The Astros have outrighted Jose Castillo, Dave Borkowski, Jack Cassel and Ryan Houston to AAA making them all free agents. 27-year old righty swinging infielder Jose Castillo is the best player of this bunch but that’s not saying a lot. Castillo played in 15 games for the Astros last season and he was 9 for 32 (.281 avg, .627 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He played in 127 games with the Giants & Astros this season and he was 105 for 426 (.246 avg) with 46 runs scored, 6 homers and 37 RBIs. No doubt some team will give Castillo a invite to spring training but the Astros shouldn’t miss him too much.
31-year old righty Dave Borkowski was awful for the Astros last season which shouldn’t have surprised anyone. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) last season for the Astros and he was 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. In three years with the Astros, Borkowski worked in 130 games (0 starts) in which he was 8-7 with 1 save, a 5.44 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The Astros will have a better pitching staff next season because Borkowski won’t be on it.
28-year old righty starting pitcher Jack Cassel dropped the ball when given the chance to start a few games last season. He pitched in 9 games (3 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-1 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Cassel has now pitched in 15 games (7 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-2 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Some team will give him a chance next season in spring training.
29-year old righty Ryan Houston was awful in AAA last season as he was 1-3 with 1 save, a 7.54 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. His career could be done with the effort he turned in last season. The Astros won’t likely miss any of these guys as none of them have much of an upside.
