Gurriel isn't nearly the prospect that his brother was. He is a good prospect (possibly top 100) but he isn't elite. The Astros need starting pitching and I think one of the holes will be filled via trade if possible. Sale, Quintana, Ervin, Archer, Pineda and Tehran all are possibilities. I think another rotation spot will be filled internally (Devo) or on a free agent like Cashner. Another possibility is the Astros make a deal for Quintana or Sale and take on Shields as well. Ramos, Encarnacion or Desmond would all help the line up a lot. I expect all to be too expensive. I would say Trumbo, but I expect the Astros to target players that put the ball in play. They may keep everything in house on the offensive side of the field. Ramos would potentially help the line up the most. I know the Astros have tried to make massive deals with the White Sox without success. I think they will continue to try and make a deal happen... Sale, Quintana, Shields, Abreu and Cabrera all are possible.
Loudres Gurriel, Jr. has a very high ceiling as a prospect and is only 22 years old. IIRC I read on the Crawfish Boxes that he should start in AA. Guessing that puts him about one year away from The Bigs.
Gurriel is waiting to sign after Oct 19th, at which time he'll turn 23, which means he won't be an amateur and no longer subject to international signing bonuses. Teams will be lining up to sign this kid.
ui Sale/Teheran/Archer/Quintana Ramos or a C available via FA/trade. This is a defense-first/offense-tolerable deal to me though. A.Chapman or a lesser good LHRP Freeman or a 1B/DH/LF-type. I do expect Reed to make a jump next year (or be traded) but having another bat is needed, one that has some different skills than the others...or...not sure what corner OF are available, but they're always around so pick a good one. Unless the Reds are tossing in many millions I'd stay way the hell away from Votto. Not a good use of limited resources.
Definitely see Astros adding a catcher...just no idea who is out there available. Preferable someone that bats left handed.
An interesting team is Arizona . What happened to them ? It looks they are loaded with pitching . Was their offense just that bad ? How soon are they willing to give up on a run the next few seasons and shift to rebuilding again ? Will hey trade established MLB players for prospects or maybe a better MLB fit ? Grieke is a stud , even with his absurd contract I would feel good about him . Arizona is a small market team , will they try to save money . We have a lot of cost controlled players at this point . What about Shelby Miller . Damn has he sucked this year .. Maybe he can be a buy low candidate . I'm pretty sure lunhow drafted him in STL . Bradley and Delgado are two names not far removed from top prospect lists when does ARI try to move them . I don't know ARI's farm system well enough to know their outlook on the future , but we may be able to sweep in and grab a talented pitcher
Last year he pitched over 200 innings and had an Era + of 125 and a FIP of 3.45 . Looks like a pretty solid year regardless of win loss totals . This year , he's been trash . I haven't watched him , I have no idea why , but it's why he's a buy low candidate and not a premium pitcher . At his age and those results last year he had a pretty exceptional value .
1) His xFIP last year (when he was "good") was still 4.07. That HR/FB ratio (which buoyed the FIP) was below his own avg and the league avg--a career low. Not something to bank on given his history and what happened this year. 2) He also fell apart in September last year and carried that forward to this year..don't like the trend. 3) This year, he's been consistently bad. Not up and down, except from awful, to mediocre, to bad. I would've liked to have seen some signs of life somewhere along the way. 4) Finally, while he might be somewhat cheap, the Dbacks *just* gave up the #1 overall pick from 2015 for him < 12 months ago. And that guy has already reached the majors. They're not going to sell him for pennies
Assuming Houston could get Sale/Shields for McCullers/Martes/Tucker, a rotation of Sale, Keuchel, McHugh, Shields and one of Musgrove/Devenski/Feliz would be pretty salty. As for under the radar FA that goes to your point about getting guys that put the ball in play: Reddick, Beltran, Pearce, Holliday, and Prado fit that bill. At C, Ramos, Weiters, Ruiz, Ellis, and Suzuki all have k% <20% this season.
Player #1: Aroldis Chapman 53 games 34 saves 3 blown saves 2.1 WAR and counting. $20 large for 5/6 years ought to get er done. Visions of 10 less blown saves are dancing though my head. (Harris, Gregeson and Giles have combned for 12 BSs this year.) Besides the Astros should collect ... all of the Cubans.
The issue with Sale/Teheran/Archer/Quintana, as well as Freeman - they're all young and cheap; they'll likely only be dealt if socks are blown off and that almost certainly means Bregman. The Reds (likely) have a much greater urgency to get out from under Votto's contract - it's huge, he's old(er) and they aren't good - but he's still capable of returning a decent haul. And the contract itself can become a negotiating tool - the more we eat, the less we (probably) have to give up. I'd put Ryan Braun as option 1a. Someone mentioned Grienke - I thought long and hard about him... he's been terrible this year and his contract is ginormous - but, like Votto, he almost certainly comes "cheaper" than an Archer or Sale. But, man... I'd be worried, given his performance this year. He's not young; the end comes quickly and unexpectedly for a lot of these guys...
They need to go after this guy hard. The astros need at least have a 150 mil dollar payroll next year.
Desmond would be at the top of my FA list. Could fit into one of our OF spots which badly need improving. I think he has likely played himself out of our price range though Trade wise Archer would be #1 on my list. I know he hasn't had a great season, but he is still striking out a ton of guys and at age 27, I think he is at least a strong #2 rotation type. The price in terms of prospects would be large, but he is controlled cheaply through 2021 so would certainly be the kind of guy Crane would prefer us to go after. If Martes, Paulino, the Tuckers and another low level guy got it done I would be all over that.
We should have some money to spend this year with a few of the bigger contracts off the books. In Free Agency i would go after Josh Reddick, and Lourdes Gurriel to play the outfield. Even though we need starting pitching there is nobody to go after in free agency so i would use that money on a dominating closer like Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. After that i would try and trade for a first baseman like Votto or Freeman. Then wait till the trade deadline to go after a Starting pitcher.
