By C. Trent Rosecrans

The Astros' search for a closer has led them to their own rotation. Brett Myers, Houston's opening-day starter a season ago, will close this season, manager Brad Mills told reporters on Tuesday.

Houston Astros

Projected lineups, rotation Astros fantasy outlook NL Central spring positional battles

Myers has been a starter in all but one of his 10 years in the majors, closing for the Phillies in 2007. Last year he was 7-14 with a 4.46 ERA in 34 games, 33 of those starts. In 2007, he had 21 saves after moving from the team's opening-day starter to the back of its bullpen. He had a 4.33 ERA overall that season, but had a 2.87 ERA in 48 appearances as a reliever.

The team approached Myers about the switch after he reported to camp. Houston signed Lian Hernandez and Zach Duke to minor-league deals in the offseason to join the rotation with Wandy Rodriguez, Bud Norris and J.A. Happ. The team also has Jordan Lyles, Lucas Harrell, Henry Sosa and Kyle Weiland competing for a starting spot.

"From my standpoint, we have some depth in the rotatiton between Duke, Livan, Happ, Sosa and Harrell and all the young guys," Luhnow told reporters, including Brian McTaggert of MLB.com. "We feel like we're in pretty good shape there and have some choices. We felt like we were a little exposed in the bullpen and having a guy who's been successful in that role and who's got the mentality and stuff to do well takes the pressure off of Brandon Lyon coming off an injury and doesn't put pressure on young kids like David Carpenter and Wilton Lopez."

Lyon started the season as the team's closer last season, but was injured early in the season. Mark Melancon took over, picking up 20 saves. The Astros traded Melancon to the Red Sox for infielder Jed Lowrie and Weiland in December.

Myers, 31, is in the second year of a two-year deal paying him $11 million this season. The Astros have a $10 million club option (with a $3 million buyout) for 2013 that vests based on his number of starts. According to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the team has adjusted Myers' option in accordance to his new role.

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By Matt Snyder

What if players were only permitted to stay with the team that originally made them a professional? No trades, no Rule-5 Draft, no minor or major league free agency ... once you are a professional baseball player, you stay in that organization. This series shows how all 30 teams would look. We give you: Homegrown teams. To view the schedule/past entries of this feature, click here.

The most interesting thing about our latest installment in this series is that I believe this would have been one of the better teams in the majors had we done the exercise three or four years ago. How good would a Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt, Freddy Garcia top three in the rotation have been a handful of years ago -- along with Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence and Bobby Abreu leading the offense? Alas, we're doing it now and some of that sounds far less enticing. Still, let's check it out.

Lineup

1. Hunter Pence, CF
2. Jose Altuve, 2B
3. Ben Zobrist, RF
4. Lance Berkman, LF
5. Bobby Abreu, 1B
6. Chris Johnson, 3B
7. John Buck, C
8. Aaron Miles, SS

Starting Rotation

1. Johan Santana
2. Roy Oswalt
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Bud Norris
5. Jordan Lyles

Bullpen

Closer - Brad Lidge
Set up - Chad Qualls, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Fernando Abad,
Long - Felipe Paulino, Freddy Garcia

Notable Bench Players

Ramon Castro, Carlos Guillen, Drew Sutton, Brooks Conrad, Brian Bogusevic

What's Good?

The trio of Pence, Zobrist and Berkman makes the front part of the offense look really attractive and Abreu offers decent protection for the Puma. Fitting in that two-hole would also do wonders for the development of the young Altuve. Can we assume health in this exercise, considering it's for fun? Sure, I will. So the starting rotation looks pretty good -- albeit not dominant anymore -- with Johan as the ace and Oswalt a good number two (remember, back issues hampered him last year). If Lyles isn't ready yet, we can plug in Garcia or Paulino as the five.

What's Not?

