The Astros have claimed 28-year old righty swinging catcher Craig Tatum off waivers from the Orioles. Tatum played in 31 games for the Orioles last year and he was 17 for 87 (.195 avg, .475 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 100 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 60 for 269 (.223 avg, .554 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 22 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Catcher has been a Black Hole the last few years for the Astros, so it doesn’t hurt to give a guy like Tatum a chance to make the team.

UPDATE: (1/24/2012) - The Astros have lost Craig Tatum on waivers to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

28-year old righty reliever Jose Valdez has elected to become a free agent this winter. He pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Astros last year and he was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Valdez also pitched in 24 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last year in which he was 1-1 with 9 saves, a 5.47 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Astros aren’t going to miss Valdez at all going forward.

UPDATE: (10/24/2011) - The Astros have re-signed Jose Valdez to a minor league deal.

The Houston Astros have two free agents after the World Series is over. One decision will likely be a hard one (Clint Barmes) while the other one (Jason Michaels) should be a easy one. Here is how I see things shaking down with these two guys:

Clint Barmes: 32-year old righty swinging shortstop Clint Barmes played in 123 games for the Astros last year and he was 109 for 446 (.244 avg, .698 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 12 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Astros must like Barmes because they got offers at the trade deadline for him, but they didn’t move him. PREDICTION: STAYING

Jason Michaels: 35-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Michaels played in 89 games for the Astros last year and he was 31 for 156 (.199 avg, .551 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Astros can do much better than Michaels on the free agent market. PREDICTION: LEAVING

32-year old righty swinging catcher Brian Esposito has opted to become a minor league free agent. He played in 2 games for the Astros in 2011 and he was 0 for 3 (.000 avg). He also played in 54 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 31 for 157 (.197 avg, .482 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. Despite the Astros having a huge hole behind the plate, they still aren’t going to miss Esposito at all.

The Houston Astros fell hard to the basement in the N.L. Central. They finished the season with a 56-106 record, which had them a cool 40 games behind the Brewers! Here is a look at the things that stood out to me about the Astros in 2011:

TEAM MVP & BEST PITCHER: 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez pitched his butt off for the lousy Astros in 2011. He gave the team confidence that they could would any game he pitched. He pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Astros in 2011 and he was 11-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 26-year old righty reliever Mark Melancon stepped into the closer’s job when Brandon Lyon went down for the season early in the year due to injury. Melancon pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Astros in 2011 and he was 8-4 with 20 saves, a 2.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He only gave up 65 hits in 74 1/3 innings while whiffing 66 batters as he was pretty darn impressive for the Astros in 2011.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Astros were counting on 28-year old lefty starting pitcher J.A. Happ to be one of their top starters in 2011. Instead, Happ was sent to AAA during the year due to how lousy he was pitching early in the year. Happ finished up by pitching in 28 games (all starts) in which he was 6-15 with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Happ gave up 157 hits in 156 1/3 innings in 2011 and he whiffed 134 batters, which is pretty impressive……but, he also walked 83 batters and gave up 21 homers which often got him into deep trouble.

18-year old righty relief pitcher Dustin Kellogg has been killed in an accident as his truck was hit head on by an 18-wheeler. He pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in Rookie Ball this year for the Astros and he was 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Kellogg whiffed 9 batters while only walking 1 in his 6 1/3 innings in the minors for the Astros. This is a terrible tragedy as my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.