Astros trim down major league roster; Appel, Aplin, and Straily sent down

The Astros announced another round of major league roster cuts this morning; resigning Mark Appel, Andrew Aplin to minor league camp, and optioning Dan Straily.

#Astros reassign Mark Appel, Andrew Aplin, option Dan Straily to minor league camp, GM Jeff Luhnow announced this morning.

— Houston Astros (@astros) March 23, 2015

Straily being cut from major league camp is a bit of a surprise, but at the same time it's not. When Houston traded for Straily this winter, many penciled him in as the Astros fifth starter. He had made 42 career major league starts with the Athletics and Cubs.

The key reason Straily is in minor league camp at this moment is the fact that he still has roster options left. Houston can mold him in the minors like Collin McHugh without having to put him through waivers. The Astros don't have control over Roberto Hernandez and Samuel Deduno, who have both pitched well this spring. Straily now out of the running -Hernandez, Deduno, and Asher Wojciechowski square off for the final rotation spot.

Mark Appel got his second taste of major league camp this spring. This time around he didn't have to have an emergency appendectomy to start Spring Training. Appel give up two runs over seven innings of work with the major league club this spring - striking out five and walking two. On Saturday, Appel pitched three scoreless against the Yankees.

Andrew Aplin batted .071 (1-14) with five walks, two stolen bases, and five runs scored this spring.