Check out the rest of the Crawfish Boxes here and listen to the latest version of Locked on Astros, our partnered podcast, here.
Astros News
- The Cardinals and Astros battled it out to a draw last night, ending with a 4-4 score after 9 innings (MLB.com)
- There was good news on the Framber Valdez front as it seems like season-ending surgery will no longer be necessary for his fractured finger (MLB Trade Rumors)
- The same cannot be said for Forrest Whitley, who has undergone Tommy John Surgery (ESPN)
- Or for Josh James, who had a “physical setback” recently, but the team is downplaying it (Texas Sports Nation, $$$)
- More pitching news, this time in the form of Justin Verlander making his first post-TJS pitches (Astros.com)
- Michael Bolsinger’s court case against the Astros for ruining his career has been tossed out of California court, though he does have plans to re-file in Texas (The Athletic, $$$)
Around the League
- Are custom bats on their way to becoming the wave of the future? MLB might have something to say about that (ESPN)
- Here are four bold predictions for the American League in the upcoming season (FanGraphs)
- Freshly minted Angels GM Perry Minasian recently sat down to talk Shohei Ohtani, the state of his team, and his view of the AL West (MLB.com)
- This might surprise you, but Lucas Giolito thinks the White Sox have some of the the best pitching in baseball (MLB.com)