With tomorrow’s deadline to tender 2016 contracts to arbitration eligible players looming, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Astros are “shopping” first baseman Chris Carter.
Few players in baseball have more power than Carter, who hit 24 homers in 129 games this year and has averaged 30 homers per 150 games for his career, but he’s also a career .217 hitter with little defensive value who should probably be a designated hitter.
Houston has no shortage of power options, many of whom have somewhat similar skill sets to Carter, so shopping him around makes sense. He seems unlikely to generate a big return, however. Carter could command a salary of more than $6 million via arbitration.