Lidge and Qualls aren't bad, but there is nothing in front of them worth much except two starting pitchers -- and, again, we may need one of the two in the rotation. The bottom part of the batting order isn't very good either and the bench is thin. But let's focus on what is really bad: The defense. I fought back and forth with whether to put Abreu or Berkman in LF, but either one is a bad choice. I just feel like Berkman can move better at this point. I also had to shift Pence to center, even though he's better suited in right. Miles is much better used at second base and he's not even really good there.

Comparison to real 2011

Well, the 2011 Astros were the worst team in the majors and in franchise history. This team isn't particularly good, but it's better than that. With that rotation, a decent back-end of the bullpen and some offense, these Astros should be able to work close to the 75-win range. One thing is for sure, they wouldn't be the worst team in the NL Central. I also feel like the best news for Astros fans is there would actually be some name players here to root for, after having seen the likes of Oswalt, Berkman, Pence and Michael Bourn traded over the past two real seasons. Still, you can't help but think that there are enough pieces here that the Astros could have properly built a real-life team that was still in contention in 2011 -- had they made the right moves.

Next: Los Angeles Dodgers

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By Matt Snyder

Sure, Derek Lowe was dealt to the Indians in a salary dump and we've seen a few signings, but things have been pretty slow of late in Major League Baseball news. When the biggest name to sign a contract with a new team thus far is a backup first baseman/pinch-hitter (Jim Thome), it says everything you need to know about this past week in actual transactions. So forgive us for loving Melky Cabrera and Jonathan Sanchez swapping addresses. It's something, and it serves as a nice little unofficial start to the Hot Stove season.

With just one week to the general manager meetings in Milwaukee, it's time to focus on other potential trade candidates. Obviously rumors don't always come to fruition and we're shocked with non-rumored trades going down on occasion, but here are some names that either make sense or have been rumored to be on the move in the recent past.

• The White Sox's farm system is in absolute shambles and the major-league club doesn't appear ready to compete with the Tigers any time soon, so it's possible general manager Kenny Williams decides to rebuild. Since Adam Dunn and Alex Rios have no trade value, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Carlos Quentin would be the parts most likely to move.

• Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie is a free agent after the 2012 season and he could be a helpful four or five starter for a contender. He's thrown at least 190 innings in each of the past four seasons.

Hot Stove Season

Rosecrans: Wrong time to deal Wright Knobler: Reyes perfect fit for Detroit O's expected to name Duquette GM Tuesday D-Backs, Boras feud over Bloomquist Philly in 'serious pursuit' of Cuddyer Yanks plan to talk to Wilson Nats interested in Oswalt Agent: Buehrle open to any team

• Do new Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer look to cut the sunk costs of Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano? They'd have to eat a significant portion of the remaining salaries (and for Soriano it's $54 million left on the deal), but the duo isn't helping the Cubs win in 2012. Also, Marlon Byrd only has one year left on his contract and prospect Brett Jackson will likely be ready to take over in center soon. The guess is Byrd has more value by the trade deadline in '12, though.

• Rays center fielder B.J. Upton has long been rumored to be a trade candidate, and this winter it might finally happen with Desmond Jennings clearly ready to take over in center. Also, if the Rays are ready to deal a starting pitcher, Jeff Niemann is most likely.

• Denard Span was rumored to be a trade candidate back in July, and the Twins could part with their center fielder to shore up the pitching staff.

• We've already heard the rumors about Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado from Atlanta, but it's possible since talks fizzled with the Royals that the Braves just hold both.

• Do the Angels try to shed Alberto Callaspo and/or Maicer Izturis and then land free agent Aramis Ramirez at third? They probably would need to shed more payroll in order to do so.

• Starting pitchers Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers could easily be on the move from Houston, but the guess is the ownership situation would need to be resolved first.

• After a disappointing 2011 season, the Rockies have plenty of trade candidates. Chris Iannetta probably stays put, but Huston Street, Ian Stewart, Seth Smith and Ty Wigginton all make sense in potential deals.

