Mauricio Dubón started again at first but Bligh Madris will give Dusty Baker another...
LOS ANGELES — Amid their latest roster moves, the Astros added another candidate to help address a shortcoming of their season’s first half.
Bligh Madris joined the Astros before their opener against the Dodgers on Friday, taking the spot of catcher César Salazar, who was optioned Wednesday. Madris, 27, has played mostly corner outfield spots in the minors. But he can also play first base. And first base for the Astros has been an issue. Signing José Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million deal last offseason aimed to stabilize the position and bolster the middle of Houston’s lineup. But Abreu has struggled badly, entering Friday with a .587 OPS that ranked second-lowest among qualified major-league players. The Astros’ negative-1.1 wins above replacement at first base, lowest in the American League, largely reflect that lack of production.
A better start to June for Abreu stirred some optimism. But manager Dusty Baker said he saw signs that Abreu was “slowing down a little bit” toward the end of last homestand and sat Abreu in Wednesday’s finale, giving Mauricio Dubón his first professional start at first base. Abreu was not in the lineup again Friday at Dodger Stadium. Dubón, who carried a team-leading .292 average into the game, drew another start at first. It marked the first time this season Abreu has been held out back-to-back games. He started 72 of the Astros’ first 72 games, four of those at designated hitter.Houston has few seasoned options behind Abreu. Yainer Diaz has started three games at first base with the Astros this season and logged 375⅓ innings there in the minors.
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