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The Crawfish Boxes

https://www.crawfishboxes.com/ | 142 entries published

Astros baseball: we've got uniforms and everything.

Latest Entries

Who is Mike Burrows?

The night after Lance McCullers Jr out-dueled Paul Skenes, the Astros faced an unknown 25-year old right-hander, making just his third Major League start. Mike Burrows took the mound at PNC Park with an 8.64 ERA and proceeded to strikeout six over 5.1 scoreless innings without issuing a walk, on the way to a 3-0 […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads

BREAKING: Astros trade for SP Mike Burrows

The cold stove just got a little warmer as the Houston Astros have pulled the trigger on a three team trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays. The Pirates are sending starting pitcher Mike Burrows to Houston with outfielders Jacob Melton and pitching prospect Anderson Brito going to the Rays as part of […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads

In the Lab: Left Fielder BPO

If any position serves as a microcosm of the Astros 2025 season it is left field. It started with Jose Altuve in left field and Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter and ended with neither of them playing in left field. It also started with Zach Dezenzo in a supportive role, but by the time June […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads

News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/18/2025

All the latest news and rumors on your Houston Astros and from around MLB – it’s in here! Today’s offseason Crawfish Boil for December 18, 2025: Cliff Notes: Passan identified the Astros as being in the mix for a top-tier starting pitcher. Rosenthal also goes on to say that trading Marte is the most likely […]

about 1 month ago | 1 read

Dustin May and the Day the Cardinals Almost Moved to Houston

Today, the St. Louis Cardinals officially announced they have signed SP Dustin May. It’s a one-year deal worth $12M with a $20M mutual option for 2027. That is news, but it’s just the tip of the story. Dustin May, who has worn the number 85 every year since becoming a major leaguer, will be doing […]

about 1 month ago | 1 read

2025 Astros Farm System Position Series: First Base

The final review of the 2025 season will be looking at each position in the Astros farm system. Next up is the first base position. BEST OF THE BUNCH Will Bush Bush was drafted out of junior college a couple years ago but had a breakout season in 2025. The 21-year-old started the season in […]

about 1 month ago | 4 reads

In the Lab: Jeff Kent and the Hall of Fame Index

We usually would be continuing on with our outfielders and bases per out, but this is the perfect time of year to slow down and take a look at some other things we wouldn’t have time to do during the season. The news on Kent and his Hall of Fame election is a little more […]

MLB

about 1 month ago | 3 reads

News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/16/2025

All the latest news and rumors for the Houston Astros and all around MLB – It’s in here! The offseason edition Crawfish Boil for December 16, 2025: The former 2011 2nd Rd pick of the Houston Astros split 2025 between the White Sox and Rays, going a combined 8-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.28 […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads

News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/15/2025

The latest news and rumors for the Houston Astros and from around MLB – it’s in here! Today’s offseason Crawfish Boil for December 15, 2025: That’s a good amount of deferred money, and a conditional option that kicks in if the following happens per Ronald Blum of the AP: Los Angeles has a $6.5 million […]

about 1 month ago | 4 reads

Astros Best Path to Contention is to Spend Money

Astros general manager Dana Brown gave a very telling quote while talking with reporters in Orlando at last week’s winter meetings in his quest to improve his team’s roster.  “Most of these teams, they’re not really asking much about the young prospects right now, so there’s a chance that we may have to trade from […]

about 1 month ago | 3 reads

In the Lab: Shortstop BPO

In this edition, we are going to play agent for Jeremy Pena. There is no drama over whether Pena will be the shortstop for the Astros in 2026. He is arguably the most valuable position player on the team according to wins above replacement. Obviously, a healthy and productive Yordan Alvarez may challenge him on […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads

News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/14/2025

All the latest news and rumors regarding the Houston Astros and from around MLB – It’s in here! The off-season Crawfish Boil for December 14, 2025 Kelly, entering his age-37 season, finished 2025 12-9, 3.52 ERA and 1.114 WHIP between Arizona and Texas last season. Woo also reports that the Giants and Mariners are both […]

about 1 month ago | 4 reads

Five Bold Moves for the Astros This Offseason

The MLB offseason is always overflowing with rumors and ideas, major national voices saying where players could sign or who could be traded. It makes for a lot of fun in the winter keeping the hot stove burning. In keeping with this tradition, here are 5 bold moves the Astros could make this offseason that […]

about 1 month ago | 1 read

News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/12/25

The latest news and rumors for the Astros and from around the league: it’s all in here. Today’s off-season edition of The Crawfish Boil: You can get the whole podcast here: You can read the whole story here:

about 1 month ago | 8 reads

Astros Add Three New Players in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball held its annual Rule 5 Draft, an event that allows teams to select eligible players from other organizations’ rosters, with a few exceptions. Players can be chosen in either the major league or minor league phases, and while Rule 5 picks don’t always make a significant impact, the Astros have […]

about 1 month ago | 4 reads

In the lab: Third Base BPO

The in the lab feature has just gotten off the ground, but we have already had a number of excellent questions and comments. We are here to talk Astros baseball and do so in a systematic way, but we are also here to learn more about the game and the numbers that people use. One […]

about 1 month ago | 3 reads

News & Rumors: Winter Meetings Wrap Up

MLB’s Winter Meetings have wrapped up, and they were chock full of big deals and hot rumors. Here is all the stuff you want to know for your Houston Astros and from around MLB: Munoz has not had much success at the MLB level, going 2-7 with a 6.73 ERA over 27 appearances (17 starts) […]

MLB

about 1 month ago | 3 reads

In the lab: Second Base BPO

One of the most important jobs that a teacher does is adjust their lesson. We do that on a daily basis in the high school classroom. Sometimes students show that they didn’t get what we taught, so we have to find another way to teach it to them. Sometimes they demonstrate that they already know […]

about 2 months ago | 3 reads

2025 Astros Farm System Position Series: Catchers

The final review of the 2025 season will be looking at each position in the Astros farm system. First up is the catcher position. BEST OF THE BUNCH Walker Janek The Astros’ 2024 first-round pick, Janek made a strong impression in his first professional season. The 22-year-old slashed .263/.333/.433 across 92 games for High-A Asheville, […]

about 2 months ago | 4 reads

Astros Hot Stove: Updates from Day 1 of Winter Meetings

News and Rumors from Day 1 of the Winter Meetings: Baz’ power stuff seemed to return last year, his first full year after returning from Tommy John surgery, but he faded in the second half. His has some major stuff however, and the Astros are known for maximizing pitching talent. Coming off a down year, […]

about 2 months ago | 3 reads

Astros Officially Sign SP Ryan Weiss

The Houston Astros have signed right-handed pitcher Ryan Weiss to a one-year Major League contract that also includes a club option for 2027. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager Dana Brown. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. Weiss pitched the last two seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) and had a huge year […]

about 2 months ago | 2 reads

Astros Announce New 12 Days of Deals for Light Up the Park

12 Days of Deals for Astros Light Up the Park, presented by Houston Methodist, begins on Monday, Dec. 8 with a different deal available for fans every day. Monday, Dec. 8 begins a special 12 Days of Deals for Astros Light Up the Park, presented by Houston Methodist, that will run through Friday, Dec. 19. Each day has a special deal that is available […]

about 2 months ago | 2 reads

Baseball Hall Voters Get Kent Right, Everything Else Wrong

I have long been an advocate of Jeff Kent getting into Cooperstown. He is the best power-hitting second baseman of all time. His 354 career HR are 19 more than the twice-suspended Robinson Cano (PEDs) and 79 more than Ryne Sandberg, who is currently third on the list. His .865 career OPS is fourth all […]

MLB

about 2 months ago | 3 reads

In the Lab: Astros First Base BPO

“I come to praise Caesar not to bury him.” — William Shakespeare Bill James once said that numbers take on the property of language. I make my living as a school teacher. To be more specific, I support special education students in English classrooms. These two worlds are intersecting this week when it comes to […]

about 2 months ago | 3 reads

Jeff Kent elected to the Hall of Fame

Former Houston Astros second baseman Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by the Hall of Fame by Era committee. The Eras committee is the modern interpretation of the old Veterans Committee. They look at only candidates from a particular era every year and 2025 was the year for modern […]

about 2 months ago | 2 reads