EE has no interest in Houston and I don't see Luhnow commiting to a long term contract at 1B. Astros still have high hopes in AJ Reed's future (with good reason). Napoli/Moreland on a 1-2 yr deal or dealing for Hosmer in his final year (without having to give up elite prospects) is the most likely scenario if they aren't content with Gurriel and Marwin on occasion.
Where have you heard he has no interest in Hou? Is that your speculation or do you have a valid source? Personally, I see Reed as trade bait. Without our sub-par hitting coach, I don't see a lot of hope for a hitter that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It's time to move on from 1Bs that haven't adequately filled the position since the departure of Bagwell. I have no issue giving EE his payday over the next 4-5 years. Sure, he's aging, but so are a lot of premium hitters moving into the wrong side of 30. I can see him producing like Beltre and Beltran, and I like what I see. Moreland is another version of Marwin G. He's a backup player that was required to man an everyday position. No thanks. Hosmer--no reason to give up prospects for a short-term rental in a FA rich position.
Read EE is narrowed down to Boston, Yankees and Toronto. Certainly not ready to give up on Reed. Springer had a much much longer slump in his rookie campaign and Correa has had comparable cold slumps in both of his first two years. Astros just weren't in the same position where they could have been as patient. He makes the neccesary adjustments he's been working on, there's no reason to doubt he could be a 25-30 hr hitter with good OPS after mashing 40+ hr as the 2015 minor league player of the year. I'd rather get an OF first. Gurriel hit over .300 in the final months after shaking off the rust of no baseball for 6 months and Marwin always produces when he gets playing time. Backup yes, but elite backup on any team. 1B is really a luxury too me.
Reed needs to get in shape. If he shows up at the same size or worse to ST, I won't hold my breath that he will magically turn it around. He wasn't great at all last year. Minors included. He's a critical part of this plan, hence why he was promoted on a set timetable (rather than by merit), but he's gotta keep up his end and take his training seriously.
This was posted today: "There's "a healthy amount" of interest in the slugger, according to a GM who has had some discussions on Encarnacion. The Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers, and Astros are in the discussion, and there could be more teams." Everywhere I've read says the Astros are in the hunt. Don't compare Reed to Correa or Springer. Reed never had a cold slump. A cold slump would be a regression from a certain standard. Reed bottomed out in his rookie MLB year from the beginning to the end. He hit .164, with .270 OBP, .262 SLG, and .532 OPS. Springer, by comparison, in his rookie year hit .231, with .336 OBP, .468 SLG, and .804 OPS. I have faith in Gurriel because he did have some success in the MLB as you mentioned. Marwin had more PAs this past year than any prior year in his career. His BA dropped 26 points from the previous 2 years. He also went down in OBP, SLG and OPS. I think the exact opposite is proven when Marwin gets more than backup time--he regresses.
Never said garbage...but he did have a sluggish start requiring him to play his way into shape. All numbers/peripherals regressed including his K's and OBP (something that was a perceived strength). Looking back, those struggles/regression did end up translating to the MLB level in a negative way. He's gone from can't miss/prospect with obscene trade value, to a possible question mark. Him ballooning to an obscene size is probably not helping him right now.
when did he balloon to an obscene size? He's listed at 6'4" 240... He has prototypical size for a slugger. Or is there a magical point of diminishing returns for guys that break the 240 barrier? Someone forgot to tell Prince Fielder and David Ortiz. I've seen him multiple times in person, he's svelt.
Right... and you probably believed the article about how Jon Singleton put on 25 lbs of "muscle" too... I've seen him multiple times in person, he's svelt.[/QUOTE] At times, he honestly look like he had just eaten a Prince Fielder or a David Ortiz. But yes, if he hits... there's nothing wrong with his size... it becomes somewhat "charming" (like Matt Adams XXL). But when he doesn't hit (or looks completely overmatched at this level), him being fat (and looking fatter as the season went on), doesn't bode well. Luhnow and other front office brass themselves have said that they expect some increased effort on his part to hit the ground running come spring training (translation - get in shape before the season).
Depending on how much he would cost, I would be interested in Andrew McCutch... An OF of Reddick, McCutch, Springer would be pretty awesome. Gurriel at first, altuve, correa, Breg fill out the rest. McCann at catcher and Beltran at DH would be nuts.
You know he's going to Texas and will mash. They have a need at 1B, don't care about money, and they like to troll the Astros. This has Rangers written all over it.
Not sure if serious, or just grossly ill informed. Carter is what he is. He's a wildly inconsistent player over the course of the year, but shockingly consistent from year to year. He's gonna hit HR's, strike out at an infuriating rate, and end up with an OPS in the high 700's, maybe low 800's if you ride out his various spells all season. If you can afford it, have a hole at first/dh, with an otherwise stacked lineup where's he's not counted on to anchor it, he can be a helpful player (as I'm typing this I realize that describe the Astros perfectly lol). But he's just that, helpful. How much is a team willing to spend for "helpful". His 35 HR/90 RBI combo outworldy suggests valuable, but at this point everybody realizes there are lot of warts that come with that production that drag his true value way down. I said this when he was here, and it goes for whoever signs him (despite the possible fit, it clearly won't be us). If you go that route you absolutely have to stick with him, no matter how much he makes you want to jump off a bridge at times. Have to ride out his highs and lows.
I think the type of team he was with last year is perfect for him... and allows him to play full time and get his expected production (and even then, he still only put up a 0.9 WAR). Any team with realistic expectations just won't be able to tolerate his consistent inconsistencies over a 162 game stretch.
Slow news day fun fact (from Reddit): The 2003 Astros featured an all-Jeff infield: 1st baseman Jeff Bagwell, 2nd baseman Jeff Kent, 3rd baseman Geoff Blum, and shortstop Adam Everett (who goes by his middle name, first name: Jeffrey)