• Dodgers first baseman James Loney finished 2011 with a bang, which might mean it's the Dodgers last chance to get something of value in return for him. There are a few small-market matches, too, including the Indians.

• Finally, as we've already noted, the A's have put basically the entire team on the block.

So fasten your seatbelts, the action has only just begun.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Follow all games live with CBSSports.com's GameTracker.

Rays of hope: "Big Game" James Shields has another chance to live up to his nickname, as the Rays start the day a game behind the Red Sox in the wild card standings. The Rays were nine games behind the Red Sox on Sept. 2, and if they are able to overtake the Red Sox, it would be the largest September deficit made up in the history of the game. Before Sunday, the last time the Rays were within a game of the wild card before Sunday was June 29. Shields faced the Yankees in his last start, allowing four runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings last Wednesday. He faced the Red Sox twice in a row before facing the Yankees (going 1-1) and faced the Rangers in back-to-back starts before that. He averaged eight innings and 2.5 runs per start in both of his second starts. Yankees at Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET

Unwelcome sight: You're holding on to a one-game lead and hoping to stave off a collapse, who is the last person you want to see on the mound? If Cliff Lee isn't your first answer, he may be in the top five -- especially if you're hitting .229/.292/.350 as a team against left-handers, like the Braves are in 2011. And in the Braves' corner? A rookie making his seventh career start and coming off his first big-league win. Randall Delgado, a 21-year-old right-hander, has been impressive in his six starts, but has only pitched as many as six innings once. He pitched five shutout innings last week in a win over the Marlins. Phillies at Braves, 7:10 p.m. ET

Closing fast: No player has thrived against his former team quite like St. Louis right fielder Lance Berkman, who returns for his seventh game in Houston this season. In his first six games back at Minute Maid Park? He's hit .480/.519/1.160 with five homers and 12 RBI. In eight total games agianst the Astros, he's hitting .429/.484/1.036. The Cardinals hope he stays that hot, as they enter the game just a game behind the Braves for the National League wild card. Houston holds baseball's worst record and are 12-14 in their last 26 games. St. Louis lefty Jaime Garcia is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four starts this month, with St. Louis winning all four games he's started. St. Louis will face Houston's best starter, Wandy Rodriguez. In his only start against the Cardinals this season, Rodriguez allowed just one earned run on five hits in seven innings for a win on July 28 in St. Louis. Cardinals at Astros, 8:05 p.m. ET

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By Matt Snyder

Another season gone, another disappointment for 29 teams as one is immortalized forever. Let’s take a look back at 2011 and forward in Eye on Baseball’s R.I.P. series...

Team name: Houston Astros
Record: 52-100, 37.5 games back in NL Central
Manager: Brad Mills
Best hitter: Carlos Lee -- .277/.338/.455 with 18 HR, 86 RBI, 59 R, 36 2B
Best pitcher: Wandy Rodriguez -- 11-10, 3.55 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 177 2/3 IP, 160 K

Unfortunately for the Astros, leading off the R.I.P. series means they're the worst team in baseball. So the biggest theme of the 2011 season in Houston was losing. They've already set a franchise record with 100 losses and could creep up on the MLB list of most losses in history with a bad final week and a half. The "best hitter" listed above is by default because both Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence were traded at the deadline. With the ownership situation in limbo -- Jim Crane still hasn't been approved -- it's hard to tell what direction the Astros will take in the future. One would expect promising youngsters like Jose Altuve and Jordan Lyles to lead a youth movement.

2011 SEASON RECAP

It was pretty forgettable from Day 1, when the Astros blew a ninth-inning lead against the Phillies. The Astros would open the season 0-5 and never get back to .500 -- the closest they got was when they were 7-11. Perhaps unbelievably, they did win the season series against the defending champion Giants (four games to three). They also took two of three from the Blue Jays, but didn't have a winning record against anyone else. The best month was August, when the Astros went 12-17. So that pretty much sums it up.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Astros GM Ed Wade dealt Bourn and Pence before the non-waiver trade deadline in July for some prospects. He also traded Jeff Keppinger. There was a youth movement from about the middle of the season on, but it's a pretty lackluster movement, as the system simply isn't stocked with much talent -- for example, in Baseball Prospectus' midseason top 50 prospects, Altuve was No. 42. He was the only Astros prospect on the list. The preseason top 101 only had two Astros, with Lyles at 59 being the top prospect in the system.

