Multiple thoughts here... 1. Luhnow and Crane are the ideal GM/Owner combo. Luhnow is extremely creative and Crane is extremely supportive and willing to dish out cash if it means winning. That's led to the JV deal and the Greinke deal. Neither are complacent and they are arguably the best GM/Owner duo in baseball. 2. I loved parts of each of the guys we gave up. Beer, JBB, Martin and Rojas all had really positive aspects to their game that can help an MLB team (now or down the road). However, each of them have significant flaws. Beer is slow as hell and has defensive liabilities (already have one of those types with Alvarez). JBB has control issues... could be a great bullpen arm or could end up flaming out. Martin showed some promise but won't even pitch again until the 2021 season in all likelihood. Rojas is extremely versatile and actually might be the best of the bunch IMO 5 years from now. Anyways, you didn't give up anything close to a "sure thing" type of prospect. 3. You are now heavy heavy HEAVY WS favorites this season. That's a lot of pressure but this team has no issue with that. If you win the WS again this year then this trade is 100% worth it. Even if you don't win the WS, at least you can say you went all in and didn't hold anything back.
Exactly, this move sets us up for the next two years. We already have Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Brantley, Correa all locked in through at least next year. Greinke added with a hopefully healthy returning McCullers makes Cole, as crazy as it sounds, not a need for this team. Offense will rake, pitching will keep up with what is needed.
i mean if they didn't make big moves, the astros would still be one of the top teams in baseball. that fact that they did, just further solidifies what we already knew and that JL has been a great owner to this point
I wouldn't. There would be no Brantley . Brantley + Miley > Morton. And Morton will forever be a legend here.
This was the damn post I was looking for. Luhnow out here still sippin the finest wines as a based God should.
This was not a cheap move..at all. Heavy prospect cost and financial burden for a 35 year old pitcher. But our window is now, and this trade could pay even bigger dividends over the next 2 seasons. Whatever happens in 2022 and beyond we can worry about then. Strike while the iron is hot, don't kick the can towards a future that may not exist. I wish other owners realized this simple concept
I hated that we didnt at least extend the qualifying offer for Morton. 2 years I felt might be risky given his injury history, but at least the QO made sense to me. That said, no use crying over spilt milk and this is a great trade regardless.