Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Carter, who was acquired by the Houston Astros in a trade from the Oakland Athletics on Feb. 4, is excited to be with a new team that is in a rebuilding stage and enthusiastic about the future.
The 26-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2005 has been traded three times before finally breaking into the big leagues with the Athletics in 2010. In 106 career games, Carter has batted .214 with 19 home runs and 46 RBI in 332 plate appearances. Most of these numbers were accumulated last season when he hit .239 with 16 home runs, 39 RBI, 12 doubles and 83 strikeouts in 218 at-bats.
Major League Baseball scouts over the years have reason to believe Carter can be a legitimate power hitter at the professional level and his 16 homers last season are proof of that. It will be interesting to see what happens when Houston gives him plenty of plate appearances in 2013 to see what he can do.
“We’re expecting great things out of Chris,” manager Bo Porter said. “He put together some really good power numbers in Oakland in a limited amount of at-bats, and he was a huge part of the trade. We expect him to come in and produce in the middle of the lineup.”
This is something that has Carter very pumped to be in a new environment where players and coaches will judge him for what he accomplishes here on out and not his numbers from previous years. The Astros will look to start the predominantly first baseman in left field, which should not be a huge problem considering he has played 39 games in the outfield in the Minor League. However, he did admit that he would much rather line up at first base for the team.
Even if Carter does indeed play left field this season I seriously doubt it will bother him too much considering he is just happy to get the opportunity to help Houston turn around their losing ways and start winning again.
