The Astros have released 27-year old righty reliever/starter Cesar Carrillo. Carrillo pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 1-1 with a 9.62 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. He gave up 12 hits (2 homers) and walked 7 batters in only 9 1/3 innings which caused the Astros to pull the plug on him. Carrillo’s only major league experience came back in 2009 with the Padres and it didn’t go too well. Carrillo pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Padres in 2009 and he was 1-2 with a 13.06 ERA and a 2.71 WHIP. No loss here for the Astros.

The Astros have designated 32-year old lefty swinging IF/OF Joe Inglett for assignment. Inglett played in 17 games for the Astros this year and he was 5 for 24 (.208 avg, .458 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. He whiffed 7 times for the Astros which is way too many for a hitter like him. The Astros shouldn’t miss Inglett too much going forward.

Righty starting pitcher Mike Scott was armed with a nasty split fingered fastball that would dive as it approached the plate in the low 90’s and it was almost unhittable, especially in 1986 when he won the N.L. Cy Young Award and made the All-Star team. Scott started 37 games for the Astros in 1986 and he was 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He only gave up 182 hits in 275 1/3 innings that year while whiffing 306 batters, which showed how nasty he was. Scott led the majors in innings pitched and whiffs in 1986. Scott pitched in 263 games (259 starts) in his 9 years with the Astros and he was 110-81 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Scott made the All-Star team three times for the Astros and he won at least 16 games in a season five times. Scott is #6 in Astros’ history in games started with 259. He is also #4 in wins (110), #7 in innings pitched (1,704), #5 in whiffs (1,318), #5 in completed games (42) and he’s tied for 2nd with Joe Niekro in shutouts (21).

The Houston Astros have released 28-year old righty reliever starter Fernando Nieve. Nieve asked for and was granted his release by the Astros so that he could go to Korea and play for the Doosan team. Nieve started 3 games in AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 1-2 with a 7.63 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP. He was pitching B.P. in the minors as he gave up 27 hits in his first 15 1/3 innings. Nieve pitched in parts of two years (2006 and 2008) with the Astros and worked in 48 games (8 starts) in which he was 5-7 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Astros won’t likely miss Nieve too much, if at all.

The Houston Astros have placed veteran outfielder Jason Michaels on the 15-day disabled list due to a separated right shoulder. Michaels has played in 11 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 2 for 18 (.111 avg, .311 OPS) with 1 run scored. The Astros have called up 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brian Bogusevic to replace Michaels on the roster. He has played in 17 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 14 of 58 (.241 avg, .754 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He got his first taste of the majors last season with the Astros. He played in 19 games for the Astros in 2010 and he was 5 for 28 (.179 avg, .544 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. But, he struck out 12 times as he was often overmatched at the plate.