The Astros recalled Matthews from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Matthews is taking the roster spot of the injured Taylor Trammell (neck). The rookie had a .611 OPS and 45 percent strikeout rate during his first stint with the big club and is a candidate to be sent back down soon with Yordan Alvarez (hand) nearing his return from IL.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Sent back to Triple-A
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The Astros optioned Matthews to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Houston's top prospect, Matthews got his first taste of the big leagues in July and slashed .143/.211/.400 with three home runs, eight RBI, five runs scored and a 2:18 BB:K across 40 plate appearances. With Jeremy Pena (ribs) back from the IL and the addition of Carlos Correa, the Astros can let Matthews get more seasoning in the minors.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Taking seat again Wednesday
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Matthews is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.
Since slugging three home runs and driving in seven runs in his first six big-league games, Matthews' production has fallen off considerably. In his last five contests, Matthews has gone just 1-for-15 with nine strikeouts, and his ongoing struggles appear to have resulted in him moving into more of a part-time role. He'll be on the bench Wednesday for the fourth time in six games.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Sitting out again Tuesday
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Matthews is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Nationals.
Matthews is just 1-for-15 with nine strikeouts over his previous five games and has now been out of the lineup three times across the Astros' last five contests. Shay Whitcomb is handling second base and batting eighth Tuesday.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Getting Sunday off
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Matthews is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
Matthews will hit the bench for the second time in the series while he's gone just 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts over his last four games. With Matthews out of the lineup, Jose Altuve will fill in at the keystone, while Cooper Hummel picks up a start in left field.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Hits go-ahead blast
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Matthews went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Matthews appears to be liking Arizona's pitching, hitting the first three homers of his big-league career over the last two games. The infielder's blast off reliever Jake Woodford on Tuesday was a clutch one, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning after they were stymied for 6.1 innings by Eduardo Rodriguez. Matthews is now 4-for-20 with three homers, seven RBI, five runs scored and a 2:9 BB:K through six major-league contests. As long as he continues to show growth at the plate, he should be able to hold down a starting role at second base.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Slugs first two homers
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Matthews went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in Monday's 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Matthews had shown little success at the plate during his first call-up, going 1-for-12 with a walk and six strikeouts over his first four games. That changed Monday, as he took Zac Gallen deep in the second inning for a three-run blast, then came back for more with a two-run homer in the seventh to chase the Arizona starter from the game. Matthews still has some work to do to become a trusted part of the Astros' lineup, but the team is letting him do some learning on the job for now. He's started five of seven games at second base since his call-up, and if Matthews sticks there, Jose Altuve will continue to see more time in left field.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Officially called up
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The Astros selected Matthews' contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.
As expected, the 23-year-old will join Houston for the start of a three-game homestand against Texas and is poised to make his MLB debut. Matthews has posted 10 home runs and 25 stolen bases, along with an .876 OPS for Sugar Land this season. He could take over as the starter at second base while Jose Altuve reinforces the Astros' injury-plagued outfield, which just lost Jake Meyers (calf).
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Joining Astros on Friday
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The Astros are expected to select Matthews' contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Matthews will get a chance to show off his skills in the majors after slashing .298/.401/.504 with four homers, 16 RBI, 24 runs scored and nine stolen bases across 31 games since the beginning of June. The Astros may look to use the 23-year-old regularly at second base while returning Jose Altuve to left field to provide aid for an outfield unit that has been hit hard by injuries recently.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Excelling since return from concussion
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Matthews (concussion) has gone 11-for-23 with two home runs, three doubles, four walks, 10 RBI and five runs in six games since being activated from Triple-A Sugar Land's 7-day injured list May 24.
Matthews missed about a week and a half of game action after sustaining the concussion on a slide during a May 13 game. He's exhibited no signs of rust since returning to action and is now maintaining a .272/.401/.450 slash line with six home runs and 16 steals over 43 games on the season with Sugar Land. The 23-year-old infielder doesn't possess a spot on Houston's 40-man roster but nonetheless stands a good chance at making his MLB debut later this season.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Reassigned to minors camp
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The Astros reassigned Matthews to minor-league camp Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Manager Joe Espada said of Matthews after the transaction that "second base looks like his best" position, adding that "there's a path" to a major-league role for Matthews eventually. Assuming Jose Altuve moves to left field as expected, the keystone could represent Matthews' best path to a major-league debut relatively soon if he gets off to a nice start at Triple-A Sugar Land. Slated to turn 23 on Sunday, Matthews slashed .265/.384/.481 with 15 homers and 32 stolen bases across four levels in the minors in 2024.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Jumps to Triple-A
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Matthews was promoted to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The 2023 first-round pick continues to fly through the minor leagues, as he'll suit up for the Space Cowboys after logging only 105 games at the lower levels of Houston's farm system. Matthews has hit nine home runs and stolen 16 bags in 42 games at Double-A Corpus Christi so far this season, earning him a chance to compete at the next level.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Back in action
Rotowire
Matthews (back) was activated from the 7-day injured list Tuesday.
Matthews was sent to the 7-day IL in mid-August after experiencing back muscle spasms, but he's been cleared to return for Double-A Corpus Christi following a brief absence. In three games since being activated, he's 3-for-12 at the plate with two solo home runs, one walk and two runs scored.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Dealing with back injury
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The Astros announced that Matthews was placed on Double-A Corpus Christi's 7-day injured list Friday due to back muscle spasms, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
For the second time this season, Matthews has been shut down with a back issue, as he had previously missed most of May due to what the Astros had described as low back discomfort. The infielder returned to action for High-A Asheville on June 1 before moving up to Corpus Christi two and a half weeks later. Since getting promoted to Double-A, Matthews had slashed .225/.344/.441 with six home runs and 10 stolen bases across 131 plate appearances.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Managing back issue
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Matthews was placed on the 7-day injured list at High-A Asheville with low-back discomfort Tuesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The 22-year-old hasn't seen game action since late April due to the injury and will be out for at least another week. Matthews was drafted 28th overall in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft and has a .650 OPS this season in his first taste of the High-A level.
