Astros takeaways: Sobering sweep, top prospects' cloudy future, Cam Smith's slump

New York Times

a day ago

BOSTON — Reuniting with a franchise icon should result in a celebration, so the Houston Astros attempted to conduct one.
Excitement oozed from a clubhouse energized by Carlos Correa's arrival on Friday afternoon. One of the team photographers made a rare in-season road trip to chronicle the moments. Houston Mayor John Whitmire even found his way onto the Fenway Park field before Saturday's matinee, snapping photographs in an Astros sweatshirt.
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The Astros responded with a three-day affront to fundamental baseball, prolonging what one high-profile addition cannot camouflage: This is a team amid its worst stretch of the season. A lifeless 6-1 loss on Sunday finished a sobering sweep by the Boston Red Sox, dousing any of the sparks Houston hoped its trade deadline activity would ignite.
'We're a team that takes pride in our fundamentals, how clean we play the game, and I just think we've done a better job,' manager Joe Espada said after Sunday's game. 'We have to do a better job. I just don't think we played our cleanest the last three days.'
Two mindless outs on the bases loomed large during a one-run loss on Friday night. Houston stranded 14 baserunners while finishing 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position during Saturday's 7-3 setback — one that included an out at home plate following a questionable send from third-base coach Tony Perezchica.
Sunday, however, featured the lowlight. Starter Framber Valdez allowed the first six Red Sox to reach during the fourth inning. All of them scored. Valdez balked home a run, allowed a bunt to roll between his legs and threw a wild pitch.
The inning began with center fielder Taylor Trammell misjudging a deep fly ball from Roman Anthony against the green monster. Catcher Yainer Diaz was charged with one passed ball and could've been given another. From right field, deadline acquisition Jesús Sánchez airmailed the cutoff man on a Ceddanne Rafaela single, allowing the Red Sox an extra 90 feet they did not earn — fitting for this wretched weekend.
'We're better than that,' said Espada, whose new-look lineup scored five runs in 27 innings against Red Sox pitching. 'We focus on always doing the small things really well and we're a team known for doing that. That was just not the case.'
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Since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first week of July to move 20 games above .500, the Astros are 7-15. Houston has lost eight of its last 10 games, a stretch in which its American League West lead has dwindled as low as three games.
Counting just on Correa's cachet to remedy that is asking for trouble.
Both Brice Matthews and Jacob Melton boarded a Boston-bound charter on Wednesday afternoon with uncertain fates. Nothing that happened over the next 24 hours afforded much clarity.
Short-term assurance is appreciated, though, so both players should take solace that they remain in Houston's organization. They are the two best prospects in an otherwise barren farm system and were asked about throughout the Astros' trade deadline discussions.
General manager Dana Brown made three deals without surrendering Melton or Matthews, but the players he acquired clouded both prospects' major-league future.
Performance will always dictate roster construction, but on paper, both Melton and Matthews appear to be blocked from everyday big-league roles for at least the next two seasons. The team optioned both to Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Correa and Sánchez's arrival at Fenway Park on Friday.
''You guys helped us win a ton of games and that matters,'' Espada said he told the two prospects prior to their departure. ''But there's a bigger picture, which is your development. We need to get you guys playing every day.' They understood where we're at right now.'
Both Sánchez and Melton are left-handed-hitting outfielders, though Melton is a far more natural center fielder than Sánchez, whom Espada will play primarily in either corner spot. That Sánchez hit second in each of his first three games as an Astro signals how significant his role will be — especially against right-handed pitching.
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Sánchez has two more seasons of club control, the same as resurgent center fielder Jake Meyers. Right fielder Cam Smith is still a rookie.
Where Melton fits in the picture is a mystery. He will turn 25 in September and, by the end of the season, should eclipse 300 Triple-A plate appearances. Melton acquitted himself well in his 13-game major-league cameo and, if not for a severe ankle sprain, had a chance to cement a real role on the team as a fourth outfielder.
Whether that is viable moving forward is a question. Same for Matthews, whom Espada made sure to remind that 'you pretty much won us a series' before demoting him.
Correa's arrival changes the entire complexion of Houston's infield now and for his next three seasons under contract. He will play third base alongside shortstop Jeremy Peña, who has two more years of arbitration eligibility. Both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker are under team control for two more seasons, too.
Asked about Houston's future infield alignment on Sunday, Brown told the team's pregame radio show Houston would 'cross that bridge when we get there.' Moving Paredes to second base is a consideration, Brown said. He even mentioned Correa playing second base.
According to Espada, Matthews will continue to play primarily second base while at Triple-A Sugar Land.
'I think he played a really good second base,' Espada said. 'I could see him being a very good second baseman for a long time.'
Will that be in Houston?
On June 29, Cam Smith crafted a signature moment. The Astros' precocious rookie worked a 10-pitch at-bat against Chicago Cubs starter Colin Rea before pulling a majestic home run into the Crawford Boxes at Daikin Park.
The blast ballooned Smith's OPS to .789. Doing it during a nationally televised game against the team that drafted him only heightened the conversation surrounding Smith.
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One month later, Smith is slashing .200/.267/.267 in 116 plate appearances since that home run against the Cubs. Of the six extra-base hits he's managed, none have left the ballpark.
It stands to reason that Smith, 22, is hitting a wall. He's never played more than 101 games or taken more than 456 plate appearances in any baseball season. On Saturday, Smith appeared in his 97th game of Houston's season and took his 385th plate appearance. Smith finished 0-for-5, falling further into a 7-for-66 funk.
'He's probably chasing up in the zone more than he did earlier in the year, but we're still seeing the quality of his at-bats and when he connects, we're seeing hard hits,' Espada said. 'We just want to see more consistency when it comes to staying in the zone and not trying to do more.'
Coaches have implored Smith to arrive later to the field and limit his pregame work. Smith has taken the advice, but the toll of so many games played — coupled with the inherent rigors of being a rookie at the major-league level — is mounting.
Smith did not play in Houston's series-opener against Washington on Monday or on Sunday against Red Sox righty Lucas Giolito. In between, the Astros acquired Sánchez, a left-handed-hitting outfielder that Espada wants to play against right-handed pitching.
Doing so may come at Smith's expense.
(Top photo of Framber Valdez and Carlos Correa: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)