Major League Baseball rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players Tuesday, giving the Houston Astros room to add one pitcher and one position player for the final month of the regular season. With the rotation struggling to provide innings and the offense searching for consistent production beyond its stars, those two spots represented an opportunity to add meaningful help for the stretch run.
The Astros used them on Ronel Blanco and Jake Meyers.
Both are familiar, experienced, and already on the 40-man roster. Neither arrives in Houston on the strength of a particularly compelling performance.
Blanco Gets the Ball
Blanco will start Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox after being optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Aug. 16. He posted a 7.71 ERA in 23⅓ innings after returning from elbow surgery, walking 12 while striking out 20. His assignment to Sugar Land was supposed to give him an opportunity to sharpen his secondary pitches and rediscover the swing-and-miss ability that had disappeared following surgery.
Instead, Blanco allowed 12 earned runs, 13 hits, three home runs, and four walks in 7⅓ innings across two Triple-A starts. Ten of those runs came in 2⅓ innings Thursday against Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Mike Burrows appeared to be completing exactly the rehabilitation assignment Houston needed to see. Burrows allowed three runs over 13⅓ innings in three starts for Sugar Land, producing a 2.03 ERA with 15 strikeouts. His first two outings were scoreless, his fastball reached 97.1 mph, and manager Joe Espada said he looked healthy.
Burrows had been widely viewed as a strong candidate to return when rosters expanded. Instead, he remains on the 15-day injured list while the Astros hand Tuesday’s start to a pitcher who struggled before his demotion and was hit even harder afterward.
There may be a medical or workload consideration behind the decision. Burrows missed nearly two months with right elbow neuritis, and the Astros may believe he requires additional time before returning to a major-league rotation. If so, that would help explain the choice. Based strictly on recent performance, however, Blanco was not the obvious pitcher to recall.
Meyers Returns to a Crowded Outfield
The position-player decision is almost as curious.
Meyers began the season as Houston’s starting center fielder but was first optioned to Triple-A in July, briefly recalled in August, and sent back to Sugar Land four days later when Nelson Velázquez joined the roster. He returns with a .213 average and .594 OPS in 54 major-league games this season.
Meyers’ defense remains valuable, but the Astros already have elite center-field defense from trade-deadline acquisition Daulton Varsho, while Taylor Trammell can also cover the position. Meyers was not included in Tuesday’s starting lineup; Trammell will play center field against White Sox right-hander Sean Burke.
Joey Loperfido appeared to offer a more interesting alternative. The left-handed outfielder entered September hitting .284 with a .383 on-base percentage and .793 OPS for Sugar Land. He was especially productive in August, batting .303 with a .426 on-base percentage and .834 OPS.
Loperfido can play all three outfield positions and would give Espada another left-handed option on a roster that has repeatedly struggled to generate production from the outfield. His major-league numbers this season—a .216 average and .647 OPS—were hardly overwhelming, but they were still better than Meyers’ results, and his recent Triple-A performance suggested his bat was trending in the right direction. On Aug. 27, Loperfido drove in a season-high six runs with an RBI single, a three-run double, and a two-run single—the same game in which Blanco allowed 10 runs.
Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole, and several bullpen arms were also available on the 40-man roster. The Astros were not choosing between Blanco, Meyers, and an empty cupboard.
September expansion is no longer the sweeping call-up period it once was. Teams receive only two additional spots, making each choice more important. For a first-place club entering a run of 13 consecutive games against potential postseason opponents, those spots could have been used to address obvious weaknesses or reward players making a strong case in Triple-A.
Houston chose familiarity instead.
Blanco may rediscover his command and give the Astros the innings their rotation desperately needs. Meyers may provide late-inning defense, pinch-running value, and another right-handed option in the outfield. Both players could still justify the decisions.
But based on what each player has done lately—and what Burrows and Loperfido have done in comparison—the Astros’ first September moves inspire more questions than confidence.
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