Astros Roster Move: Carlos Correa to DL, Cionel Perez Called Up

The Astros will place Carlos Correa on the 10 day DL according to AJ Hinch due to lingering back soreness. Correa last played on the 25th, so the move can be made retroactive to the 26th.

Hinch described the move as somewhat precautionary, stating the Correa was doing great in his progress, but was not in a place where the team felt comfortable with him playing this weekend. The Astros will wait until he is completely symptom free, but there is no reason at this point to think that Correa will be on the DL past the requisite 10 days.

In the meantime, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic has reported that the Astros will call up 22 year old AA southpaw Cionel Perez to take Correa’s spot on the roster.

Perez has been impressive in Corpus this season, pitching to a 2.20 ERA with an 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 57.1 IP during 14 appearances this year, including 10 starts. Though he has primarily been a starter in the minors, he will most likely see time out of the pen as a long reliever while with the major league club.

It is unclear what the Astros’ long term plans for Perez are. This promotion shows that they could view him as an eventual bullpen arm as there are some concerns about his outlook as a starter. He is considered small in stature for a starter, and has had some elbow concerns in the past. He has a three pitch sinker/slider/change mix.