The Astros take a low-risk gamble on another long shot to fill the gap in the outfield.
On August 20th, Astros’ Chandler Rome reported that the Astros claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from the New York Mets just two days after his release. Gamel was put on waivers on Sunday to make room for Mets outfielder Starling Marte who is coming back after being on the 10-day IL. Along with this move, the Astros are placing RHP JP France on the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.
France hits the IL about a month after the team announced that he would be undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He was able to make five starts in 2024, where he had a 7.46 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just 12 walks.
The Astros will be Gamel’s eighth team in his career and his third time playing for two different teams in one year. After signing with the Mets on a 1 year, $720,000 contract during the 2023 offseason, Gamel mashed in his short stint in the minors, hitting .314 with a .962 OPS. This led to his call up on June 25th and he played in 18 games before his designation.
In those 18 games, he only hit .218 with no RBI, no homers, only one double and one stolen base. Gamel will try and turn it around with the Astros, most likely getting spot starts in the outfield along with others on the roster like Pedro Leon, Chas McCormick and Trey Cabbage who have struggled in 2024.