Houston Astros Designate Grae Kessinger for Assignment in Latest Roster Move

The Houston Astros parted ways from their former second-round pick in order to make room for Christian Walker.

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The Houston Astros have activated their splash free agency signing to the active roster in new franchise first baseman Christian Walker, but in a corresponding move saw them designate a former second-round pick for assignment.

Utility infielder Grae Kessinger has been officially DFA'd in order to make room for Walker.

Over the last two seasons, Kessinger has appeared in a total of just 49 games for the Astros, playing in 23 games in 2024.

He did make the Opening Day roster but struggled mightily at the plate this season when he was held without a hit and walked just three times.

He left his mark on a memorable victory for Houston in September after José Altuve was ejected for arguing a wacky call in which a ball off his foot was called fair.

Altuve took off his sock and his shoe to show the umpire where the ball bounced off him, but the umpire was not impressed with the stunt and decided to eject the second baseman.

Kessinger entered the game after and scored to give the Astros the lead as the ghost runner in the 10th inning before making a spectacular defensive play to end the game and secure the win.

He had a stellar career at Ole Miss that allowed him to get selected in the draft so highly.

With a .904 OPS and a batting average of .330, an on-base percentage of .430, a slugging percentage of .474, and 50 RBI in 68 games, this was a tremendous comeback just two years after a brutal freshman season in which he had a .175 batting average and .534 OPS.

In 2023, his numbers in the minor leagues were impressive enough to warrant some excitement with an .826 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A, but that number dropped over 100 points in 2024 to .725 in Triple-A combined with the obvious struggles in at the MLB level, all factors that make it not a massive surprise to see Kessinger DFA'd.

Due to his ability to play multiple positions in the infield and his young age of 27, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him land a minor league deal with someone.

While it's unfortunate things didn't pan out with the Astros, it still feels unlikely at this juncture that he will be an everyday MLB player