Yes, I was staunchly against Verlander in July. You should, however, re-read what I posted about Fiers instead of the strawman you desperate wanted to believe. I did say he was pitching well at the time, but that was besides the point. I said we had a bunch of guys like that - Fiers, Morton, Peacock, and potentially McHugh, and you just needed 2 of them to be doing well in October. It didn't matter which two were doing well - if two weren't doing well, we probably don't go anywhere regardless of adding another guy like that. There was no need for a mediocre Verlander to join that group (same with a #2 in Gray and others). In August, Verlander showed he had made a turnaround into a top-tier ace, and I supported a trade towards that deadline. You really should stop making up your own version of arguments and then ascribing them to other people. Beyond that, Verlander's salary is one reason that Stanton is less viable now - it does limit the team's flexibility. If he regresses, that will become a problem going forward, but the fact that they won a World Series makes that problem go away and pays for itself in the experience the rest of the roster gained, etc. Stanton doesn't have that secondary leadership effect. Sure, except they are our guys on cheap deals right now and they play harder-to-replace positions. We don't have to extend them all now, and we have the ability to evaluate their performance longer term. With Stanton, it's just the opposite - especially with his opt-out. You get all the risk long-term while paying market value up front. This is a guy with a 7+ WAR this year ... and a 3.7 and 2.5 WAR the previous two years. There is very little possibility of getting any real excess value, which is 100% opposite the philosophy that makes the team successful. The core will come with spending the money. The optimizing around it will work the way it has thus far - lots of minor leaguers, see who turns out good, and then fill holes from there. You don't start by spending the money on an easy-to-fill position and then hoping the minor leaguers you have left fit the holes. If they get payroll blessing, they should figure out how to best invest that in their core. $30MM on hard-to-replace elite 2B, SS, and CF are better than $30MM on an equally elite LF.
Let the chips fall where they may. Being a champion this year, I am down for anything. Even if the Astros standstill
Clearly, the Astros weren’t going to protect him and thought he’d get claimed in the Rule 5 draft. Benefit of Bailey is that he’s not eligible. Seems like an interesting enough prospect, with a career off to a good start.
Wouldn't this make more sense: CF Springer 2B Altuve SS Correa LF Stanton 3B Bregman DH Gattis 1B Gurriel/Marwin C Lucroy/McCann RF Reddick/Marisnick
how about both? =) Springer Alex Altuve Correa Stanton Miguel DH split with gattis Melky Gurriel Mccann Marwin super sub. (Reddick retires to join WWE)
Ah, the overreactionary/overexplanafion post... a true calling card of sorts. Again, you’re hung up on either/or as well as worst case scenarios. You very much decided against a move to upgrade pitching at a time when Mike Fiers was pitching slightly better than mediocre. You flip flopped once he regressed closer to his norm. Likewise, a Stanton deal becomes a nightmare only if he regresses AND they can’t work out extensions (presuming none of those guys regress prior to or after that). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with optimizing a window while they’re all cheap. It hasn’t been exactly as you portrayed—in fact, that method didn’t work at all in 2016. They went out and acquired Beltran, McCann, and Reddick... also moves you weren’t 100% on board for, but they had to optimize with actual mlb talent, not cheap minor leaguers. It’s exceedingly rare that reigning MVP’s are on the market, and the Astros do have potential payroll flexibility to accommodate. And I’m quite sure you’d come around on a potential deal (much like you eventually did with Verlander, in a span of just 30 days), if he’s hitting the ball like he’s capable of.
id be SO happy if we did nothing else this offseason but taking care of our core. make altuve, springer, correa, kuechel, and bregman lifetime stros. obviously, not ALL of that has to get done this winter. luhnow seems meticulous and unlikely to pay up at the peak, my counter argument would be that we're about to win 2 more WS so we're not peaking yet
The Astros have added lefty Cionel Perez and righty Dean Deetz to their 40-man, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Now with the 40-man roster set at 40 who is dealt/outrighted to open roster spots for relievers, a left handed bat and possibly a backup catcher? Stassi and Centeno are both out of options and have to remain on the 25 man roster. Both won't obviously make it but both provide affordable back up options should the Astros not land Lucroy or an affordable backup. I see both going into spring training competing for the spot. On the 25 man.. Fiers being dealt seems like an easy move, with Peacock, Martes, Musgrove, Devo, Feliz, etc all capable of multiple innings at a more efficient pace. There's really no room for him in the pen with Devo, Harris, Giles, Musgrove & Peacock all likely to take up spots, whatever LHRP they land and Closer/RHLP plus Martes, Feliz, Paulino, etc all have the talent to be elite arms. Tony Sipp should be another spot being pushed in trade talk. I'd say they might need to open 1-2 more roster spots if they can deal Fiers and Sipp for non 40 man prospects among that group is Preston Tucker, J.D. Davis, Brady Rodgers, James Hoyt, Tony Kemp, Jandel Gustave, Tyler White, Reymin Guduan. Reed, Moran, Fisher, Martes, Paulino should all still be given opportunity and time to develop.
Miguel. Let's just say he's said it to the players before. Obviously he's close to 2 certain players on the Astros. Now baseball trades are not done like NBA. My boys are there, trade me cuz I want to be there.
If you expect all those or even most those guys to get extensions, you are going to be very disappointed. Good luck keeping Altuve and Correa because that is likely going to cost north of a half billion dollars. The Astros aren’t paying that.
Yeah, unfortunately at some point they’re going to have to trade somebody. Which do you keep? Going to be some tough decisions made down the line.
Hence why I said “obviously not ALL” Will be a tough task, certainly. Interested to see how Luhnow goes from here. I could absolutely see ya signing Altuve and Correa long-term. Call me crazy, I don’t care. It’s entirely feasible given the organizations financial flexibility going forward. Unlikely, sure. Just look at the market. But impossible? Not close.
You try and keep/extend the three infielders, let Keuchel walk, and trade Springer when he gets close to FA. Thankfully, we get to enjoy this position player core for at the very least the next two years. Oh and they won a trophy. Flags fly forever.
I always have a hard time finding which players are out of options, but I’m pretty sure these are the bubble guys who cannot be sent down: Stassi Centeno P Tucker Feliz
