Diekman to the Royals for 1 year 2.25 million and a mutual option for 2020 for 2.75 million Xavier Cedeno to the Cubs for 1 year 900k non-guaranteed deal with 300k incentives. That's pretty good value for those teams.
Profits are through the roof because MLB has a short term vision which will ruin them in the longer term. The way that MLBAM has controlled all media rights in baseball has seriously siphoned the growth of baseball. There use to be a time where MLB wouldnt even allow any sort of highlights being uploaded online without prior approval its really sad if you think about it. Baseball has some of the most charismatic players anywhere in sports yet they're not allowed to truly express themselves. just look at how harper was when he first eneterd the league and then look at him now. Mookie is also a professional bowler and plays football. Baez is best firiends with all the biggest reggaeton singers in the world (nicky jam/daddy yankee/jbalvin). baseball has no freaking clue how to market its players. youre absolutely crazy if you think harper has been offered 330 lol. the best deal harper has been offered has to be in the ballpark of 6/180 with a opt out after the 4th season
He wasn't very good last year and will turn 35 this year. He's... fine. But is a prime, obvious candidate to be upgraded. His postseason numbers are not relevant. Last year, he wasn't Tyler White. Maybe you're right: he'll be healthy and recapture what he did in '17. Unfortunately, he is not projected to have anywhere close to the bounce back season you're predicting. In fact, most projections have him regressing further. He'll be 35 - the power drain, for a player that never walks, is concerning. Here's the bottom line: based on last year + '19 projections, he's simply not good enough to keep potentially better players out of the line-up. If White proves '18 wasn't a fluke, if Tucker harnesses his enormous potential, with Brantley on the team... Gurriel should - and likely will - see his ABs cut drastically.
On everyone throwing shade on Gurriel, I thought it was only a select few of us. 1B/DH and C are the only positions Astros are likely in the bottom half of the league. I don't think it really matters as Astros have signed Wade Miley , Cruz/ Grandal have signed already, and Goldy has been traded already. Is it really shade to want to use the budget allotted to Gurriel to acquire Grandal, Cruz, Goldy, or a SP better than Miley?
. For Harper, the Nationals would have obtained right-hander J.B. Bukauskas, the Astros’ No. 8 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, and two other minor leaguers, sources said. Catcher Garrett Stubbs, the team’s No. 15 prospect, was in play, and the Nationals would have received another, low-level, minor-league pitcher as well.
Adding Kimbrel to Houston’s bullpen would be overkill, but as with any good player, at a certain price point of course it makes sense. Hard to believe there are still 3 star level players available in free agency (Harper, Keuchel, Kimbrel) who could significantly improve Houston’s roster.
Offseason over. Let the roster battles begin! What battles do we have...Marisnick v. Kemp v. Tucker Tucker winning means Kemp is traded and Marisnick to the minors most likely. Kemp wins, Tucker and Marisnick to the minors. Marisnick wins, Kemp is traded, Tucker to the minors. When Tucker is brought up, Marisnick is traded/DFA. SP 5/Bullpen 7,8 James v. Valdez v. Perez v. Armenteros v. Deetz v. Guduan v. McCurry v. Rodgers v. Bukauskas James seems favorite for SP5. I'm not as sure who ends up at the end of the pen.
Are you saying White will have a better season than Gurriel? LOL If White has a season better than last yrs and Tucker come thru, a big if, then Gurriel will probably be used in the Marwin role. Gurriel has the clutch gene, White not so much. Tucker, clutch gene TBD.
White may or may not have a better season than Gurriel. I'd give slight edge to White, but it is likely close to a coin toss. White has more upside. On clutch gene....White was more clutch in 2017-2018 than Gurriel. P.S. Don't look at 2016. It shows data that agrees with you that White is unclutch, but provides data that the clutch gene isn't projectable. How can someone that played that poorly in 2016 be dramatically worse in clutch situations? And then how could that player become more clutch than clutch god Gurriel?
If he is the garbage everyone here is portraying him how would the Astros move his contract anyway? Considering how owners aren't spending why would they trade for a player that is 35, makes almost 19 million the next 2 seasons, and is projected to suck? I don't see Gurriel taking ABs from White since we need a DH almost every night as well as a first baseman. I do expect Gurriel's ABs to be somewhat less just because of his age and considering how many injuries we had last year I expect the Astros to cut back on most guys playing time when possible. I expect Brantley to get days off and quite a few days at DH to try and keep him healthy over the season.
No; White was better than Gurriel last year. But the idea of White having a better 2019 than Gurriel is not anywhere close to LOL. Sorry; I have no interest in entertaining a conversation about clutch genes. This is 2019, ferchrissakes. We should all know better.
Gurriel isn't garbage. Among Astros that aren't elite, he's one of the highest paid. On trading Gurriel, it would take a prospect value which the Astros have more of than budget. Granted, I don't think the Astros have good options any more to fill the budget, so I don't think it is worth trying to move him at the moment. I expect one of Kemp, Tucker, and Alvarez to force their way into the lineup or the Astros to trade for another bat before the trade deadline if one of them doesn't. If it is Tucker or Kemp, either Reddick is gone or Brantley plays a lot of DH putting Gurriel and White fighting for ABs. If it is Alvarez or another bat, they likely play either 1B or DH making Gurriel and White fight for ABs. There is a decent chance someone gets hurt and goes to the 60-day IL. I'm guessing Brantley plays DH a lot more than a few days.
Barring injury, if Tucker is on the roster I expect it to be because White flopped again and fell on his face. Brantley becomes DH and Tucker to LF. I see Gurriel's and Reddick's contracts as almost immovable in this market. Too many players still available in free agency and some will probably be there even after the season starts. Would you rather pay Josh Reddick 26 million over two years or Carlos Gonzalez or Adam Jones 2-4 million for one year? If the Astros do try and move Reddick or Gurriel I believe it would be either in a Greinke like deal at the deadline or after the season when they only have one year left. The Astros might be willing to eat 4-5 million and send some lower level prospects to get rid of one of them if someone else is emerging at that point.
