Got to roll with the hot hand. Would consider having Carter DH instead of Gattis even against RHPs right now.
I would trade him in the offseason. I still want him in the lineup now. You can't rewind and change the team's decisions in the past. You can only make decisions based on the info/personnel you have now.
I'm with you here. My hope is that he goes nuts this week and hits a load of bombs. I'd be perfectly happy with that for 2 reasons. 1) It is a needed charge for the offense and 2) it increases his trade value. If he has a great week, he can be moved for at least something, which is more than his current value. Wanting him to get hot and play this week isn't mutually exclusive to wanting to keep him around for a few more years.
Gattis and Carter do what they do, and will do it for the Astros or another team next season. As frustrating as it is, there is value to guys who can hit 25 HR and have OBP of about .300 with and OPS of about .725. Gattis hits for better average, and Carter get a higher OBP due to the walks. As the old saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. A swing of the bat that immediately returns 1 or 2 runs is quite the luxury. But with it comes strike outs, and lots of them. Guys like Trout, Harper, etc. that can hit home runs and for average are your MVP candidates. If Carter would hit .280, he'd be an all-star, but he's only a .200 +- type of hitter, with a .300 OBP. Same as for Gattis, if he new how to work a walk better, he'd be one of the better DH's in the league. And both guys would be fielding 15 million a year type deals. As it is, both guys are in the 5-8 million dollar side of payroll.
Repeating what I said on this thread a few days ago, but, if they make some significant lineup improvements in the offseason, I'd keep him, bet on this being his worst year, bat him 8th, and let him DH and platoon at 1st with Reed.
Unfortunate that you quoted me since I have a much higher Carter tolerance than most and have never called for him to be benched.
This is my view as well. I wouldn't turn down an upgrade but I can live with this plan. I prefer it to using Valbuena or Marwin at 1B.
The only reason I wouldn't is because he'd be a relatively expensive part-time player... and if Reed proves to be more than just a platoon player, you may need to get him more AB's.
Relatively expensive part-time DH who is a liability at defensive positions. And is taking up a roster spot of someone who could contribute in other ways for the same amount of money
i shouldn't have used the word "platoon", it confused things. i meant keep him as a full-time player. as our DH, and he also can be used at 1st when needed. reed won't be up until a month or so in, plus it's unrealistic to expect him to come in and play every day. i'd keep him and let gattis go.
I'd let them both walk - they're virtual clones of one another: inconsistent, one-dimensional hitters who, if they're not hitting home runs, are virtually worthless (IMO). I'm good with Tucker being 1/2 of a DH platoon. My #1 offensive priority in the off-season would be a genuine power bat in LF.
I don't know about that then. Carter's been better... after a lengthy time of not-so much regular playing time, and then no playing time at all... but he could just as easily go back to being one of the worst everyday players day-in/day-out in the big leagues. He seems to respond in short spurts after lengthy benching or demotions... but that sort of thing is more palatable on teams not expected to contend. He wouldn't have gotten back into the current consideration for the lineup if Marwin was at 100%. He's still got some + positive value against mediocre lefties, so we should be seeing him tonight and tomorrow (especially in Seattle)_. He's going to get at least $5 million next year... I doubt this front office is going to gamble that much on him yet again as he's anything but a sure thing (and still has a negative WAR despite hitting HR's). Gattis, meanwhile, is far more affordable. Not even going to get into the Reed/future 1B scenario... except that I hope they consider one of their best prospects in the minors to be more than just a platoon guy.
I remember reading a story not long after the Astros traded for Carter. It predicted him as a MVP in the not distant future at that time. If he hit .280 with his power, that means he's making a lot more contact and likely hitting 40+ hr's. That makes him an MVP candidate. Unfortunately, there's been about 2 months of his entire time in Houston where he's shown flashes of that being possible. He's certainly hot right now and it would be wise to ride it as long as it can possibly last.
my caveat was that there need to be other improvements in the lineup. something like what you suggested, plus reed, plus gomez not sucking would be good. in that case, i think there's a ton of value in somebody in the bottom of your lineup having realistic 35+ hr upside. i think it's a reasonable bet that this will be carter's worst year. and he can take walks and play in the field if necessary - neither of which gattis can do.
I just said I mistakenly used the word platoon. Fact remains, we will need somebody other than Reed for the first month or two of the season. And somebody to handle his days off, at minimum. It's going to take somebody besides Marwin to fill both of those roles. And I am assuming/hoping that Valbuena is gone after the season.
But at $5 million+? I'd rather take Gattis and his 500K salary if you use the savings from Carter elsewhere (and use your same premise of him having a possible career worst year, and stashing him down in the lineup... where he can still hit HR's and K less). I'm also not taking much solace in Carter's 1B "ability" over Gattis being unable to play the field. Neither should ever be playing the field.
And that will cost you a lot (comparatively). If you're going to pay $5 million + for a player, I'd rather take Valbuena (with his ability to handle 3B as well). I'd rather they give Tucker/Conger an off-season/spring-training to get some 1B reps in.
I know it wont happen, but..... We sign Heyward, plays rf and we move Springer to LF. Then we go after Morneau for 1 year. And, lets get crazy, is not our money, lol, but what about Price? We must re sign Sipp 1. Altuve 2b 2. Heyward RF 3. Correa SS 4. Springer LF 5. Morneau 1b 6. Gomez cf 7. Tucker/Gattis DH 8. Lowrie 3b 9. Castro C 1. Price 2. K 3. McCullers 4. Fiers 5. McHugh We trade Carter, Feldman, Valbuena Bullpen Lets do with VV what Toronto did with Osuna Closer VV Set up Gregerson 7th inning Harris/Sipp 6th Neshek Fields Feldman long man until traded, after that, Straily Marwin, Conger and Marisnick
Jeez... I just realized that off-season Cangrejero may be more insufferable than day-to-day cangrejero.
