FootyChatter.com

MLB TORONTO — Into an inferno sprinted AJ Blubaugh, the 25-year-old rookie thrust into a role few are prepared to fill. Luis Garcia’s injury and abrupt exit in the second inning of Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays made Blubaugh a focus of 40, 252 fidgety fans at Rogers Centre. Relievers replacing an injured pitcher are allowed unlimited time to warm up. Blubaugh’s routine is still that of a starter, meaning his process is more prolonged. Doing all of it with an entire ballpark fixated on every move is, at best, an awkward experience. Advertisement Blubaugh acknowledged “thinking I had to hurry” for the game to resume in a timely manner. It’s why he sprinted in from the bullpen after Garcia’s exit. Two Houston Astros veterans noticed the gait and got to work. First baseman Christian Walker met Blubaugh before he threw the first warmup tosses. “Listen, take as much time as you need, ” Walker told him, according to Blubaugh. “Go through your whole routine. Don’t start pitching until you’re ready. Take a deep breath. You got this. ’” Third baseman Carlos Correa soon followed, echoing much of what Walker told the young pitcher. Correa even came over to Blubaugh when he finished his warmup — which took less than 10 minutes — to make sure he felt ready. “It was really important to me because I definitely was sped up, ” Blubaugh said. “Just them stopping me there for a second so I could take a breath and really gather my thoughts and go from step one instead of just jumping right to step two. ” Blubaugh retired 10 of the 12 Blue Jays hitters he faced, authoring a compelling case to take the rotation spot Garcia vacated. After the game, Correa called Blubaugh “my favorite rookie pitcher that we have. ” “He’s been coming in big spots, saving the bullpen, giving us a chance to stay in games and win games, ” Correa said of Blubaugh, who boasts a 2. 12 ERA in 17 innings out of Houston’s bullpen. None of those featured more stress than the 3 1/3 innings Blubaugh fired on Tuesday. Without Walker and Correa calming him down beforehand, it’s worth wondering how effective Blubaugh would’ve been. “They didn’t have to do that, ” Blubaugh said. “They could’ve just stayed at the base, gone into the dugout or gotten some water. Going out of their way to help me like that, it really meant a lot and eased my mind and consciousness. “Just seeing those two guys behind me with the historic careers they’ve had and continue to have, it’s really cool to have the respect for them to stop me and make sure I’m doing OK. ” A season of firsts continues for Cam Smith, the wunderkind whose role on the 2025 Astros has been accentuated across the first six games of this road trip. Smith has started just two of them. Advertisement During the three games Smith started on the bench, manager Joe Espada inserted him as a pinch-hitter against a left-handed reliever in place of Jesús Sánchez. Smith hit a triple against Texas Rangers southpaw Hoby Milner, then worked a walk against Blue Jays left-hander Brendon Little the next night. “He understands his role, facing a little bit more lefties, so he can narrow his search and study on certain guys, ” Espada said. “He’s done a really nice job. ” Before this road trip, Smith had not taken a pinch-hit plate appearance all season. The entire concept is foreign to Smith — or any former first-round pick with his pedigree. Preparing for his new role has been paramount. Smith said he has leaned on utilityman Mauricio Dubón to help tailor his routine. “I would say the first three innings, one of those innings, just get tee work in as a warmup and then throughout the game, I pay attention and see if there’s a lefty (warming in the bullpen), come in here and do some cage work, ” Smith said. “I watch the lefties on film, see their heat maps and all that, just prepare mentally for the at-bat before it happens. ” “I think it just comes with good preparation. I think that’s it. I think if you have good preparation, you have a lot better of a chance. ” Logic suggests this is the most straightforward way for Smith to make a meaningful contribution on a potential playoff roster. Sánchez has and will continue to start over Smith against all right-handed starting pitchers. However, the slew of southpaws atop American League rotations — Garrett Crochet, Carlos Rodón, Max Fried and Tarik Skubal are just a few — could increase Smith’s role in particular matchups. “Looking forward, I think he’s an everyday player, ” Espada said. “We’re just trying to manage his workload and his development. ” Asking Jose Altuve to move off second base this winter created a hole Houston has struggled to fill. Injuries complicated matters, but