Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishMINNEAPOLIS — Last season, the Houston Astros started flying on a new team plane, a Boeing 767 bought by a billionaire who never spares an expense. Tilman Fertitta purchased the jet in 2019 for his Houston Rockets, adding “yards of legroom, seats that lie flat, high-speed Wi-Fi, entertainment systems, a fully stocked bar, card tables, meeting areas, even a cozy bedroom,” according to Paper City Magazine.“I’m used to laying on a commercial plane. We have our own row, but I’m scrunched up laying down on a pillow trying to get comfortable,” said Brendan Rodgers, who just spent seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies.“Now, we got recliners and it’s a whole different vibe with these guys. It’s really cool to see. Everyone is interacting with each other and it seems like a really good core.”On Wednesday night, Rodgers boarded the baroque aircraft with an assignment. The second baseman signed with the Astros in mid-February, an awkward time for any newcomer to enter a baseball clubhouse. Spring training schedules are scattered and don’t allow for many meaningful introductions or interactions.A two-and-a-half-hour journey to Minneapolis felt more conducive. Rodgers started his Astros career 2-for-12 during a season-opening, six-game homestand where he “kind of felt the pressure” of being the new guy. The flight gave him a chance to decompress. Rodgers spoke up more, swapped stories with his new teammates and spectated some of their card games.“For my mental well-being, I think that loosened me up,” Rodgers said Thursday. “Laying in bed, I was thinking, ‘Just be yourself.’ Everyone here is trying to accomplish the same thing. We’re trying to win games, be good teammates and pick each other up. It’s what I told myself last night before hitting the hay.”And when he awoke, Rodgers played like someone who listened. He had three hits in Houston’s 5-2 win against the Minnesota Twins, one more than Rodgers mustered in his first five games as an Astro. He drove in three of the season-high five runs Houston scored. Fellow newcomer Christian Walker chased in another with his first home run in an Astros uniform.“More than anything about contracts or anything like that, it’s just about being the new guy, and I want to help the team right away,” said Walker, who signed a three-year, $60 million contract this winter but finished his first Houston homestand 3-for-24.Within a four-pitch span in Thursday’s second inning, Walker and shortstop Jeremy Peña matched Houston’s home run total from its first six games. Walker whacked Joe Ryan’s hanging sweeper 402 feet into the second deck. Peña punished an elevated four-seamer for a game-tying solo home run.The first man to greet Peña in Houston’s third-base dugout? Walker, a stoic first baseman who is proving harder on himself than many players of his stature. Manager Joe Espada appreciates Walker’s focused persona but did ponder this week whether the 34-year-old may be pressing to impress his new club.“I’m in the four-hole. I want to be a big part of this lineup,” Walker said Friday. “There’s a lot of really good hitters and we want to protect each other. I think being the best version of ourselves every day is a part of that. To come out and feel like you’re not accomplishing that is frustrating. You feel like you’re letting your teammates down, letting yourself down a little bit.”Peripherals did not paint such a dire picture. Before Thursday’s home run, Walker had put 15 balls in play with a 95.5 mph average exit velocity. Only 13 other hitters with at least 15 batted balls had a higher mark.Missing the last two and a half weeks of Grapefruit League play with a sore oblique obviously had Walker behind, but it isn’t as if he appeared lost. Walker bemoaned some of his swing decisions and a lack of trust in his ability more than anything mechanical.“Sometimes you feel like a homer is worth more than a single and that’s just not the case,” Walker said. “Get on base, put a good swing on it, make a good decision and the rest is out of your hands.”Walker can take solace in his organizational standing. He will start at first base every day regardless of his results. Rodgers has none of that runway. He is perhaps the most fascinating player on Houston’s roster across the next month, one where the organization must decide if Rodgers is a definite part of its plans.Two opt-outs remain on Rodgers’ minor-league contract: one on May 1 and another on June 1. According to multiple sources, Rodgers also signed an advance consent form, meaning the Astros are allowed to either option him to the minor leagues or terminate his contract without pay within the first 45 days of the season. That Rodgers is making $2 million on the major-league roster cannot be overstated — especially for a club keeping a close eye on the luxury tax.Rodgers started at second base Thursday for the fifth time in seven games, perhaps by design. If a clock is ticking on the club’s final decision, playing Rodgers as much as possible seems prudent, if only to see if he can incorporate the changes Houston is asking him to make.Rodgers awoke Thursday with a career 53.3 percent ground-ball rate, a tendency the Astros are working to lower. Hitting coaches Troy Snitker and Alex Cintrón advised him to widen the base of his batting stance and bring his hands down from near his head.“(My hands) were moving all over the place and never really getting in a consistent spot to throw the barrel,” Rodgers said. “Now I’m just resting them on my shoulder, lifting up and firing from there. It just feels a lot smoother and I’m able to repeat it easier.”To watch Rodgers turn on a middle-middle sinker and lift a line-drive double off the left-field wall during the sixth inning suggests some of the tweaks are working. Grounding a two-run single through a drawn-in infield in the fourth may seem counter to the club’s wishes, but no one on this offensively-challenged club will complain about run production.“Definitely that first homestand, I kind of felt — I wouldn’t say pressure — but you want to perform,” Rodgers said. “New team, new guy, you want to get those big hits, have those home runs and stuff like that. I kind of felt the pressure.”By nature, Rodgers is not a talkative person. For his entire career, he hasn’t had to be. Rodgers was a centerpiece in Colorado, the player people approached to introduce themselves.“I have to go out of my way and be the new guy and interact with guys that I’ve never played with and just played against,” Rodgers said.When he did it over the Midwestern sky Wednesday night, any apprehension faded away.“Woke up with some energy,” a smiling Rodgers said after his biggest game as an Astro. “It felt good to come up and get that out of the way.”(Photo: Matt Krohn / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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