Teammates started to text early Wednesday afternoon, assuming one of their leaders was leaving. Messages of goodbye and good luck flooded Michael Brantley’s cellphone. James Click sought out some Astros players to verify the truth: Brantley was bound to join the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Astros broached a reunion with Brantley before the 2020 season even ended. Brantley opted to explore the open market and acknowledged Monday he was “close” to a deal with the Blue Jays. Several social media reports last Wednesday indicated he’d agreed to a three-year contract and intended to follow George Springer north of the border.
Click re-engaged with Brantley’s representatives that day. Neither could remember whether the contact came before or after the reports were deemed inaccurate. Click said the two instances were concurrent.
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“I don’t know if there’s any substitute for the feeling that something might be going away to really make you focus on how much you value something,” said Click, Houston’s first-year general manager. “I think it’s impossible to say that it didn’t, on some levels, spur us on.
“But we had been having conversations since even before the offseason started. For them to culminate on that day was probably in some level a reaction to that but also a culmination of a couple months of work.”
For the Astros, the result is two more years of Brantley’s professionalism, pure lefthanded swing and clubhouse leadership. The team entered the offseason in need of an outfield overhaul. Brantley is the man around whom it will be built.
“I always knew there was a possibility,” Brantley said of a reunion. “It was just about getting to where we both felt comfortable and wanted to be.
“I wanted to come here and kind of finish things off. We have unfinished business. I keep saying it, but I’m really excited to be back with the guys and the relationships I developed the last two years.”
Brantley’s return cements one everyday corner outfield spot. A chance to play every day defensively was vital during Brantley’s free agency. He is routine-obsessed and does not like altering it when asked to start at designated hitter. Brantley detests DHing. Begrudgingly, he started 26 of his 45 games last season in that role, allowing manager Dusty Baker to incorporate Kyle Tucker as much as possible.
“I learned how to DH last year, we’ll put it that way,” Brantley said with a smirk, “but I like to contribute on both sides of the ball. Just being out there on defense, I feel like you can do a lot for your team. It’s not always about getting the big hit or hitting. You can do work on both sides of the ball. I just look forward to being back on that field, fitting in with this group, getting in a good flow with the lineup and having a lot of fun this year.”
Tucker will team with Brantley and play the other corner. Springer’s absence in center field will loom large. Last week, Click acknowledged that the Astros have shifted to an “opportunistic” phase of their winter. Brantley, whose two-year, $32 million deal mirrors his previous one, was their marquee signing.
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A replacement for Springer — if such a man even exists — won’t be coming. Myles Straw must now ascend to starting center fielder. Click claimed there could be some minor leaguers who intrigue the Astros, and Chas McCormick is another option on the 40-man roster. But the GM called Straw the “front-runner” to take the spot in spring.
Straw is the fastest player on Houston’s 40-man roster. As a prospect, he was consistently called the organization’s best defensive outfielder. Click said Monday the speed and range Straw exhibits place him “right at the top of the game” as a defensive outfielder.
Still, Straw has a .649 OPS in 224 big league plate appearances. The offensive dropoff from Springer to Straw is precipitous, but few available players could arrive and provide Springer’s offensive impact. Brantley’s return provides the lineup with seven hitters who’ve been above average or elite during their careers. Surviving with a glove-first center fielder seems more palatable then.
“We always talk about not wanting to give the opposition any extra outs, and sometimes people talk about that in regard to errors,” Click said. “But a lot of times it’s about the range and making plays on balls that maybe other people don’t even get to. A guy like Straw with his elite speed is the kind of guy who can save our pitchers outs, save runs and help us win games that way.”
Straw is still just 26. Tucker is 24. McCormick, yet to appear in a major league game, is 25. The trio represents the extent of Houston’s outfield depth on the 40-man roster. Adding Brantley alongside them is invaluable for their development and maturation. During their two years together in Houston, Springer heaped praise on Brantley, who turned him from an emotional 28-year-old outfielder into a more focused, professional 31-year-old performer. Tucker, Straw and McCormick might be in for similar lessons.
“You can see his work ethic. You can see his professionalism. You can see how he cares for his teammates, how he takes his craft seriously,” Click said. “Just watching what he does on a day-to-day basis and being around it on a day-to-day basis, it’s inevitable that that kind of stuff is going to rub off on young players and make them better.
“Michael is as valuable to this franchise off the field as he is on it. In terms of the leadership he brings in the clubhouse and who he is as a person, you can’t put a finger on that.”
It’s why so many teammates raced to text him last week and wish him well.
“I got a lot of goodbye texts first,” Brantley said. “And a few hours later it was, ‘We’re really glad to have you back. I’m glad you didn’t go to Toronto.’”
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