Chris Carter gives Astros options at DH

Now that left fielder Chris Carter is heating up, the Astros appear to have another promising DH option when Carlos Pena isn’t used as the designated hitter.

Pena is hitting .273 (9-for-33) with three home runs and six RBIs this spring. Carter is hitting .238 (10-for-42) with a team-leading tying four home runs and a team best11 RBIs. Brett Wallace is hitting .286 (10-for-35) with two home runs and nine RBIs.

“We’re pretty confident with the options we have at DH,” manager Bo Porter said. “We have Carlos Pena, who has done it before. We have Brett Wallace, who can DH, play first, play third. We have Carter, who can also DH.

“The beauty of our situation is that we don’t have one guy that is penciled in to be a DH that doesn’t have a position that they can go play on the field, which at any moment it allows us to give any of our regular guys a day off from the field and allow them to DH as well. It’s a good luxury to have, and we’re happy with that situation.”