña is now on the IL, which has alleviated that. Carlos Correa has moved from third base to shortstop, which has allowed Isaac Paredes to take over at the hot corner. The Astros can use Shewmake as a late-game defensive replacement or bounce him around when they want to give guys days off, which is how Allen was being used. When Peña and/or Allen get healthy, Shewmake is out of options and may not be able to hang onto his roster spot.
Javier was initially placed on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder strain a little over a week ago. This transfer means he is ineligible for reinstatement until early June. Just yesterday, general manager Dana Brown said he expected Javier and Hunter Brown to return from their respective shoulder strains in late May to early June.
Today’s transaction closes off the possibility of Javier being back in the majors in late May, but if he is healthy by then, he could go out on a minor league rehab assignment. Such assignments come with a 30-day maximum for pitchers.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