the Astros still started six different second basemen prior to the trade deadline. Advertisement One of the players they acquired, Ramón Urías, has started 18 of the 38 games there since, helping to solidify a position that’s been in flux while placing him where he’s always felt comfortable. “Like riding a bike, ” a smiling Urías said last week. “The thing is, I was a second baseman before I played third. It’s more like my natural position, so I feel pretty comfortable there. ” Last season, Urías made two starts and three appearances at second base with the Baltimore Orioles. He made one this season before Baltimore shipped him to the Astros. The Orioles, it should be noted, have Jackson Holliday entrenched as their second baseman, which likely limited Urías’ exposure there. Acquiring Correa removed any opportunity for Urías to play third base, where he won a Gold Glove in 2022. His transition back to second base has impressed infield coach Tony Perezchica who — like most in the Astros’ organization — had only seen Urías play third base. “He’s got tremendous hands and an accurate arm, but his range is what has surprised me, ” Perezchica said. “I knew he moved well at third, but I didn’t realize how well he moved, especially in the middle of the field. “(After) playing third, you go in the middle of the field and it’s extra space to cover and he’s done that well. ” Upon arriving in Houston, Urías did ask Perezchica for advice on how to turn double plays — something he rarely needed while playing third. Urías had a tendency to either toss the baseball underhand to a covering shortstop or from a sidearm angle to first base. Perezchica has encouraged him to throw overhand to help his accuracy. “I want that thing straight over the top, ” Perezchica said. “If he has to go down because the throw brings him down there, I get that, but for the most part, I want him to stay over the top. He is going to have better accuracy going to the bag and, if he one-hops the ball, it’s easier for our first baseman to pick that ball. ” Optioning outfielder Chas Mc Cormick to Triple-A Sugar Land last week doubled as a last-ditch attempt to salvage something from his disappointing season. It may have also started the clock on his Astros tenure. Advertisement Even during the extended absence of starting center fielder Jake Meyers, Mc Cormick had morphed into the last man on Espada’s bench, passed over for playing time by both Jacob Melton and Taylor Trammell. Mc Cormick missed 40 games after straining his left oblique in late May, but slashed just . 210/. 279/. 290 across 116 plate appearances. Since a breakout 2023 season in which he posted a 130 OPS+, Mc Cormick has a . 574 OPS in his past 158 games. According to Baseball-Reference, Mc Cormick has been worth minus-1. 6 wins above replacement during that stretch. Mc Cormick did not start any of the five games prior to his demotion and had drawn just 15 starts in Houston’s first 43 games after the All-Star break. “I really wanted to get him playing. He’s not getting the reps here (with) the way our roster (is constructed), ” Espada said last week. “We still have four weeks of season left. Going to Triple-A and get that bat going, if we can get him to figure some stuff out, there’s always a possibility to get him back up here. ” Since his demotion, Mc Cormick has gone hitless in his first 13 at-bats at Triple-A Sugar Land. With Meyers back on the Astros’ active roster, Trammell functions as the fourth outfielder. Dubón can also play all three outfield spots, too, squeezing Mc Cormick out of any possible role. Whether one will exist for him next season is a mystery. Mc Cormick will go through the arbitration process for a third and final time this winter — and is due a raise from the $3. 4 million salary he made this season. Enough money is coming off the books this winter that Houston shouldn’t have to worry about shedding salary to stay under the luxury tax, but non-tendering Mc Cormick remains an obvious possibility. That the Astros acquired Sánchez at the deadline, already employ Smith and have witnessed an offensive breakout by Meyers only lessens the need for Mc Cormick. Mc Cormick’s offensive profile has long intrigued some other teams, too, so dangling him in trade discussions could be beneficial for someone who could need a change of scenery. (Top photo of AJ Blubaugh: Kevin Sousa / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Chandler Rome is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the Houston Astros. Before joining The Athletic, he covered the Astros for five years at the Houston Chronicle. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University. Follow Chandler on Twitter @Chandler_Rome