The rumor mill has produced its first Houston surprise. The Houston Astros have had a relatively quiet offseason, with the trade for Ken Giles being the sole splash. Everybody knew GM Jeff Luhnow and company were in the market for a closer, so that didn’t come as a surprise. However, Peter Gammons of MLB Network dropped this bomb yesterday:
Once Colby Rasmus accepted the Astros $15M qualifying offer back in November, Houston seemed to be out of the outfield market, as Rasmus was slotted to start in left with Carlos Gomez and George Springer flanking him.