According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros are preparing to place IF Nick Allen on the IL.
The slick-fielding Allen is batting .262 this season with a .304 OBP and .648 OPS. He had seen more duty of late with IF Braden Shewmake and 2B Jose Altuve both on IL recently. Altuve rejoined the lineup 3 days
ago.
Whitcomb, 27, put up strong seasons at Triple-A Sugar Land the past 2 seasons but has struggled this year, batting just .231 with a .266 OBP and .646 OPS.
Across 331 games at Triple-A, Whitcomb is a .260 hitter with a .337 OBP and .819 OPS with 77 HR and 60 SB.
Whitcomb has never fared well at the MLB level although he has never really been given any kind of consistent opportunity either. Across 3 seasons, Whitcomb only has 90 AB across 54 G with the Astros. Whitcomb has batted .167 with a .219 OBP and .485 OPS with 2 HR and 10 RBI.
Whitcomb will likely serve as emergency insurance, with Brice Matthews filling in at 2B if Altuve should be unavailable or need a day.
