The Astros have released veteran utility man David Newhan. Newhan played in 18 games for the Astros this spring in which he was 6 for 33 (.182 avg, .490 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This might hurt the Astros’ bench a little bit as Newhan was an effective pinch hitter for them last season.

The Astros have placed righty starting pitcher Brandon Backe on the 15-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain. He pitched in 3 games (2 starts) this spring in which he was 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. The Astros will likely go with Russ Ortiz in the rotation to start the season. Ortiz has pitched in 6 games (3 starts) for the Astros this spring in which he is 1-1 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

The Astros have released veteran righty reliever Danny Graves. Graves pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Astros this spring and he was 0-0 with a 6.43 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP. Graves just didn’t pitch good enough this spring to warrant a spot on the Astros’ pitching staff for the 2009 season.

Aaron Boone has left Astros’ camp and is scheduled to undergo open heart surgery in the very near future. This will likely end Boone’s major league career. The Astros will likely be looking for a veteran to share 3B with Geoff Blum as Boone was to platoon with him in 2009.

The Astros have signed 37-year old righty swinging catcher Ivan Rodriguez to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar contract. Rodriguez played in 115 games for the Tigers and Yankees last season and he was 110 for 398 (.276 avg, .713 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers, 35 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Pudge still has a good throwing arm as he nailed 23 of 75 (31%) potential basestealers last season. The Astros hope that Ivan Rodriguez still has something left but regardless he’s still better than any current catcher on the roster. Rodriguez has now played in 2,267 games in his major league career in which he is 2,605 of 8,645 (.301 avg, .814 OPS) with 1,253 runs scored, 295 homers, 1,217 RBIs and 124 stolen bases. This was a very solid move for the Astros.