MLB Network’s Peter Gammons took some time away from his normal entertainingly nonsensical tweeting to break some news about the pending sale of the Astros and their eventual move to the AL West (h/t MLBTR).
@pgammoPeter Gammons – Houston ownership change expected to go through in mid-November, w/ AL move. (Twitter link)
The sale of the Astros could potentially turn things around for the franchise. Back in 2009, they were a team with a payroll of about $103M. This past season, their payroll dropped to about $77M, a decent chunk of which was traded away in July (Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn). By moving to the AL West, the Astros become the first team to switch leagues since 1998 when the Milwaukee Brewers went from the American League Central to the National League Central. Not only would the Astros be moving from the NL to the AL, but they would go from the Central to the West, forming an instant inner-state, inner-division rivalry with the Texas Rangers. Clearly, it may take a few years for that rivalry to really mean anything given the extreme differences in talent on both ballclubs, but the “Battle for Texas” is sure to have its moments throughout the years.
As for the current state of the Astros, well, they’re not very good, to put it lightly. They will, however, have a DH spot to fill and that could come in handy should Brett Wallace develop alongside top prospect Jonathan Singleton. In the meantime, it’s a spot to shove the bulky Carlos Lee for the last year of his deal, making him an $18.5M DH, but keeping him from fumbling around in the field. I suspect that their pitching staff won’t enjoy facing the likes of the Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox and other AL teams more frequently than they would via interleague play.
All-in-all, this is a positive step for the Astros and for Major League Baseball. The leagues are now even, 15 teams apiece, and the Astros have new ownership in place that, hopefully, will invest more money into the franchise.
