Before 10 days ago, I don't think he'd ever been called a big game player or a clutch hitter or a leader of any sort at any point in his long career.
Yeah I don't mean break the bank but IMO he's well worth paying for, I have more confidence in him getting a big hit on the road than most of our other guys. He's streaky but I think that's an accusation that could be levelled at a few of our players. If we can get someone with consistency then yeah it's worth the upgrade but I just feel we could quite easily get that gamble wrong and end up getting someone worse. Plus without knowing him personally obviously I feel like he's got intangibles that help others in the team around him, fits the whole dynamic really well.
Rasmus home: .213/.300/.470 Rasmus away: .257/.325/.478 Neither one is inspiring, and neither one says he's much better on the road. Feels like your confidence in him getting a big hit on the road is born out of the last 2-3 weeks.
It is & it's admittedly a small sample size but at the same time these were the biggest games for the ballclub in a decade and he put his hand up and said I'm ready bring it on when that certainly wasn't the case with some of our guys. If Keuchel is saying in interviews that Rasmus' acquisition was one of the biggest things for the team this past season like he did after game 5 then that's good enough for me.
He slugged .313 in the four most important regular season games of the year - the four Arlington in which we lost the division. You're giving a well-timed hot streak from a notoriously streaky hitter far too much credit.
I think Rasmus is a starter caliber type player, especially to a team that needs his glove and can tolerate his lack of contact. Personally I would rather look elsewhere unless you can get him at a very good contract.
While I don't think it's smart to put extra emphasis on his postseason run, it's also unfair to ignore it entirely. When you add his postseason numbers to his regular season numbers, we are talking about a guy that posted a .245/330/500 slash line, and an OPS over .800 for the last 3 seasons. While his approach may not be the best fit with us, that's a lot better than simply a decent starter.
You make the move if the money is right... but people are forgetting that he mostly sat against lefties (ironically, they didn't face a single lefty starter in the post-season.... whereas it seemed like every other night was a lefty in the regular season, especially down the stretch). Even with the post-season, he's not going to be the type of starter that will always be penciled into the lineup.
Maybe we should have played him more vs lefties this year. His avg was 20 points higher and his obp 70 points higher vs lhp this year!
Yep, and when you look at the contracts that guys like have him have gotten the last couple years (Granderson comes to mind, even though they have different strengths at the plate), some team will probably offer Rasmus $60M over four years. And I don't think that team will be the Astros (although I'd be very happy if Rasmus got a huge contract from someone - he deserves it).
I'm for offering him the required tender to get FA compensation (around $16M), and hoping he doesn't take it. I don't think any player has accepted that tender in its short history.
We should definitely offer the tender, but no long term contract. You look at Rasmus' career splits, and you'd be hard-pressed to convince me that Preston Tucker couldn't duplicate if not surpass those next year. There's a huge dropoff in defense, yes, but for these Astros having a fourth center fielder in the outfield mix is just a luxury we don't need. Give the playing time to the youngsters, let the prospect mill keep churning, and see if there are any stars waiting in the wings.
I'd offer the tender But I think he would take it Think he really likes it here, and would rather take that then more guaranteed money elsewhere, where he isn't sure if he's like it Would be more money than he is likely worth, but we are not in any kind of a salary crunch for 2016
I would keep him. It is a given injuries will happen. Rasmus is a defensive specialist. He is a good club house presence. He is a more than adequate bat. No he is not an allstar. But he would warrant a 3 year 33 million dollar deal.
The tender would be about $15.4 large. His free market value should be around 4 years at $15 large per. It is hard to see Rasmus turn down $60 large guaranteed. I do hope the Astros offer the tender, as a reward for last year. There is also a side benefit of a comp draft pick, if Rasmus rejects the tender.
Based on history, Rasmus is absolutely worth $15M/yr as a FA, but the team may see a better way to utilize $15M. The question I have is, what will the market be like for Rasmus with the draft cost attached to him? We've seen that kill the value of Kendrys Morales and Stephen Drew in the past, but we also saw it work out okay for Michael Cuddyer. This is a good time for Rasmus to try and cash in. He hasn't had that big contract yet, and he is only 29.
