Everyone remembers David Freese from his 2011 performance in the playoffs with the St. Louis Cardinals. Freese followed that 2011 season with a 20 homerun 2012 season and received an All-Star appearance along with it. After that Freese spent one more season on the Cardinals before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels. In 2015 with the Angels Freese hit .257 with 14 homeruns and 56 RBI in 121 games.
The Houston Astros are a good fit for Freese in 2016. The Astros currently have Luis Valbuena at third and last season he hit a career high 25 homeruns. Valbuena also hit .224 with a .310 OBP so there is still room for improvement at third base. A Freese and Valbuena platoon could work very well for the Astros in 2016 and give the team more depth on the infield.
The Astros are a team that wants to win now that most of their talent is MLB ready. Adding Freese gives them protection at third base and infield depth. Valbuena did have huge homerun numbers for the type of player he is, but no one knows if that will happen again. The Astros were missing players that could hit for average in 2015. Freese has a career batting average of .276 in seven major league seasons.
Seems like a good move on both sides, Freese gets to play for a competitive baseball team and the Astros get protection at third. Freese might not be able to play 162 games, but a platoon works in his favor. The most games Freese has played in one season is 144 and that was his All-Star season with the Cardinals in 2012. This seems to be a smart deal that is not too expensive for the Astros.
