The Houston Astros are coming off of their worst season in franchise history (106 losses) and it doesn’t appear they will be getting better any time soon. Let’s see what is going on with the Astros so far this winter and if their is any hope for Astro fans.

Don't lose faith in Wallace just yet

Jim Crane Is Set To Take Over: The owners’ meetings are taking place today and it is expected that Crane will finally be approved to be the Astros new owner. Crane will take over for Drayton McLane who owned the team for 18 years and with that will come a great deal of change for the Astros. The main change will be a move to the American League.

The Astros will be moving to the American League West in 2013 and because of that, Crane got a $70 million discount on the sale price of the team. That is fascinating to me. Who knew that Major League Baseball franchises could be treated like a Black Friday sale at Bloomingdale’s.

I am really surprised this deal is going to go through. Maury Brown of Forbes had a great, great column about Crane back in June. When you read the article and you read about his hiring practices towards women and African Americans at Eagle Global Logistics, you have to wonder why baseball even wants to get involved with someone who isn’t A. Part of the good-ole boys network and B. Isn’t 100 percent squeaky clean.

Where Does Brett Wallace Fit in? Astros’ manager Brad Mills said yesterday (via Alyson Footer) that Carlos Lee is penciled in as the Astros starting first baseman in 2012. Lee is coming off a season in which he hit .275/.342/.446 with 18 HR’s in 653 plate appearances.

I can certainly see why Lee is penciled in at first base. With Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence gone and with Lee, a slug who can no longer play the outfield, first base is his only option. However, with Lee at first, this means that there is no spot on the Major League roster for Wallace.

Wallace has been quite the disappointment since being traded to the Astros from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010. In a total of 537 plate appearances, Wallace has a .248/.323/.354 slash line with just seven HR’s.

Wallace will most likely start the 2012 season in Triple-A, but don’t lose faith in him. He has a career .868 OPS in the minor leagues and he hasn’t even turned 26 yet. I think Alex Gordon proved in 2011 that a guy can be a late bloomer and not all players who don’t blossom at the age of 24 are busts.

Lee will be a free agent at the end of the 2012 season and I am sure the Astros will do everything they can to try to trade Lee and get something for him during the season. Wallace may not start the season with the Astros, but he figures to get his shot again later in the season.

Where Will Wandy Rodriguez End Up?: The Astros don’t have much talent at the Major League level, but the one big trade chip they have is Rodriguez. Rodriguez is coming off a season in which he had a 3.49 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and a 1.5 WAR in 191 innings.

The Astros have to be smart with Rodriguez here. Smart in the fact that they can’t overplay their hand. Believe it or not, Rodriguez is going to be 33 at the start of spring training next year. He’s no spring chicken.

Houston should get what they can for Rodriguez now and try to trade him before the season starts. We already saw some regression in Rodriguez last season (lowest K/9 and highest xFIP in four years), so the last thing the Astros want to do is have Rodriguez start the season with the team and have him showing some signs of age.

The Astros are going nowhere with Rodriguez, so they should move him now. The Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Miami Marlins are teams that have shown interest or could be interested in acquiring the left-handed pitcher.

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By The Baseball Index