Astros likely to add catcher, relievers Tuesday

NEW YORK -- The Astros will add a couple of players to the fold when rosters can be expanded Tuesday, likely a third catcher, another left-handed reliever and a long reliever. The rest of the players the club wants to call up could have to wait until the Minor League playoffs are over.

Both Triple-A Fresno and Double-A Corpus Christi have clinched playoff spots, with Fresno winning the Pacific Northern Division of the Pacific Coast League with a 7-3 win over Iowa on Tuesday. Corpus Christi won the Texas League South Division first-half title.

"I would say we'll have a couple of different waves [of callups]," manager A.J. Hinch said. "I would expect a couple of guys on the 1st. A couple of guys will trickle in throughout the first week of September. We've got playoffs in Double-A and Triple-A, so we'll try to balance the value of having guys here versus continuing their season and staying sharp by playing."

Most of the players the Astros will add won't play regularly, Hinch said.

"It's a case-by-case basis," he said. "But I would expect a couple of different waves of guys."

Hinch said he planned on Wednesday to call Triple-A manager Tony DeFrancesco and congratulate him on the playoff berth.

"There was a big celebration," Hinch said. "I saw some pictures on Twitter, and it's always nice when you're affiliates are enjoying some success and getting to celebrate their accomplishment."

Fresno became the first Triple-A club in either the Pacific Coast or International League to clinch its division, improving to 20-4 in August. The 13 1/2-game division lead was the largest in all of professional baseball, while the 79 wins ranked among the top three among all Minor League teams this season.