March 26: Rodgers’ contract contains a $2MM base salary plus another $300K of incentives tied to plate appearances, Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports. Rodgers would receive $50K bonuses for reaching each of 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.
March 25: The Astros will select Brendan Rodgers onto the major league roster, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The former Rockies second baseman breaks camp after signing a minor league deal last month.
Rodgers didn’t exactly force his way into the picture with a huge Spring Training. He hit .233 without a home run over 44 plate appearances. Still, it was surprising that he needed to settle for a minor league deal in the first place. Rodgers is a former third overall pick who spent four seasons as Colorado’s primary second baseman. He has never lived up to the top prospect billing, but he’s been a better than replacement level performer.
The 28-year-old hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers across 539 plate appearances last season. Like many Colorado hitters, he had extreme home/road splits. Rodgers hit .328/.396/.502 at Coors Field and .214/.247/.323 away from Denver. The thin air in Colorado can flatten pitchers’ breaking stuff, which causes trouble for a lot of Rockies hitters as they try to adjust to sharper stuff when on the road. The Astros will hope for some positive regression in Rodgers’ road production to compensate for the expected drop-off in his numbers at home.
Rodgers won a Gold Glove at second base in 2022. Public metrics have painted that as an outlier season; he has graded as a middling defender by Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast in every other year. Rodgers hasn’t played anywhere other than the keystone since 2021. That’ll limit his versatility as a bench piece.
Houston will use Jose Altuve primarily in left field. While Mauricio Dubón is technically the starting second baseman, he’s capable of playing essentially anywhere. Rodgers could draw into the lineup at second on days when Espada wants to move Dubón around to rest someone else. As a player with more than five years of service, Rodgers cannot be sent to the minors without his consent.
The Astros have two openings on their 40-man roster at the moment. They’ll add Rodgers, Cam Smith, Rafael Montero and Steven Okert by Opening Day. They’ve already informed the out-of-options Cooper Hummel that he won’t make the team. He’ll be designated for assignment or waived. They can easily open the final spot by transferring an injured pitcher (e.g. J.P. France, Cristian Javier) to the 60-day injured list.