Houston Astros sign catcher Dustin Garneau from the Oakland Athletics

Dustin Garneau (Google Images)

The Houston Astros have found a catcher for the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season. On Monday they signed Dustin Garneau of Torrance, California to a one year contract worth $650,000.

Last season Garneau shared his time with the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros. He batted .244 with three home runs and 14 runs batted in. During 35 games and 86 at bats, Garneau scored 14 runs, and collected 16 hits, three doubles, 10 walks, 35 total bases and had an on base percentage of .350 and slugging percentage of .407.

The Astros will be Garneau’s fifth Major League Baseball team. In addition to the Athletics and Angels, he has played for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox.

Right now Garneau is first on the Astros depth chart when it comes to catchers. However due to the fact he has been primarily a backup catcher in his Major League Baseball career, it seems somewhat  likely that the Astros will look to bring in one more catcher before Spring Training starts in February. Do not be surprised however if Houston tries to add to their catcher depth via a trade rather than free agency. That is because Garneau’s statistics are better than most catchers left on the free agent market.

The Astros also currently have catcher Garrett Stubbs of San Diego, California on their roster. However do not expect to see Stubbs used as a regular catcher or a starter in Houston in 2020 as he only batted .200 in 35 games in 2019.

The Astros are in this position to fill a void at catcher because Robinson Chirinos of Punto Fijo, Venezuela is a free agent. Chirinos batted .238 with 17 home runs and 58 runs batted in as the regular catcher for Houston in 2019. Other catchers available on free agency include Jason Castro (who played with Houston before), Alex Avilia and Russell Martin.