Astros outfielder Jake Meyers is done for the year after fouling a ball of his left knee cap in the minors, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. He was placed on the minor league injured list September 12, per to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
For the 2026 Astros, it means a bit less center field depth for the stretch run and the postseason, should they qualify. Meyers has slid down the chart, which is why he was in the minors, but it’s a subtraction nonetheless. Jorge Barrosa was recently claimed off waivers and is currently on the club’s bench but he was picked up after the postseason eligibility deadline.
If Houston does make the playoffs, they will likely have Taylor Trammell as the primary backup to Daulton Varsho. Meyers and Joey Loperfido would have been the next line of defense but Meyers is off the table now. Brice Matthews is on the 60-day injured list but is currently on a rehab assignment, so he should be back in the mix soon.
For Meyers personally, it probably cements his likely non-tender this offseason. He first qualified for arbitration ahead of the 2025 season. He made $2.3MM last year and got a raise to $3.5MM this year. The Astros could keep him around but his production has tailed off to the point that he has been optioned to the minors multiple times this year.
Meyers has been the club’s primary center fielder for a few years now, generally providing strong defense but light offense. He has almost 4,000 career innings in the outfield, mostly in center. He has been credited with 23 Defensive Runs Saved and 43 Outs Above Average.
At the plate, things have been less consistent. Over 2023 and 2024, Meyers was a serviceable but subpar bat. Over 2023 and 2024, he made 840 plate appearances and hit 23 home runs but with a 7.1% walk rate. He produced a combined line of .222/.290/.371, leading to a wRC+ of 87, indicating he was 13% below average.
Last year, he improved in some areas but declined in others. His walk rate ticked up and so did his batting average, though he only hit three home runs and the rest of his production got a lot of help from a .353 batting average on balls in play. His .292/.354/.373 line led to a nice 108 wRC+ but fuelled by some of that good batted-ball luck. This year, his walk rate is back down, the luck is gone and the power hasn’t significantly improved. He has a .213/.268/.326 line and 67 wRC+. His Triple-A slash of .231/.301/.338 isn’t much better.
Given that level of production, it’s fair to expect the Astros to move on. Meyers would then be looking for a bounceback chance somewhere. That would probably be on a minor league deal, though he will still have one option remaining, so it’s possible some club would give him a big league roster spot with the aim of using him as optionable depth. The upcoming center field class is particularly weak, which could work to his advantage.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images