Veteran infielder released by Astros

First baseman Jon Singleton has cleared waivers and will be released by the Astros, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. He has actually already been officially released, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It had been reported yesterday that Singleton would not be making the club’s Opening Day roster. Since he’s out of options, that meant his removal from the roster was inevitable.

Singleton served as the Astros’ primary first baseman in 2024 after the team released Jose Abreu. He delivered roughly league-average offense, by measure of wRC+, batting .234/.321/.386 with 13 homers. His defense and baserunning both drew negative grades, however, and he followed with a tepid .171/.239/.195 performance in 46 plate appearances this spring.

Houston signed Christian Walker to a three-year, $60M contract this offseason, installing him as the new everyday first baseman. With Yordan Alvarez locked into the Astros’ DH spot, Singleton’s only real path to a roster spot was as a left-handed bench bat. He’s been outperformed at the plate by Cooper Hummel, however, a switch-hitter with far more defensive utility. Hummel has experience at first base, behind the plate and in the outfield corners.

Now that Singleton has been released, he’ll be free to explore opportunities with other clubs. He might need to take a minor league deal, but a club seeking a lefty bat and/or depth at first base could take a look in the days ahead.