With all of the trade talk...errr...or lack thereof, let's assess the needs. C SP CF/RF 3B Ausmus is in the last year of his contract, and he's probably not gonna be much help even if he resigns for another year. Hector Gimenez was injured, and even when healthy, his bat has been a question. Eric Munson? Pshh. We have alot of arms, but none are actually reliable. Jennings is a potential FA, and we haven't heard too much about resigning him. Oswalt and Sampson are the only guys we can really count on. Albers is overrated IMO, and I don't see why FO is so high on him. Wandy has been up and down and Williams has been a bust. Juan Gutierrez and Troy Patton are the only guys who could be ready by next year, but Juan still needs more polishing and Troy is still just a 21 year old kid. Pence has been great, and his defense isn't as bad as scouts have said, but we need another starting outfielder. Luke Scott has been a real disappointment, and we could use a leadoff hitter for next year (Burke...meh). If we could land a CF who could leadoff, that'd be nice. 3B...Mike Lamb's bat has always been pretty reliable, but his defense leaves alot to be desired. He's not bad at 1B, but his hands are rocks at 3B. We could start Lamb and then sub with Ensberg in late innings defensively, but we really need to find a 3B who can handle the offensive and defensive responsibilities. Since we have limited trade assets, we can't really solve all of our problems. Trading anything of value would create another hole somewhere else. Possibilities? Kelly Shoppach has been blocked by Varitek and Martinez. Cleveland needs relief help. Trevor Crowe has been struggling, but he was really on the fast track until this year. He can play CF and has some legit leadoff skills (plate discipline, speed, and used to hit for average) Adam Jones/Wladimir Balentien: The Mariners might be making a playoff push, but they might need some pitching. They can't rely on Morrow (rookie) and Reitsma in the playoffs. Jeff Clement and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are both gonna start with Brad Lidge, but they're the top bats at catcher. Andy Laroche is blocked by Nomar, but they probably dont wanna trade Laroche. They do need some starting pitching, which would mean Jennings. If we do trade Lidge, we could probably get Shoppach and Crowe from Cleveland. They could also use Loretta since Barfield is hitting .255 with 2 homers, but I'd probably ask for Jeremy Sowers in return (they already have 5 starters and Adam Miller waiting). May be asking for a bit much for Loretta, but Sowers has not done well this year. Not too many options as 3B in FA next year, and there arent many major league ready prospects either outside of Laroche and Ian Stewart of Colorado. Best option would be to keep Lamb. With the scarcity of starting pitching in FA, and the reluctance of teams to give up young major league ready guys, we'd probably be better off by keeping Jennings.
I would see what they have already in Towles and Patton before going out and trading for more unproven players at those positions. As for 3B, its tough... ideally, Lamb/Loretta could continue to split time there once Everett comes back healthy. The club could invest money in a readily available corner OF... or they could invest it in more pitching (still need to shore up the bullpen).
That would not be a bad idea. 2b Burke cf Pence 1b Berkman lf Lee 3rd Loretta/Lamb RF A STUD via trade C Towles/trade SS Everett P Oswalt RP LIDGE Wheeler or Qualls (one gets traded) Paulino Estrada Wandy(please move him out of the rotation) Starters Oswalt FA or Trade Patton Sampson/Backe Woody
its gonna take an amazing spring training for towles to make the club. he's got a half season of AA under his belt. they better promote him before the end of the year so he and patton can work together and gel. patton may not even be ready yet (he got pounded yesterday) i think shoppach would be the easiest and most ready option. qualls or wheeler could probably get shoppach+filler...maybe if we're lucky, they'd accept qualls/wheeler and loretta for shoppach and crowe. joe crede or josh fields may be available. not sure what it would take though.
He and his frikkin mullet once ruined a perfectly delightful week in October for me. Wandy's a starter. When he's been in the 'pen, he's been lousy--IIRC. Wandy at the five would be fine, possibly even at the four, if he continues to improve.
oswalt jennings (we'll resign him if we dont deal him, only to save face from the hirsh/willy trade) sampson and then... wandy williams albers backe patton gutierrez 6 pitchers fighting for 2 spots. i think williams gets one of them just because well...i dunno why, but i doubt he goes anywhere. could old age and uselessness be reason to put him on the DL? patton and gutierrez are on the short end just cuz theyre still in AAA. so backe, albers, and wandy for 1 spot. albers is so inconsistent and hasnt shown he can throw strikes. i think we can get something for him, but FO might just wanna keep him because he's from htown backe is coming off tommy john. wandy is well...wandy. thing is, he's either really good, or really bad. no in between. he's also the only lefty in our rotation.
One problem with Crede, he's trying to comeback from back surgery. Generally, once you mess with the back, it only goes downhill from there especially considering the pounding it will take in a 162 game grind year in and year out. Don't think that a move for Crede would be wise.
Agreed. Wandy is showing better composure than the past two years. Though, his last appearance he got rocked. Woody maybe can push out this year and next year with grit and guile.
Purpura is showing a hard time letting go of players he believed were going to be key pieces to the Astros' future. Ensberg, and Lane just don't have it. It's time to let them go. Purpura is letting personal sentiment cloud his judgement rationalizing instead they need more time and seasoning. NO they just don't have the skills to play in the majors. Defense will only carry so far, you have to be able to drive in runs and keep rallies alive. Clutch is a word that is foreign to these two. It's time to send them somewhere else, Timmy! They don't fit here.
http://astrosprospects.blogspot.com/ With the current Astros playing like they're in Round Rock, it looks more likely that the Astros will be sellers, rather than buyers at the trade deadline. Oswalt and Lidge are going to stay put, unless there's an offer on the table that Purpura can't refuse. Rumors have the Mets throwing out crazy trade scenarios. The Astros are in desperate need of a catching prospect that is major league ready. My guess is Purpura wants 3 or 4 of their best prospects that are catchers, SP's, or infielders. The thing is out of their top ten prospects, they only have one infielder and no catchers. The rest are outfielders or pitchers. You can't go wrong with pitching but if you're giving up Oswalt or Lidge, who are worth multiple premium prospects, then you want help in more areas than just pitching. It's almost the same story with the Red Sox. I definitely wouldn't mind getting pitching phenom Clay Buccholz or, their outstanding future centerfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury but they don't have a major-league-ready catcher, 3b, or 2b in their top ten prospects. They do have Justin Pedroia at SS but with him on the team now, and how well they're playing, they won't want to make any changes with the lineup. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that Oswalt or Lidge will be traded but look for Wheeler, Qualls, Loretta, and Lamb to be moved.
you left off: a lead-off hitter and better overall team defense. and by "SP" did you mean one...? because they're going to need 2 top of the rotation starters.
how the hell do you expect the astros to get 2 top of the rotation starters? theres pretty much nobody in FA next year.
