The Houston Astros shook up their outfield mix Saturday, and the move that jumps off the page is Jake Meyers getting optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. It’s his first trip to the minors outside of a rehab assignment since 2022, and it tells you everything about how rough this season has been for the 25-year-old.
Meyers has 148 plate appearances this year and a .206/.264/.316 slash line. That’s a 62 wRC+, which means he’s been 38 percent below league average offensively. On track for the worst production of his career. And the numbers before and after his oblique strain tell a pretty clear story. Before the injury, Meyers had a .704 OPS in 43 plate appearances. After returning, that dropped to .531 across 105 trips to the plate. The Grade 2 oblique strain cost him nearly six weeks during April and May, and he hasn’t looked the same since.
His defense has slipped too, which is usually his calling card. Over 333 innings in center field, Meyers posted +1 Defensive Runs Saved and +2 Outs Above Average. That’s fine, but it’s not the elite glove work that made him valuable last season when he hit .292/.354/.373 in 381 plate appearances. Though that breakout came with a .353 BABIP. This year his BABIP is .240. The regression was always a risk, and it hit hard.
So what are the Astros doing instead? They’re planning to split center field between Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews. Trammell’s been decent — 108 wRC+ in 112 plate appearances, but his .371 BABIP suggests some luck involved. Matthews hasn’t hit much but he can play center, left, second base, and third base. That kind of versatility is useful for a team trying to patch things together.
The other part of Saturday’s roster shuffle: LaMonte Wade Jr. is back from the 10-day IL after a right hamstring strain. He signed with Houston in early June after the White Sox released him from a minor league deal, played four games, then got hurt. The Astros also recalled Zach Dezenzo from Triple-A. Both should get looks in left field while Yordan Alvarez mostly DHs.
Houston came into Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay at 43-47, still trying to stay within striking distance of the Rangers in the AL West. The All-Star break is next. This move with Meyers is essentially the team saying they can’t wait any longer for him to figure it out at the plate.
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