The Astros are re-signing Ben Gamel to a one-year main league contract. The Wasserman shopper has reportedly already handed his bodily. He’s assured a $200K signing bonus and would safe a $1M base wage if he breaks camp. Whereas the staff has but to finalize the signing, normal supervisor Dana Brown publicly confirmed the settlement this night (relayed on social media by Mark V). The Astros have a 40-man roster opening due to the Ryan Pressly commerce, so no corresponding transfer is critical.
Dana Brown has spoken all offseason concerning the staff’s want for a lefty-hitting outfielder. Gamel suits the invoice and has some familiarity with the Houston clubhouse. The Astros snagged him off waivers from the Mets final August. Gamel offered a little bit of a lift offensively, hitting .259/.377/.362 in 20 video games. His season led to mid-September when he broke his left fibula, sustained when he crashed into the outfield wall whereas monitoring down a Mickey Moniak fly ball. Chandler Rome of The Athletic studies that the veteran outfielder is anticipated to be a full participant in spring coaching.
Gamel, 32, has appeared within the majors in 9 straight seasons. He performed considerably commonly with the Mariners, Brewers and Pirates between 2017-22. He has spent the final two years as a depth possibility. He made six appearances for the 2023 Padres and mixed for 38 video games between the Mets and Astros final yr.
In somewhat over 2300 profession plate appearances, Gamel owns a .252/.334/.382 slash line which is roughly the league common. He has middling energy with a really patient-plate strategy. Gamel’s willingness to work deep counts has translated to a powerful 10.5% stroll proportion, although he has additionally fanned in round 1 / 4 of his journeys to the dish. He has been a wonderful Triple-A performer all through his profession, hitting .303/.381/.468 throughout 420 video games on the prime minor league degree.
Whereas Gamel addresses Houston’s want for a lefty-swinging outfielder, he doesn’t have enormous platoon splits. He’s a profession .252/.337/.387 hitter in opposition to righties and carries a .252/.324/.364 slash versus left-handed pitching. Gamel is a fringy runner who is restricted to the nook outfield, the place defensive metrics have graded him as a below-average defender.
Gamel ought to have an actual alternative to play his manner into an honest quantity of enjoying time in Houston. The Astros have a skinny outfield following the Kyle Tucker commerce. Defensive stalwart Jake Meyers is ticketed for an everyday run in middle discipline. Chas McCormick will get the majority of the enjoying time in proper discipline. He’s seeking to rebound from a career-worst .211/.271/.306 exhibiting. Gamel might find yourself because the Opening Day left fielder. Supervisor Joe Espada mentioned that he’d favor to restrict Yordan Alvarez’s outfield work to maintain him wholesome. Taylor Trammell, a profession .167/.270/.363 hitter who took eight MLB plate appearances final yr, projected as Houston’s left fielder earlier than this signing.
Utilityman Mauricio Dubón might be within the combine at varied infield and outfield positions. The Astros have kicked across the thought of giving Jose Altuve some left-field work. If Houston re-signed Alex Bregman, that’d push Isaac Paredes to second base and transfer Altuve into left discipline each day. Whereas that door stays cracked so long as Bregman stays unsigned, the Astros don’t appear to be assured of their probabilities of re-signing him. Their pursuit of Jorge Polanco as an infield fallback got here up brief. Houston may theoretically make Dubón a full-time second baseman and decide to pushing Altuve to the outfield, however that’d restrict their versatility off the bench.
Offloading $8.5M of Pressly’s $14M wage dropped the Astros under the posh tax line. RosterResource calculates their CBT round $237M, making the belief that Gamel will stick on the roster into the common season and depend for a $1.2M tax hit. That places the Astros round $4M shy of this yr’s base threshold. Proprietor Jim Crane has proven a willingness to exceed the edge if it meant getting Bregman again at a positive worth — they’ve reportedly had a six-year, $156M provide on the desk for a lot of the winter — but it surely doesn’t appear the Astros wish to transcend the road for marginal upgrades.
Chandler Rome of The Athletic first reported that the Astros had been re-signing Gamel. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that it was an MLB deal that included a $200K signing bonus and a non-guaranteed $1M wage. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the situation that the wage grew to become assured if Gamel had been on the Opening Day roster.
