Looks like the Tigers signed Jordan Zimmerman. Should be interesting to see the numbers on this deal. Predictions are 6 years for $125M.
Well he is 25 years old and under team control for four more years. He has a career era of slightly over 3.00.... He would be a very expensive trade piece. He would require multiple of the Astros top prospects.
Miller's ERA has been great, but his peripherals have only been decent.(High 3 FIP, xFIP around 4) Combine that with the move to the AL. Not that I think he won't still be a good pitcher, but I'm not sure he would be good enough to warrant what is likely to be an extremely steep prospect cost. Like every other move we've discussed, it's all about just how steep that price would be.
Still think there is a real possibility Jonny Cueto is an Astro next season. Other options like Pfister are possible as a reclamation project. I really think we are going to wait and see who is left standing after the huge money is spent. The Zimmerman deal didn't do Cueto any favors when it comes to maximizing funds.
<iframe src='http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=531438383&topic_id=6479266&width=400&height=224&property=mlb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>
Seems a little low for what Cueto should expect. The years are risky. Based on Luhnow's budget around 100 million, I suspect Astros going after either Wei-Yen Chen or Kazmir if Astros go after a starter. These guys should offer fewer years and almost as much value short term. I'm not a fan of 2/3's of the OF being in the last year of their contracts. I would like the Astros to pick up an OF that could also be a DH if Astros don't go for a starter in FA. This would make it easier for Astros to open up Marisnick, Tucker, or even Gomez for a trade for a closer.
Kazmir could be an interesting case. His nuclear meltdowns in the last 2 seasons started at almost the exact same time. Before the meltdowns he gave 21 starts with dominant numbers. If you started him later in the season, maybe he's going strong through the pennant chase and into the playoffs. How much value would there be in playing 2/3 of a season, but doing so at an extremely high level versus a guy who could give you 30 starts of lesser numbers. A team like the Astros with pretty solid pitching depth would have no trouble covering for those 10 starts he misses. There is of course no guarantee that starting him later would effect anything, he may still fall apart in August, but it would be an intriguing risk. One thing is for sure, there is no way I would give him big money expecting 32 starts after what we have seen. He may still be worth big money, but you would need to adjust how you use him.
In theory, this is a great idea - you could easily just start VV or whomever you want to experiment with for 10 starts at the beginning of the season. But in reality, how do you pull this off? How do you tell Kazmir that you think he's going to suck after 20 starts, so you're benching him for a few months?
I would just keep him shut down through Spring Training, and then start his Spring Training routine in April/May. Maybe it require him to spend some time on assignment or in extended ST. It would be a bit of an ego check, but if you were still paying him 15 million or so with this knowledge up front I imagine he would be OK with it. I would be OK with it, but I'm not Kazmir, he might not. And our rotation already has Keuchel/LM/McHugh/Feldman/Fiers, VV would be the 6th. If we were to do something like this. I imagine moving Feldman's salary would be a possibility. I would be OK with VV starting in the rotation if we moved Feldman.
Yeah, I mean Roger was ok with a weird setup like this. And his ego is well understood. So it could be a matter of positioning it and providing him with a "fluffer".. lol
I think it would be easier just to reduce his innings or have him skip every third start with VV, Appel, Feliz, or other subbing in for either scheduled relief or starts.
What's your source, Nick? I'm just curious as to where I can find some well-sourced rumors, other than on this site? I'm starved for Astros news (and hot-stove news, in general). Thanks in advance...
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ does a great job compiling rumors and is a great secondary source. For this particular rumor, www.mlbtraderumors.com acknowledges ESPN's Crasnick as the primary source.
Thanks. Is there a good hot-stove site that is compiling offseason rumors? ESPN.com is basically the same site as NFL.com between September and January so there's no luck there...
