Wednesday, March 11

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The competition at Astros camp is beginning to ramp up this week as manager Joe Espada and his staff evaluate candidates for the final few bullpen spots, the back end of the rotation and the last couple of position player slots.

Here’s a look at five players who began camp on the bubble and have put themselves in position to perhaps make the Opening Day roster:

RHP Ryan Weiss

How acquired: Signed to a one-year deal with a club option in December.

Background: Weiss posted a 3.16 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP with 305 strikeouts in 270 1/3 innings over the last two seasons with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. He pitched in 132 career Minor League games (47 starts) with Arizona and Kansas City, reaching Triple-A in 2021-23.

Spring performance: Threw three scoreless innings Monday in relief with six strikeouts, touching 96.5 mph, and has a 1.69 ERA in 5 1/3 spring innings.

What Espada said: “There is a presence about him now where he’s starting to take it to a different gear, reaching back and getting some fastballs by people, executing the slider. He’s got good stuff. The command is coming where he can throw his pitches any time in the count. It’s exactly the guy we say we really liked. He’s showing up at the right time.”

RHP Peter Lambert

How acquired: Signed to Minor League contract in November

Background: A 2015 second-round Draft pick, Lambert has 74 career games (35 starts) in his career with the Rockies. He pitched in 28 games in ’24 and had a 5.72 ERA in 61 1/3 innings. He spent last year pitching with the Yakult Swallows in Japan.

Spring performance: Has thrown six scoreless innings, allowing six hits and three walks with four strikeouts. He threw three scoreless Monday, hitting 96.3 mph.

What Espada said: “There’s a lot of upside to his stuff. I think playing away from Colorado can help him use his pitches better and the shape of his pitches. Could be a starter, can come out of the ‘pen. His stuff can play much higher out of the ‘pen. He’s definitely someone who has caught our attention.”

RHP Christian Roa

How acquired: Signed to Minor League contract in January

Background: Had a solid 2025 at Triple-A Jacksonville (Marlins) in which he posted a 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 innings, with 64 strikeouts, 28 walks and 38 hits allowed. Roa made his Major League debut on Sept. 6 and threw two scoreless innings against the Phillies.

Spring performance: Allowed one run (a homer) with no walks and eight strikeouts in five innings, including one scoreless inning Sunday, touching 97.6.

What Espada said: “He has had a resilient arm for quite a while. We like the demeanor on the mound. We have presented some ideas about his usage and offspeed pitches and getting more in the zone, and so far he’s doing just that.”

OF Taylor Trammell

How acquired: Trade from Yankees on Nov. 4, 2024

Background: Posted a .629 OPS in 52 games with the Astros last year and spent time with Triple-A Sugar Land. He split the 2024 season between the Dodgers' and Yankees' organizations, playing five games in the Majors for each team, but was in Triple-A most of the season.

Spring performance: Slashing .318/.423/.636 with a homer, five RBIs, four walks and a steal in 26 plate appearances.

What Espada said: “Trammell is getting quality at-bats, getting some walks, driving the ball and running the bases aggressively.”

OF/IF Brice Matthews

How acquired: First-round Draft pick (No. 28 overall) in 2023

Background: Matthews was slashing .283/.400/.476 with 10 homers, 39 RBIs and 25 steals at Triple-A last year when he was called up to the Major Leagues on July 11. He homered three times in a two-game span in Arizona in July and wound up posting a .674 OPS with four homers in 47 big league plate appearances.

Spring performance: Slashing .250/.333/.333 with seven RBIs and five steals while splitting time between center field and second base.

What Espada said: “Brice, he knows he can control the strike zone. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark. I love the speed and his goal is, and he’s heard me say this before, we just need to get barrel on the ball. If he gets barrel on the ball, puts more balls in play, he is going to find himself doing some damage with power and also on the bases. He’s very dynamic, very explosive. It’s getting him to make quality of contact so he can be productive.”

Espada has dozens of candid photographs of players and staffers, taken by Astros photographers in the early days of camp this year, filling a tackboard in his office. They serve as a daily reminder that players and others who work for the Astros are people first. They have families who support them and miss them.

“Sometimes, we get caught up in a lot that happens,” Espada said. “In my job, there’s a lot of things that are going on during the day that I get pulled in different directions, but I want to remind myself that it’s about those moments -- the smiles, the moments I spend with the players. Those are the things that I enjoy the most. I want to remind myself, 'Don’t forget to enjoy your day, be present, talk to your players' -- let them know how important they are to our team.”

Daikin Park continues to host the 2026 World Baseball Classic this week. Pool play comes to an end on Wednesday with Italy facing Mexico at 6 p.m. CT. The WBC quarterfinals are on Friday and Saturday. The winner and runner-up of Pool B (with the USA, Mexico and Italy still in the mix for the two spots) will face the winner and runner-up of Pool A (Puerto Rico has advanced, Cuba and Canada remain in contention) on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park. Tickets for the final game of pool play and the quarterfinals are available for purchase at astros.com/wbc.

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