Basically, they have a long way to go in order to get back to respectability, and I'd venture to guess the overwhelming majority of Astros fans would even admit as much. Whenever there's an ownership change, they need to start over. The mantra should be to clean house and build a foundation from the ground (low-level minor leagues) up ...

2012 AUDIT

Which leads us here. Can the Astros compete in 2012? We obviously have no way of knowing exactly what's going to go down in the offseason, but it's hard to see the team being much improved by next season. Most of the young players either aren't very impressive or aren't yet ready. The veterans  still on the roster are either not very good or past their respective primes -- which is why they weren't traded like Bourn and Pence.

As you can see below, there isn't really any money coming off the books from the current club, though dealing Bourn and Pence did help matters a bit there. Still, it's unlikely the Astros have tons of money to burn on free agency, so the team will have to improve either internally, or through trading veterans like Brett Myers, Lee or Rodriguez. Considering the salaries of each player compared to production, they aren't going to land enough back to immediately make a drastic improvement.

Unless the youngsters all make huge leaps, it's entirely possible the Astros are again the worst team in baseball in 2012.

FREE AGENTS

Clint Barmes, 2B
Jason Michaels, OF

OFFSEASON FOCUS

As stated above, there has to be a complete makeover of the entire organization. Minor-league player development and a youth movement should continue to be the focus. Even if new ownership is firmly in place before free agency and opens the floodgates with spending -- which is, again, unlikely -- there isn't enough in place to make the team competitive with big signings. For example, say the Astros land Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes and C.J. Wilson. (I'll pause for laughter). That still isn't a playoff team. It would be like putting a band-aid on a broken leg, and by the time the youth movement was ready to help those three, they might not be in their prime anymore.

Instead, a much better road map would be to follow the Royals' plan. Fill in holes with temporary players while waiting on the prospects from the low levels of the minors like Delino DeShields Jr. (2B), Jonathan Singleton (1B), Chris Wallace (C) and Jarred Cosart (SP) to develop. Meanwhile Lyles, Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, J.D. Martinez and others already in the bigs need to continue to develop. Of course, the Royals had the best farm system in baseball heading into this season while the Astros were ranked in the bottom five by most outlets. So, again, that's where the focus should be for the next few years. The entire system should be revamped.

So if I was the incoming Astros owner, here's what I'd hope to do:

• Try to lure Andrew Friedman back home -- he was born and raised in Houston -- and give him the title President of Baseball Operations. He's helped work wonders with the Rays, so it's pretty easy to trust he can build a farm system basically from scratch.
• Trade Myers, Rodriguez and Lee for whatever prospects they can bring back, even if it meant eating some of the salary. A three-to-five year plan should be put in place, so you need to play young players and see who can hack it at the big-league level. Aging veterans only take away spots from the young players.
• Put an excellent coaching staff in place with an emphasis on player development. The focus has to be on the foundation before the big-league club at this point. It's far too much a mess to solve in one offseason.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Wandy Rodriguez is staying in Houston.

The Astros have pulled the left-hander back from waivers, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

According to CBSSports.com senior writer Danny Knobler, the Astros haven't backed off the high demands they wanted in return for Rodriguez at the non-waiver trade deadline -- a price the Rockies aren't willing to meet. Both sides, Knobler said, consider the talks dead at this point.

Just what was that price? Knobler says the Astros were asking for catcher Wilin Rodriguez and pitcher Drew Pomeranz, who was the key piece of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal, and didn't want to pay all of Rodriguez's money. The team will see how the market develops in the offseason where there are few arms available.

