PT TOMORROW: AL West—Unresolved

Houston Astros

Particularly given a BA-challenged offense that finished second in AL HR, the Astros' decision to non-tender arbitration-eligible Chris Carter seems like an easy call. At this point in the off-season, the first-base replacement(s) for Carter and Luis Valbuena (3B/1B, HOU)—currently projected back at 3B for now following the trade of Jed Lowrie to OAK—isn't obvious. But HOU has enough talent to hold March-through-May auditions and avoid the trade and free agent markets until the summer, and perhaps longer.

Start with Jon Singleton (DH/1B, HOU), who skill-wise is a left-handed-hitting, plus power and  patience, poor-contact clone of Carter and who GM Jeff Luhnow claims is the first baseman entering March. Once a...

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