- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Hinch feeling bullish about Astros’ bats
- Updated: December 7, 2016
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Making out the lineup card last season wasn’t exactly the highlight of Astros manager A.J. Hinch’s daily ritual. The bottom half certainly had its limits, though the additions of Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel lengthened it later in the season.
Acquiring veteran hitters Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran and Norichika Aoki in the offseason to add to Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Evan Gattis, Bregman and Gurriel has given Hinch one of the deepest lineups in baseball. Needless to say, he likes where his team is headed in 2017.
• Hot Stove Tracker
“It’s been exciting, because it felt like leading up to the [Winter] Meetings, we were the most active team with the most success at getting to the finish line,” Hinch said on Tuesday during his media session at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. “We’ve got to be one of the [deepest] teams, position-player-wise, in our league.”
Indeed. All four of the hitters the Astros acquired fill the team’s need for left-handed bats and give Hinch flexibility. The lineup has speed, switch-hitters and …