In a bit of odd timing, Rodriguez faced the Rockies on Wednesday afternoon knowing that he'd been claimed by the Rockies, who could have worked out a trade for him. He didn't exactly impress at Coors Field, allowing six runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings, while walking four and striking out two. He didn't factor into the decision as the Rockies won in the 10th inning on a wild pitch by reliever Aneury Rodriguez.

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By Evan Brunell

Lighten up: Much has been made of Starlin Castro missing a pitch in Sunday's game, with his back to the plate while playing in the field. Understandably, many people -- including ESPN announcer Bobby Valentine -- were outraged, with Valentine excoriating Castro on air.

Also unsurprisingly, Cubs players are rushing to Castro's defense, with Aramis Ramirez the latest to tell everyone to back off. And Ramirez has a pretty good idea what it may be like to be Castro, who is 21 years old. Ramirez made his big-league debut at age 19.

"People need to realize that he's only 21 -- he's going to make mistakes," Ramirez told MLB.com. "He's going to make mental mistakes. ... I made it to the big leagues when I was 19, and I made a lot of mistakes. That's part of [the game]."

Ramirez added that Castro has apologized to the team and everyone's moved on.

"I think [such a big deal was made] because it was an ESPN game, a nationally televised game," Ramirez said. "[But] that stuff shouldn't happen. Starlin would be the first one to tell you that shouldn't happen. Even when you're a veteran, you make mistakes."

Here's the problem, though: Mike Quade had something to say, and it was the wrong thing. Castro was benched Monday in a pretty clear response to his not paying attention to the pitch, but Quade passed it off as a mental day, missing an opportunity to show everyone -- including owner Tom Ricketts, who may fire Quade after the year -- that he's the boss. He missed another opportunity by excusing Castro's behavior for the limelight of being a Cubs player.

"I may agree that too much was being made of it but this is the world we're in and this is the spotlight we're under," Quade said. "You can think what you want, but when you're playing in a market like this at a level like this, you can expect this kind of attention, and you can expect to be under a microscope like this."

Since when did a player's uniform affect attention span? Not paying attention during the game is not paying attention, period.

Back at it: The next outing for Stephen Strasburg will come on Saturday, which will be his fifth rehab start since returning from Tommy John surgery. It's also the first one that will be at a higher level than Single-A, with Strasburg heading to Triple-A, which should allow Strasburg to lock in and focus on executing pitches against advanced competition as he prepares for an early September return to Washington. (Washington Times)

Will Wandy go? Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle says that how the Astros handle the Wandy Rodriguez waiver claim situation will go a long way in determining how new owner Jim Crane will handle things. " Is he really about trying try to build things the right way for sustainable success, or is the endgame nothing more than to dump salary for dumping salary’s sake?" Campbell writes. "If the Astros do nothing more than a salary dump, however, then fans have reason to be afraid — very afraid — for the future. Houston is too big and too good of a market to become the National League’s Kansas City of the South — perpetually turning over the roster with young, cheap players without committing the resources necessary to build a winner."

Best scooper: Eric Hosmer wasn't called up to the majors until May 6, but his 27 scoops at first base (yes, this really is measured) is just one behind Adam Lind for most in the AL, while Carlos Pena leads baseball with 52. Three additional AL players have 27 scoops. “What I had to learn when I got here,” Hosmer told the Kansas City Star, “was, when you pick it, you’ve got to stay through it (with a sweeping motion). You have an imaginary line on where you think the ball is going to bounce. Before, I was just working up and down. Then I learned to go through the ball.”

Capping the draft: There were plenty of big paydays to high school and college players once the dust settled last week on the signing deadline for drafted players. The money is so exorbitant, that it's only deepened commissioner Bud Selig's resolve to introduce a hard-slotting system. But is that good for baseball? (Kansas City Star)

Moneyball: Before long, the blockbuster movie centered around the book that made so many waves in baseball will premiere, with Brad Pitt as A's GM Billy Beane. New York Magazine has a great story out about the movie and how it had to jump through hoops to get made... and what, exactly, Hollywood is taking away from Moneyball.

