HOUSTON -- Jeremy Peña launched a two-run homer in his return to the lineup on Tuesday night in the Astros’ final exhibition game against their Triple-A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, but his availability for Opening Day remained uncertain.
Peña went 1-for-4 with the 394-foot home run to left coming on his last at-bat in the sixth inning of Houston’s 6-5 win at Daikin Park.
Peña had been sidelined since fracturing his right ring finger at the tip during an exhibition on March 4 while playing for the Dominican Republic against the Tigers. The All-Star shortstop resumed swinging a bat on Friday.
“I felt good,” Peña said. “I feel like right now the concern is not the finger. The finger feels good to go. It’s a matter of getting at-bats and feeling like you’re ready. I’ve been out since March 4, and I haven’t seen any pitching at all, so it’s a matter of getting back to that game mode.”
Peña said he felt better than he expected.
“I went up there the first three at-bats, obviously, didn’t get the results I wanted, but I felt competitive at the plate, and I felt strong,” he said. “I felt like I was recognizing pitches. Overall, I would say it’s a win.”
Peña said his finger felt “good,” and he feels “it a little bit, but it’s not enough to not play.”
Peña’s availability for Opening Day might not be known until Thursday, as manager Joe Espada said the All-Star shortstop would get live batting practice on Wednesday, and the team would go from there.
“For not playing for two weeks, 2 1/2 weeks, I thought he looked pretty good,” Espada said. “I thought the timing, he was laying off some tough pitches. He hit two balls really hard. … He saw pitches. His timing looked good. We talked when he came out of the game. His body felt really strong.”
Peña said he wants to play, but he also wants to be smart about it.
“Obviously, you want to play,” he said. “You want to show up with the team, especially Opening Day. It’s always a special day, but at the same time, you have to be smart. It’s the beginning of the season. That’s why I say we need to think about it a little bit. We have 162 [games] to go. We’ll circle back tomorrow and see how I feel.”
Before the game, Espada discussed what Peña brought to the lineup.
“Our lineup just gets deeper and better when he’s in there,” Espada said. “We saw what he did last year and what he brings to our team, both offensively and defensively. Just to get him there, we are one step at a time."
Peña saw limited time in Spring Training games before the injury, going 2-for-11 in four games. He is coming off a season in which he hit .304 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs in 125 games.
“When Jeremy is on the field, we are a way, way better team,” Espada said. “Right now, when we are full, when we are healthy and we are loaded, our lineup is a really good lineup. He’s that piece right now. When he clears these next few hurdles, we’ll be ready to go.”
Roster decisions
Aside from Peña, the Astros’ Opening Day roster is becoming a bit clearer, at least at catcher.
Backup César Salazar was informed he would not make the Major League roster and would be placed on waivers, meaning Christian Vázquez, whom the Astros signed to a Minor League contract on March 7, will make the roster.
Espada said the conversation with Salazar was a “very, very difficult” one.
“It’s how we feel about César and what he means to the organization,” Espada said. “His relationship with the players, the human being he is, but we had to make that very difficult decision.”
Vázquez is no stranger to the Astros after joining the team at the Trade Deadline in 2022 and playing a role in Houston’s World Series win that season.
“We know Christian Vázquez really well,” Espada said. “The experience that he brings to our club, he’s played some big games throughout his career. The value, the credibility that he adds to the team, we took those qualities and also all the things into consideration when we made this decision.”
In addition, right-handed pitcher Peter Lambert asked for and was granted his release by the Astros.