Astros sign Colby Rasmus for $8 million - MLB

UPDATE: Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com says it’s a done deal, with Rasmus getting $8 million on a one-year contract.

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Monday the Astros traded center fielder Dexter Fowler to the Cubs and now Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that Houston is “talking to” free agent center fielder Colby Rasmus.

George Springer and Jake Marisnick are both options to replace Fowler in center field for the Astros, but adding Rasmus would allow them to keep Springer in a corner spot while perhaps giving Marisnick more time to develop in the minors.

Rasmus strikes out too much and struggles against lefties, but he’s got 25-homer power with decent range in center field and has typically been a middle-of-the-order caliber bat versus righties.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”