Outfielder Taylor Trammell finished his sixth season in the big leagues with a -0.6 bWAR campaign. Trammell, a 29-year-old Georgia native, did provide some value as a clutch hitter but struggled in the outfield . Where does that leave his future with the Houston Astros ?
This season, Trammell recorded a .626 OPS in 289 plate appearances with eight home runs and 22 RBIs, putting him near the bottom of every day players. He batted .192. Trammell posted a .668 OPS against righties, a slight downtick for his career numbers against righties. In the rare scenario where he did hit against left-handed pitching, he was a major drag. He registered a .376 OPS against lefties with a .108 average. In 43 plate appearances, he recorded just one extra-base hit against lefties.
The former first-round pick's OPS by the Reds in a 2016 contract was purchased by the Astros in late 2024. On Aug. 12, his OPS was .746, a more than respectable number for a non-everyday player. He earned more playing time because of this but didn't make the most of it. He posted a .401 OPS in his final 35 games of the season with just one home run. He was hitless in his last 17 at-bats of the season.
Houston Astros right fielder Taylor Trammell (26) bats during the second inning. Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Trammell didn't play well off the bench either, going 2-for-21 as a sub with a 2-for-13 mark as a pinch hitter. Both hits were singles. He actually had his most success as a center fielder, posting a .847 OPS in 100 plate appearances in center. But he didn't play much center down the stretch when his numbers faded overall, and Daulton Varsho took over everyday duties in center field.
His numbers in the clutch tell a brighter story for Trammell . He posted a .799 OPS with runners in scoring position. But these account for less than 25% of all plate appearances. He hit to a .613 OPS with nobody on.
While playing all around the outfield, he provided a negative one fielding run value, mostly coming from his weak arm, as the range value came out to neither positive nor negative. For his fielding runs above average, he posted a negative 1.7, the lowest value of his career (he was positive in this category in the first two years of his career). He also registered negative three defensive runs saved after posting negative two in his first year in Houston.
Trammell has one more year of pre-arbitration at $900,000, as well as two years of arbitration-eligible remaining on his contract and given his play, he's not likely to garner a big deal whether the Astros come to an agreement with the left-handed outfielder or not in 2028 and 2029. The Astros should stick with him because of their lack of outfield depth at the moment. He can still provide valuable at-bats against right-handed pitching. Expect Trammell's numbers to improve slightly next year and maybe he can post a positive bWAR season of between two and one as a best-case scenario.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Taylor Trammell's Late-Season Slump Changes the Outlook on His Strong Start .
