The Houston Astros have been very busy over the past couple of days. On Wednesday, they signed free agent pitcher Charlie Morton to a two year, 14 million dollar contract. Then, on Thursday they turned around and traded two pitching prospects for catcher Brian McCann and then signed free agent outfielder Josh Reddick to a four year, 52 million dollar deal. We’ll take a look at each of these transactions individually.

Why did the Astros Sign Charlie Morton 

The only significant thing about this deal is the money involved. It’s a good time to be a mediocre pitcher in the big leagues. For the Astros, Morton looks to be a back-end starter that might be able to duplicate the success Doug Fister had last season. He has a high groundball rate (58 percent) and with their aggressive shifting he could experience good success if he is healthy. Of course, that has been the stickler for his entire career. He has a career high of 29 starts and I think most people would be comfortable taking the under on that total.

Why the Astros acquired Brian McCann

Usually, I would include the Yankee side of this deal, but there really is no need. They will chip in 11 million dollars and will get two minor league arms in return. Clearly, they see Gary Sanchez as the future and they get to save 23 million dollars over the next two seasons. Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman go to the Yankees, but they are low level minor leaguers that are not highly thought of. This was purely a salary dump for them.

For the Astros, this spells the end of the Jason Castro era. On the one hand, you could easily say McCann is closer to the end than he is to his prime, but with Evan Gattis in tow he doesn’t have to catch much more than 80 or 90 games. He can serve as a designated hitter in another 30 or 40 games and easily get to 500 plate appearances. His presence as a lefty power hitter is what they wanted out of this deal and with a hybrid platoon he and Gattis could both surpass 20 home runs and be top ten fantasy catchers.

Why the Astros Acquire Josh Reddick

One of the things the Astros have going for them is flexibility. They previously acquired Nori Aoki on waivers from the Seattle Mariners. Aoki could serve as the left fielder or could serve as a fourth outfielder because of his ability to play all three positions. George Springer can play all three positions as well, so he could move to center field to make room for Reddick. For his part, Reddick is a former Gold Glove outfielder that should slot into right field and gives the Astros another lefty to put in their right-handed dominant lineup.

What these deals mean for you?

The Astros will be utilizing a lot of platoons next season. That being said, Reddick and McCann should be better off in general because they are playing in a smaller ballpark and will have more talented hitters in the lineup they can drive in. Morton is someone you should not draft, but could always add somewhere down the line if he catches lightening in a bottle. As for the Astros, they are now moving on a position of strength entering the Winter Meetings. They’ve officially addressed all of their major needs, so they can sit back and listen to agents and teams without jumping at the first offer.