Game changed: But Billy Beane says the game is different these days, and the gap between the big- and low-money teams is even more pronounced, with the window for small markets to compete that much smaller than just a decade ago, as Oakland has been reduced to taking fliers on players as their only options.  “Sometimes, you’re relegated to buying that lottery ticket,” Beane told the New York Times. “Anybody will tell you that the lottery is not a great way to invest your money. But sometimes, you don’t have a lot of options.”

Window closing? Since the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006, they have yet to win another postseason game. With Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols and others only getting older and reaching free agency, is it possible St. Louis' window of competition has closed? It seems like it, but how did the window get missed in the first place with strong teams over the last four years? (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Brave injuries: Tommy Hanson, one of Atlanta's best pitchers, keeps experiencing setbacks while sensation Jose Constanza is hobbled by a right-ankle sprain. Constanza is day-to-day and could be back as early as Wednesday, but Hanson is a different story. He threw a nine-pitch throwing session on Monday, the first time throwing from the mound since Aug. 6, but the report was sobering enough that his Tuesday bullpen session was canceled. Hanson will now wait for his condition to improve. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Say-Hey Kid: Cameron Maybin received an honor by spending time at the home of baseball great Willie Mays, and Maybin was understandably bowled over by the meeting. Mays has been impressed with Maybin this season and invited him over when San Diego was in San Francisco before Tuesday's game. The Giants said while Mays has been known to go out to dinner with young players, they can't recall an invitation to go to Mays' home ever being extended to a player. “I took him my jersey, signed it for him,” Maybin told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Think of that. My jersey’s in Willie Mays’ house.”

Starting Greinke: The Brewers considered delaying Zack Greinke's next start so he could face the Cardinals, but manager Ron Roenicke may not go that route. Roenicke believes that Milwaukee should focus on winning every game, while Greinke isn't keen on starting a game on eight days rest. Nothing is decided yet, but the outcome appears obvious. (MLB.com)

Web Gems: Last season, Sam Miller of the Orange County Register found an East Coast bias in Web Gems, which may have been in part due to fan voting. This season, though, with tweaked rules, there is no such bias. The top five teams with the most Web Gems in 2011 are the Indians, Rangers, Rays, Brewers and Royals.

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By Evan Brunell

Wandy Rodriguez has been claimed off trade waivers, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.

Rosenthal adds that the claiming team are the Rockies, who could use another starter in the rotation for the coming years after trading Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland and losing Jorge De La Rosa to Tommy John surgery, which De La Rosa is unlikely to return from until the second half of 2012. One could question why the deal for Jimenez was made in this light, but the right-hander was due for a significant financial outlay in a contract extension, plus the return for Jimenez in starting pitchers Alex White and Drew Pomeranz can make their presence felt with the team next year, so if Colorado acquires Rodriguez, it will actually have deepened its rotation.

The Astros have been looking to deal the left-hander, whose three-year, $34 million extension kicked in for 2011, He is still due $24 million over the next two years, with a $13 million club option in 2014 that converts to a player option upon trade, with a $2.5 million buyout attached. Houston attempted to move Rodriguez before the deadline, and almost had a deal with the Yankees who were willing to eat all but $21 million of the contract, something the Astros balked at.

Houston could simply allow Colorado to have Rodriguez and his contract in a straight waiver claim if their main goal is to free up salary. However, Rodriguez is worth quite a bit more on the field than just the cost of his extension, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Houston yanked the 32-year-old off waivers. More than likely, the Rockies will have to assume a good chunk of the deal, as well as send a solid prospect to Houston, but Rodriguez could be worth it to Colorado.

Rodriguez has a 3.31 ERA over 23 starts for the 'Stros and a 3.35 ERA over the last four years with 113 games started, striking out 627 and walking 224 in 685 innings.

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