So Are the Days of Our Former Detroit Tigers...

by Ian Casselberry on Jun 5, 2007 3:02 PM EDT in News Comment 0 comments

If you've recently found yourself wondering what former Tigers catcher/first baseman/third-baseman of the future Eric Munson is up to, the Houston Astros are happy to help you. Over the weekend, the Astros called up Munson - who's moved back to his original position of catcher - from Triple-A Round Rock in hopes of boosting their feeble offense. He'd been batting .285 with seven home runs and 26 RBI (.512 slugging) in the minors.

Initially, Phil Garner's plan was to take advantage of Munson's versatility and use him at the corner infield spots, as well as behind the plate. But Munson has started the last two games at catcher over Brad Ausmus, and Garner apparently plans to play him there three times a week.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle is in favor of the move.

Eric Munson is going to get a chance, an honest-to-goodness chance. I have no idea if he's good enough to be an everyday catcher in the big leagues, but it's time to find out. He has worked hard to improve his defensive skills, but in the end, we won't know much until he tries to catch Brad Lidge's slider in a critical situation.

[...] Once upon a time, he was going to be a star. He turned down a $585,000 offer from the Braves to attend USC. Smart move. In 1999, the Tigers made him the third overall pick, right behind Josh Hamilton and Josh Beckett. He received a $3.5-million signing bonus and a total package believed to be worth $6.7 million.

Well, if he can do as well as Carlos Pena has for the Devil Rays, the Astros might be pretty happy.

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