Toby Hall has decided to undergo surgery to repair an unstable right shoulder as he has a torn labrum. He has played with the injury the last two seasons with the White Sox but he just couldn’t handle the pain anymore. The Astros will probably void his minor league contract due to the injury which was a pre-existing one. The Astros might re-think about bringing in Ivan Rodriguez if no one steps up early in spring training at catcher.

33-year old switch hitting Lance Berkman is Mr. Consistent for the Houston Astros. Berkman will continue to start at 1B for the team in 2009 and that’s a good thing as it’s where he is best defensively. He only made 5 errors in 152 games there in 2008. Berkman played in 159 games for the Astros last season and he was 173 for 554 (.312 avg, .987 OPS) with 114 runs scored, 29 homers and 106 RBIs. Berkman has averaged 152.9 games played, 101.3 runs scored, 32.9 homers and 109.9 RBIs per year in his last 8 seasons with the Astros. Look for more of the same in 2009.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2009 SEASON: A

The Houston Astros have four catchers to battle for playing time this spring but none of them inspire much confidence. 29-year old righty swinging Humberto Quintero is likely penciled in as the #1 catcher heading into spring training. Quintero played in 59 games for the Astros last season and he was 38 for 168 (.226 avg, .568 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He threw out 7 of 37 (19%) basestealers last season and Astros’ pitchers had a 4.89 ERA throwing to him so he could use some improvement.

33-year old righty swinging Toby Hall was brought in as a minor league free agent. He played in 41 games for the White Sox last season and he was 33 for 127 (.260 avg, .635 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Hall only threw out 3 of 46 (7%) basestealers last season but White Sox pitchers had a 3.68 ERA with Hall behind the plate. Hall has a bum shoulder but he has been a decent catcher in the not too distant past which is more than can be said about the three guys he will be competing against this spring.

The Astros gave 25-year old righty swinging J.R. Towles the starting job out of spring training last season and he gave it right back. He played in 54 games for the Astros last season in which he was 20 for 146 (.137 avg, .503 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. Towles also whiffed 40 times which is way too many as he often looked helpless against major league pitching last season. Towles did throw out 5 of 18 (28%) basestealers and Astros’ pitchers had a 4.78 ERA with him behind the plate last season so all was not bad.

26-year old righty swinging Lou Palmisano was acquired in a trade shortly after the Rule 5 Draft. He played in 27 games in A+Rookie Ball last season and he was 30 for 101 (.297 avg, .788 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Palmisano could make the Astros’ opening day roster with a big spring.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: F

The Houston Astros definately did not make their team any better over the winter. They have replaced Ty Wigginton by signing Aaron Boone to platoon with Geoff Blum at 3B. That will be a HUGE dropoff in production. Veteran outfielder Jason Michaels was brought in to help out off the bench in the outfield. Toby Hall was brought in to compete for the starting job at catcher in 2009 but he has not played well at all the last couple of seasons. Lefty starting pitcher Mike Hampton might be a bargain for the Astros if he can just stay healthy which has not been the case for him in quite a while. The Astros also brought in veteran righties Clay Hensley and Russ Ortiz to compete for jobs at the back end of the starting rotation. The Astros did re-sign veteran righties LaTroy Hawkins and Doug Brocail for the bullpen which is a good thing.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE ASTROS: D+

The Astros have re-signed 35-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Newhan to a minor league contract. He played in 64 games last season for the Astros and he was 27 for 104 (.260 avg, .701 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Newhan has now played in 413 games in his major league career in which he is 249 for 986 (.253 avg, .692 OPS) with 148 runs scored, 23 homers, 120 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. This was a good little move for the Astros as Newhan could be valuable off the bench.