Luhnow wouldn't have made the offer is he wasn't prepared for him to accept it. He's a productive hitter and a versatile fielder, plus it guarantees we won't go into next season with a hole on the roster. If the Astros were going after a guy like Gordon or any other OF/DH with OBP, they still should. Between injuries and the DH there will still be enough PA to go around. Rasmus would also give us injury protection, because lets face it, with 3 everyday OF's it's basically a guarantee that one on them is gonna spend some time on the DL.
I'd be willing to wager that a two or three year extension will be hammered out now that Colby has accepted the offer. Makes a ton of sense for both sides to do so.
I'm 99% sure they'll tear up the 1-year deal and construct/sign a multi-year deal. Maybe 3 years for 12-13m/year and save 9-10 million.
If you don't think Luhnow was completely prepared for Rasmus to accept the offer then you haven't been paying attention at all. There's a plan with and without Colby. I think, given the opportunity to play everyday, he could put up better numbers.
Of course he was prepared for the possibility Rasmus would accept the offer. I personally suspect the would have rather had him reject the QO and gotten the draft pick. However him accepting the offer doesn't crush the Astros or Luhnow never would have made it. Rasmus doesn't need to play everyday, he needs to be platooned.
Why do any of yall care about the money? It's not like yall are writing his checks... There is no salary cap so he doesn't prohibit us from getting other players. As long as the organization isn't just trying to be cheap this shouldn't effect our FA targets.
You and several others are assuming Luhnow didn't think he would accept and that he didn't want Colby to accept I think Luhnow is just fine with having him back Many people hate the HR or K bats so much they assume Luhnow does too I think he is fine with a good defensive OF with 25 HR power who fits in perfectly in the clubhouse. And I'm sure he would rather have Colby as opposed to either a lesser player in LF, or having to tie up long term money to match or upgrade the talent at that spot I think the boys at MMP are plenty happy right now
If you project the 1 year deal out, he loses money on per year basis but gets 2 more years. His yearly money lost is money saved and the 4-5 million saved this year (assuming new deal) could be used for a nice reliever or two for example. Good defensive OF who bats left and hit 25 home runs. You would be surprised. Basically a slightly less effective Torii Hunter. Go look at his contracts over the years.
I like to imagine it went down something along the lines of this Agent: so Colby you got a QO of 16 million, but I thin Colby: okay sounds good
The Astros projected payroll for 2016 is still one of the very lowest in MLB. There is zero reason to try to save money in 2016. If anything, you'd want to frontload contracts so that there's less of a payroll squeeze down the line when some of the very cheap young players come up for expensive extensions. If the Astros want to spend $4-5 million for relievers, they can more than afford that.
And it seems you are forgetting how many BIG hits he had the WHOLE year, he was clutch for us. "Remember" he hit .258 with a .374 OBP a slugging of .548 and an OPS of .922 with RISP. He was CLUTCH for us in big moments, and he is very good defensively. I love this move, i wanted him back