Domingo Santana, Luis Cruz among Astros' first cuts of spring training

According to MLB.com's Brian McTagart, the Astros have made the first cuts of the spring. No surprises here, as outfielder Domingo Santana, lefthander Luis Cruz and catcher Luis Flores were all sent to the minors.

Astros option OF Domingo Santana and LHP Luis Cruz, and reassign C Luis Flores

— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) March 13, 2015

Santana and Cruz were both optioned, because they are on the 40-man roster. Flores, a catcher acquired in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft from the Cubs, was reassigned to minor league camp.

Santana, 22, appeared in five games this spring, going 0-for-10 at the plate with six strikeouts and one RBI.

Cruz, 24, appeared in two games for the Astros. The 5-foot-9 lefty had a 2.45 ERA in 3 2/3 innings this spring, allowing two hits and one run while striking out four and walking two. It's his third trip to big league spring training and the second straight year he's struck out four in fewer than four innings.

Flores, 28, appeared in two games, going 0-for-1 at the plate at that time. His presence in big league camp was due to all those pitchers who need targets. Generally, there are an overabundance of catchers in camp at this point, to catch all those bullpen sessions and to warm guys up. As camp rolls along, they get optioned or sent down.

With these three cuts, the Astros have 57 players in camp.