New year, new manager, but the Astros are at it again. It only took a few days of spring training for sources to confirm how the Astros planned to relay signs to the hitters now that everyone knows about the trash can.

“Every time Dusty swallows a toothpick, that means a slider is coming,” said someone inside the Astros organization who didn’t want to be identified. “But don’t be fooled by the choking, that is not a sign for any pitch, that is just because he swallowed a toothpick.”

“That is categorically false,” Baker said in a press conference. “I have been chewing and swallowing toothpicks for years, it doesn’t mean shit.”

Regardless of the possible attempt at relaying signs, the Astros will have a trainer dedicated to removing the toothpicks each time Baker inevitably swallows one on purpose or not.

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