Astros Reliever Blanco Returns to Dominican Winter League

After a fruitful spring training, Ronel Blanco was awarded a seat on the Houston Astros 28-man roster in April. And appearing in seven games, the righty couldn't carry his success into his first Major League opportunity.

Blanco made seven relief appearances, totaling 6.1 innings of work with five earned runs. He yielded eight hits, one being a home run, to one hit batsman and four walks. He struck out seven batters before being optioned when rosters were crunched to 26 players at the start of May.

Blanco had a short ride on the taxi squad in May, but was never recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. The righty wasn't invited to postseason workouts at Minute Maid Park, too, leaving Blanco with the option to return to the Dominican Winter League.

Making 44 appearances with the Space Cowboys, Blanco posted a 3.63 ERA and an 11.69 K/9 — his best of any minor league season. While he never hit the injured list, the 29-year-old's improvements weren't enough to warrant a call-up to join the juggernaut bullpen general manager James Click and the front office constructed.

Joining the Estrellas Orientales for a fifth consecutive winter, Blanco has made a pair of relief appearances, tossing two perfect innings with one strikeout. 

Remaining on the 40-man roster through the 2022 season, Blanco's peripherals impress Houston's front office, and to better win bigger role next spring, the righty is looking to LIDOM for more innings against Major League level players.