Sure he could turn any trade into a Syndergaard what-if scenario. The odds overwhelmingly are against that. As long as the return package pitches well, there's not to much to complain about. I don't see Toronto whining that much about the Syndergaard trade.
Exactly, with the exception of Kyle Tucker. He is a lot closer to the Majors than Whitley. He is developing at a nice pace. Could be a 5 tool player in the Majors. I actually want to see what Kyle Tucker does in the Minors next year before I would trade him. He could have a monster year in 2017 in the Minors leagues. If he does, he will be in line to make the opening day roster in 2018. Should be a lot stronger by then as his body would be more matured.
Castro would likely accept the QO. I don't think any other team would sign him if he had a QO tag on him, they won't want to give up a first round pick for a serviceable catcher. I think the only QO candidate is Valbuena.
Speaking of the MLB amateur draft the Astros have the 16th pick. Highest they would probably go would be 15. Rockies, White Sox, Pirates and Marlins are all rebuilding and want to go young. Only the Royals would make sense to sign a veteran free agent with a draft pick tag on them.
Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2017 Marwin Gonzalez (4.133) – $3.6MM Dallas Keuchel (4.089) – $9.5MM Evan Gattis (4.000) – $6.2MM Will Harris (3.102) – $2.5MM Mike Fiers (3.085) – $4.3MM Collin McHugh (3.085) – $4.6MM Brad Peacock (3.013) – $800K George Springer (2.166) – $4.7MM Jake Marisnick (2.145) – $1.1MM Projected Super Two Cutoff The projected Super Two cutoff for this year’s class is expected to fall between two years, 127 days of MLB service time (2.127) and two years, 131 days (2.131). Players who qualify for “Super Two” designation — that is, the top 22 percent of MLB players with between two and three years of service time — will be eligible for arbitration four times as opposed to the standard three that the rest of the league will qualify.
Ehhhh... He's a part-time, defensively-challenged catcher who will turn 31 next year and is still probably best suited to platoon. And while he was very good after the ASB, it didn't look anything like the rest of his career - he's never slugged nearly .600 and he sure as-heck has never come anywhere close to posting a .360 OB%. I suppose there's a chance, at 30, that he finally put it all together. But, most likely, he simply had a blazing stretch and will return to being the ~.300/.475 hitter he's always been. If there was a GM that fell love with his final 250 plate appearances and wanted to send us something with greater long-term value, I'd jump all over that deal.
If I have to deal Tucker to get Sale or Quintana I do it. I will get 3 years of Sale's prime on a team that needs a #1 starter and is ready to win. Likewise, I have serious talks about Sonny Gray assuming the scouts and doctors say he is fine. The Astros need to put their name in the hat as many times as possible in the post season. I wouldn't move Bregman or Correa for Sale; but anyone else in my minor league system is available for the right deal. The Astros, even if they get Sale, will need to sign a legitimate 800 OPS+ bat. You saw how the offense improved with Bregman in the line up, well they still need to extend the order. First base/DH is the easiest to find a good but not great bat. If they want to spend a sizable amount of money, they can complete their corner outfield spot.
He improves his walk rate the 2nd half of last season, so maybe that aspect is somewhat here to stay. Gattis isn't suddenly going to be Mike Piazza, but maybe he can be the guy he was this season .250/.320/.500 type guy.
Mitch Moreland ain't great, but I think tossing 3/30 at him locks down that position weakness for the near-term/current window.
We should look for another bat. Encarnacion should be the clear #1 target in FA to solidify the DH spot. Reddick would probably be my top OF choice. Bautista & Beltran will factor in. Moss & Napoli (preferably not, as they are more K-machines) would fit in as cheaper options should the money get too crazy on the other guys.
He's not priority number 1 bat-wise but if they got him and one of the other, better bats that'd be a huge offseason for the offense. He's way better than rolling out Reed/white/Tucker/singleton at 1B.
This is a team hoping to make a deep playoff run - the standard can no longer be, "He's better than our failed internal options." Mitch Moreland is a below-average MLB hitter - why do you want to add another one of those to the line-up? Don't we have enough?
I think they need to shoot a little higher. He had an OPS of 630 on the road last year. I wouldn't sign him at 3/30 based on what he did last year; but would certainly consider him on a 1 year deal and there is no one else out there the Astros are able to sign to man the position. He is better than Reed/White if you don't think they are going to improve. Moreland has a .740 OPS the last 4 years
I was surprised to see his end season stats because at one point he was definitely sporting an over .800 OPS. I think his floor and upside are both higher than Ty White. His upside isn't higher than Reeds but we really need to fill both 1B and DH so he's not reeds replacement per se. His floor is certainly higher than Reeds though.
I think White has the higher upside between him and Moreland. Moreland has an OPS+ of 98 over the last 3 years, and he was really good in 2015. He's not even necessarily a good platoon guy.
His OPS was .800+ for exactly seven days this season. It peaked (after the first month) at .806 . But even if he maintained .806 for the majority of the season, that's still mediocre for a 1B/DH. If the Astros spend their offseason signing guys like Mitch Moreland, I am going to be straight-up Hulk-pissed.
You have a point. Sale is an awesome pitcher and a true Ace. I think the next 3 years should be fun (2017-2019). Sort of like the 2003-05 Astros, but hopefully with a championship to boot. Still, I would hate to lose a hitter (Tucker) of his caliber. I doubt Luhnow would trade him or Whitley. He is all about winning now and down the future.
