Other than infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubón and backup catcher Victor Caratini, the Astros will enter Spring Training with some question marks concerning the composition of their bench. Last week’s trade with the Angels to acquire Trey Cabbage gives first-year manager Joe Espada another option to compete with Jonathan Singleton, Grae Kessinger and Corey Julks, among others.

Cabbage brings versatility and speed, and the Astros hope he can tap into some of the power from the left side of the plate that he showed in the Minor Leagues last year. Cabbage hit .306/.379/.596 (.975 OPS) with 30 homers, 89 RBIs, 25 doubles and 32 stolen bases in 107 games with Triple-A Salt Lake in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

“I think he’s going to [Spring Training] to showcase what we all know he’s capable of doing,” Espada said. “We like what we see, we like what we heard from people in the industry and what he’s capable of doing. I think if he goes and shows he can hit for power and cut down on swing and miss, I think he’s got a good shot at making the club.”

Cabbage, 26, was DFA’d a week ago by the Angels. He made his MLB debut on July 24 and hit .208/.232/.321 (.553 OPS) with one homer, two doubles and seven RBIs in 22 games. He was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Halos’ No. 26 prospect.

The Astros are intrigued by his tools and his ability to play both corner outfield spots, as well as first base. Singleton can only play first base, Julks can only play in the outfield and Kessinger can play all over the infield. Espada said he thinks Cabbage is “an adjustment away from figuring some stuff out at the plate and being a legit threat offensively.”

Cabbage also has two Minor League options remaining and could shuffle between Triple-A Sugar Land and the big leagues this year, while also giving young prospects and fellow lefties Jacob Melton (the club’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline), Joey Loperfido (No. 6) and Will Wagner (No. 15) from being exposed in the Majors should each make their debut in 2024 and need more seasoning.

Cabbage was a fourth-round Draft pick by the Twins in 2015, then he joined the Angels' organization in '21. Over parts of eight Minor League seasons, he’s hit .261/.336/.473 (.809 OPS) with 96 homers, 345 RBIs and 62 stolen bases in 567 games. The Astros are his third organization.

“He sounded really excited,” Espada said. “He’s going get down [to the Astros' Spring Training facilities] early to get acclimated. He was asking if there were going to be coaches down there early to work out, and I said, ‘Yes, I’ll be down there.’ We have a [Minor League] minicamp going on. He sounded really excited and ready to take the field and show what he’s capable of doing.”

Melton wasn’t ranked in the MLB Pipeline's updated Top 100 Prospects list, leaving Houston as the only team with a prospect on the list. Still, the Pipeline Crew said Melton did receive support. A 2022 second-rounder from Oregon State, Melton slashed .245/.334/.467 with 23 homers and 46 steals in 99 games between High-A and Double-A during his first full pro season, and his underlying metrics were even better than his raw numbers. His best tool is his plus-speed, and he could be solid or better across the board.

Former Astros slugger Lance Berkman was among three Houston sports legends who were inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame. Berkman, who clubbed 326 homers from the Astros from 1999-2010, was inducted on Tuesday with former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Cynthia Cooper, who starred with the WNBA’s Houston Comets in the 1990s.

“It’s kind of surreal when they tell you,” Berkman said. “It’s hard to really have a full appreciation of the importance of it. Just like most things, retrospectively, I enjoy it more when you have a chance for it to sink in. The event was amazing. They did an incredible job. I couldn’t ask for two better people to go in with than Cynthia Cooper and Warren Moon. I had never met either one, but I feel like we’re besties. It was a good group. The whole evening was really special.”

Berkman is entering his third season as head baseball coach at Houston Christian University (formerly Houston Baptist) and believes his Huskies could turn the corner this year. HCU was 11-37 last season, including 7-16 in the Southland Conference. HCU opens the season Feb. 16 against Le Moyne.

“I love the coaching,” Berkman said. “This year’s group has been fantastic to work with. It’s just a really good group of kids. We’re looking, obviously, to turn the corner. From a coach’s standpoint, if you can’t at least show you’re turning the corner by year three you probably need to be doing something else. We’re putting a lot of stock in this year as far as, ‘Hey, are we on the right track here?’ If we’re not and we can’t produce results, we’re going to need to look for something else to do or go back to the drawing board because our plan’s not working.”

In an era when few players play in all 162 games, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman came close last year by starting 160 games and appearing in 161. In fact, Bregman played all but 28 of the Astros defensive innings at third base last year and said last month that the pitch timer and quicker games helped him play more.

“Whether we like every bit of it or we don’t, the pitch clock honestly has sped up the games a little bit to where you’re not on your feet as much,” Bregman said. “I don’t know how many guys played 162 last year, but a lot did. To be honest, my body feels incredible. I think it’s had an extremely positive impact on guys being able to be on the field every single day, feel good and feel healthy and stay healthy through the long haul of a season. From that aspect, I really enjoyed the new pitch-clock rules.”

Matt Olson of the Braves, Marcus Semien (Rangers), Juan Soto (Padres) and Eugenio Suárez (Mariners) were the only players to play in 162 games last year. The last Astros player to play in 162 games was George Springer in 2016.

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