The Houston Astros demoted infielder Shay Whitcomb to Triple-A Sugar Land two days after he set a dubious franchise record by committing four errors in a game against the Seattle Mariners.
Infielder Zach Dezenzo was recalled from Sugar Land prior to Friday’s contest against the Cleveland Guardians in a corresponding move. The Astros had an off-day Thursday.
Whitcomb, who turns 26 on Saturday, entered Wednesday’s game at third base in the fourth inning against Seattle as the club pulled Alex Bregman early so he could get a sendoff from the Houston fans in case it was his last regular-season home game with the club after eight-plus seasons.
Whitcomb committed a fielding error in the sixth inning, two errors (one fielding, one throwing) in the seventh and a throwing error in the ninth. Houston lost the game 8-1 and only three of Seattle’s runs were earned.
After the game, Houston manager Jose Espada said, “I’ll have a conversation with (Whitcomb) but we’ll turn the page. This is a sure-handed third baseman. He’s done it in the minor leagues.”
Whitcomb is the first big leaguer to commit four errors in a game since infielder Marco Scutaro for the Oakland Athletics against the Seattle Mariners on July 6, 2007.
Overall, Whitcomb committed five errors in 14 games (eight starts) at third base for the Astros. He batted .220 with five RBIs in 20 games.
Whitcomb is batting .293 with 25 homers and 91 RBIs in 108 games for Sugar Land this season.
Dezenzo, 24, has played in 17 games for the Astros and is batting .212 with one homer and six RBIs.
–Field Level Media