Astros send 5 players to minor league camp

The Houston Astros have a little over three weeks of Spring Training under their belt and the time has come to start trimming the fat from the roster.

The Astros announced on Sunday had sent five players to minor league camp: RHP Edison Frias, LHP Brian Holmes, RHP Cy Sneed, C Garrett Stubbs, RHP Aaron West.

Frias, 26, appeared in three Spring Training games. He most famously had arguably the worst outing in Spring Training history to the 2017 season. Frias gave up three home runs and was ejected after hitting Miguel Cabrera.

Holmes, 26, a 2012 13th round pick out of Wake Forest. He appeared in three games. He allowed three runs on seven hits over 4 ²⁄₃ innings, while striking out four and walking one.

Sneed, 24, was the return piece for the 2016 Jonathan Villar trade. He appeared in three spring games, he allowed nine runs on 11 hits over four innings.

Stubbs, 23, a 2015 8th round pick out of USC. He didn’t have an at-bat this spring.

West, 26, 2012 17th round draft pick out of Washington. West appeared in four games, allowing two earned runs on four hits — including 1 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless baseball against Miami on March 11. He Struck out seven and walked one.

None of these five players will make a major impact at the major league level in 2017, but it could speak to the fact that the clock ticking away for the older players like Holmes and West.