In my opinion I'd trust Urquidy more than Garcia in the playoffs. Do we really want to trade him? Plus he can pitch out of the pen as well.
I think I'd do that deal. Especially if you could also swap Garcia for Castillo. The Astros place such a premium on the catcher dynamic -- it also gives you a period to evaluate Contreras as a longer term fit/Maldy replacement.
Well my thought is, they get a quality SP for this years push as well as going forward. They have a ton of quality depth in the OF and they would be doing the same thing we are of trading from a position of strengrh to balance their roster. So sure you lose Mancini or Santander but gain Odorizzi and have the depth to replace either. Just like we have to depth to move Odorizzi.
Ill Elaborate I would try and dump some things off Urquidy, Odorizzi and Maton to the Cardinals for Yepez, Burleson, Thompson, HInce and there choice Jushua Baez or the Catching Prospect Harrera
I'm still wondering if we don't just sit on Framber, Javier, Garcia, and Urquidy... Im fine moving blocked pieces like Brown or Odorizzi. With Verlander due for a multi year deal and McCullers always hurt I like the idea of depth. Moving 2 arms for one better one does make sense. I just worry about injuries. We could pay Garcia and Urquidy for Castillo but then he could get hurt or, like Berrios, struggle in the change of scenery. If it's Hunter Brown, Colin Barber, and 2 other prospects for Castillo I'm fine with it. We plug McCullers in the pen for the rest of the year and move on... then we don't feel a need to pay top dollar for Verlander.
I agree that it would help the Astros to trade Odorizzi. IMO he just only has value to teams that 1) are very likely to make the playoffs 2) need starting pitching badly. Garcia or Urquidy to the Orioles makes sense because they have team control for 3-4 more seasons. Odorizzi makes sense for St.Louis, Toronto, Philadelphia. Maybe others But he is not bringing back a starting level player by himself. Maybe a bench player, reliever, or prospect in the team's 15-30 range.
I don’t think we really have a good idea of what Houston really thinks of Hunter Brown. If they trade Urquidy and Odorizzi and call up Brown, I think that will be a sign that they are very very high on him and will make trading Urquidy make a lot more sense. If Brown gets close to his ceiling the rotation would be extremely good even if Verlander bolts.
Here's a thought... instead of replacing Yuli, we platoon him? Josh Naylor with Cleveland is .920 ops against righties and .612 against lefties. Yuli is a .754 against lefties this year. Naylor is 25 so Cleveland may be reluctant. Given he has experience at outfield and 1B he could give us flexibility replacing Brantley and Gurriel in the offseason. They also have a dominant closer under control in Emmanuel Clase. He has reverse splits and lefties hit worse against him (sub .400 ops). To Cleveland: Jake Odorrizi Korey Lee Hunter Brown Enmanuel Valdez To Astros: Josh Naylor Enmanuel Clase
Considering how unlikely it is to trade for a guy as good as Ohtani, especially in the same division, we are kind of the absolutely perfect trade partner for the Angels. They need (controllable, young and still getting better) starting pitching from top to bottom to maximize Trout window. They have no need for 3 year away prospects. From that standpoint they would most likely choose 2 from Valdez, Javier, Urquidy, Garcia, and Hunter and if I had to bet, there are very few teams that could beat that. The only way someone beats that is if a loaded farm system goes nuts on pure talent offer, and it makes no sense to me that a very young and up and coming team would do that for a 28 year old guy, even if he is as good as Shohei. Also most teams with stacked farms have lower chance of extending his contract so they wont go all in. Having said that, makes no sense to even talk about that, it's so unlikely we are setting ourselves up to be disappointed. Only good vibes in here, lets get it.
I wouldn't touch the Astros pitching staff outside of moving Odorozzi for whatever you can get to dump his salary and roster space. The only pitcher I'd make a move for would be Ohtani, and that's because he solves a bat issue too. Beyond that, I'd exclusively go for bats. This pitching staff is elite and proven and has shown that it rises up against the best teams. Luis Castillo is great this year in playing meaningless games for Cincinnati - but is also having easily a career best season and who knows what he does against the Yankees or if he can maintain this going forward. I'd rather stick with the players that have completely shut down that team all season long. Bats, on the other hand, can help all over the lineup given that no one outside of Yordan is really having an outstanding season.
Astros get: 1B/OF Trey Mancini Orioles get: RHP Jake Odorizzi Reasoning: Orioles, in the playoff hunt, need pitching badly, especially with Means undergoing TJS and Wells landing on the IL (unknown for how long). Mancini is an impending FA, but they have internal options to replace his ABs. It also helps them find more at bats for Adley when he isn't catching. Odorizzi, assuming his medicals check out, gives the Orioles a good #3 or 4 starter. Mancini slides in at 1B while also being able to play LF in a pinch. Not saying it will happen, or that the Orioles are even interested, but I explain why it could make sense.
