Astros Crawfish Boil: December 8. 2022

Dec 8, 2022 - 7:02 PM

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With the Winter Meetings complete, it’s time to sit and wait. Still another 10+ weeks until pitchers and catchers report.

First and foremost, I offer my apologies. This Boil was signed and sealed last night in plenty of time for a timely delivery. Unfortunately, I set it for 8PM instead of 8AM. I was at work until just now, my first chance to fix the problem. Anyway, I hope it doesn’t ruin your offseason mood. Cheers!

Houston Astros News

Houston Astros Lose Four Prospects, Gain Four in Rule 5 Draft (si.com)

Astros miss out on Willson Contreras as catcher reaches deal with Cardinals ($houstonchronicle.com)

What’s next for Astros after Winter Meetings? (mlb.com)

Houston Astros utilityman Aledmys Díaz set to join division rival (chron.com)

Houston Astros whiff on primary free agent target (Houston.sportsmap.com)

OPINION: Houston Astros Will be Just Fine Without Justin Verlander (si.com)

MLB News

MLB Winter Meetings: Six takeaways as Aaron Judge stays put, Phillies and Mets make noise, Red Sox fall short (cbssports.com)

MLB rumors: Aaron Judge, Padres held last-minute meeting for surprise $400M bid (sports.yahoo.com)

MLB Reporter Sets Baseball Twitter on Fire With a Desire to Be First Instead of Right (si.com)

Red Sox agree to deal with Japanese OF Yoshida (source) (mlb.com)

2022 Rule 5 Draft results: Pick by pick (mlb.com)

MLB Passes Protective Netting Requirements at Minor League Ballparks (si.com)

MLB Commissioner backs Rays newest stadium efforts (baynews9.com)

Oops! All Astros: Yeremi Ceballos

Yeremi Ceballos is a six-foot-two, 165 lb. left-handed relief pitcher from Santo Domingo, DR. Born on December 21, 1998, he made his first professional appearance with the Rookie-level DSL Astros Blue in 2016, pitching to a 0.79 ERA over 34 innings, with 30 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Ceballos pitched in three games in 2017, then played in 15 contests in 2019 across four levels of Houston's system. He pitched 2 ²⁄₃ innings with the GCL Astros at the Rookie-level, nine innings with the short-season-A Tri-City ValleyCats, 3 ¹⁄₃ innings with the mid-level-A Quad Cities River Bandits, and 9 ¹⁄₃ innings with the then-High-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. In 24 ¹⁄₃ innings in total, he allowed only 11 base hits and struck out 26. Opponents managed a .129/.275/.271 slash against him in what was likely his career peak.

After sitting 2020 out, Ceballos put up an 8.74 ERA over 22 ²⁄₃ innings in 2021 with the High-A Asheville Tourists. This past season, he managed to pitch one inning each at each of Houston’s rookie-level Florida Coast League teams, striking out four and allowing three runs on three hits. Houston granted his free agency on November 10.