Too many ifs. Love their moves so far, but still not enough. Was all the talk about being all in about increasing payroll about 10M. If no ace, then we need EE and just outscore everybody. Get an arm at the deadline.
I wouldn't be opposed to taking a cheap flyer on someone like Weaver. I know he's 34, his best years are behind him and last year was a far cry from his usual. But surely he can be picked up for cheap and put in as a 5th starter or long reliever. I'm not up to date on our roster position, I assume we have an open spot on the pen for him if need be. I think he can offer us something.
As mentioned last night, ZiPS loves this team. Here's hoping reality does too. What it's expecting/some other nuggets: - Evan Gattis leads in homers - Carlos Correa has a 20-20 season; Jose Altuve is 3 homers shy of 20-30 (17 HR, 37 SB) - Another 200-hit season for Altuve - Yulieski Gurriel slashes .257/.325/.457 - Alex Bregman's #1 WAR comp is Adrian Beltre - A.J. Reed's #1 WAR comp is David Ortiz
I guess we don't have the prospects necessary to acquire an ace? And I understand the desire not to go into the line-up (Bregman) I guess this is the best we can do at this point. If the price is too high for an ace you have to walk away.
I'd do Martes, Reed, Moran and Fisher for Quintana. That's our #1, 5 and 7 prospects plus Reed. Maybe you throw in another non-top 10 guy. Reed, Moran and Fisher are all guys that are ready to move up but we can't offer regular playing time. They have more value to a team like Chicago than they would to our own. Martes is the real sacrifice, but that's the cost of doing business.
I basically agree that if we cant bolster our pitching more, loading up as much as possible on offense is the next best thing. But I dont want the lineup so saturated with vets that promising prospects are blocked to the point of hopelessness.
I think Martes is on the table but K Tucker is not. Bregman won't be traded. Like remaining patient as there's so many good SP options via trade. I think Sonny Gray or Danny Duffy are the better moves with what it would take too pull off. Quintana is not valuable enough to give up a haul of that magnitude for. Luhnow knows it and is ready to move on. There's better talent being discussed that will take less to fetch
Yes but at least for position players we have the dh which solves a lot of problems. Beltran for all practical purposes will be a one year addition. EE plays 1b and DH and could DH later on. Our outfield isn't so crowded with superstars that we cannot move the likes of reddick, marisnick, aoki, etc. I'd be willing to add Tucker to Martes, Fisher and a few others for Quintano. If that's not enough we wait on pitching till the deadline if needed, but one all star bat like EE will set us up for years of contention.
The Astros' starting rotation ranked 12th last year in WAR; they were above average and this was with Keuchel disappointing and McCullers injured. They could certainly use an arm - but they should be cautious with their resources. If any deal involves Bregman, we should riot and burn MMP to the ground, I don't give a flip who we're getting in return. If Keuchel bounces back and McCullers stays healthy, they'll have one of the better rotations in the AL.
Somewhere on this board around a year ago, there's a post of mine saying something along the lines of, "If Gomez returns to pre-2015 form and Rasmus plays like he did in the playoffs, we will have the best OF in the league." Relying on hope is so very dangerous in this sport.
I believe they'll take a wait-and-see approach. Martes is projected to debut this year and let's say he's ace material right from the get go. He could be that frontline starter we've been waiting for while not having to give up extra pieces.
But it's necessary. You can't go and assume everyone is going to be the worst version of themselves every year. You have to assume some expected outcome, some positive, some negative variances..and do your best to predict. To be fair, there's no way anyone could have predicted Rasmus's ear issue and its impact on his entire season
AJ Hinch alluded Josh Reddick could hit in the top of the lineup, maybe 2-hole, to mix up left/right bats. - Chris Gordy Hinch said on Astroline that Ramon Laureano and Garrett Stubbs will be in big league camp. - Brian McTaggart ____ Batting order? Everyone wants a fixed lineup. For me, the biggest question is [whether or not] to break up the top four. They're all righties. In a perfect world, more diversity in the makeup of our lineup, LH hitting 2nd is appealing if they're hitting well. Locked in with George at the top? I am in some sense. First pitch & when we roll it around, he's a fear factor. Now that things are changing in our game, we all grew up thinking leadoff hitter was small, fast but getting on base was key. There are guys around the league that scare you at the top. Perfect scenario, you have a LH in the top 4, Bregman 5-6, Gattis/McCann down in the order, Gurriel may hit 8th or 9th. You need a complete offense & depth in your batting order. It's not always the 3-run homer. We gotta do the little things, when plays in the game will help your winning. Scoring at the right time, not sit back & rely on the 3-run homer. Aoki - quality ABs, one of the toughest to strikeout. Something different for us. LH bat. LF against RH pitching. Good addition. A guy that can do a lot of things to help balance your team. Charlie Morton - Not surprising people don't know a lot about him. People fixated on his deal. Morton is effective down in the strike zone. Good breaking ball, decent changeup. Different style than we're used to. A little more electrifying stuff when healthy. Look for him to be a big part of our rotation. He'll challenge Musgrove & Fiers in the rotation. He's at his best when he can rear back & let it go. Elevating to lefties will be key. Not great success against LH hitters. Signed him to start him. Josh Reddick - adds personality & edge. He & Springer, not a wall that's safe. His addition may shift George to CF. LH bat will be nice to a lineup. George in center? I feel good about it & so does he. He'll play some right. Ability to move these guys around ... he'll go chase everything. Any opportunities to pick up another starter? We've had conversations. Jeff has checked in on every available guy out there. Whether we make a deal is up to him. I'm comfortable with number of pitchers we have. A healthy Keuchel & McCullers, McHugh, Morton, Musgrove, Fiers with Devenski, Feliz - there's an infatuation with adding guys. If they want to add a guy, great. I support these guys we have. We'll quickly forget these rotation questions when Keuchel is healthy & McCullers is out there. Minor league players who will have an impact this upcoming season? We're gonna be a tough team to crack. Great competition for last bench spot or 13th pitcher. Guys who made their debut last year may have a tough time cracking the team. Martes is a great pitcher. Upper 90s, good breaking ball & changeup. He's along the line of McCullers, a little Cueto. He has a good arm. He doesn't leave anything in the tank. It's gonna be his best fastball the first pitch of the game. He's at the top of the list. He's asked about in trades. Some others are further behind like Tucker. Garrett Stubbs - good player from USC. Undersized. LH hitter, does everything well. We'll see some younger players in ST. Asher Tolliver, C. J. Riefenhauser - carried Sipp as our only lefty. We'd like two, especially if you're carrying 13. Tolliver - Good fastball, good split, work on breaking ball. Riefenhauser(crafty aka doesn't throw hard but navigates) 2 lefties would be ideal. Feliz & Devenski - why not stretch Feliz & keep Devenski where he is? Devenski can do a lot of different things. I love this kid. He embodies earning everything about his opportunity. We will stretch him out. Feliz is a guy who profiles as a power reliever. He's had a hard time with 3rd pitch. Not giving up on him. Having too many options is a good problem. Impact of removing Tal's Hill? More HRs, more than some think. Fence coming in, you don't have to be as pull conscious. Maybe less triples too. AJ Reed - good rise through minors. First time he got punched in the mouth. He's seeing the adjustments he has to make. Tremendous power. Giant target at first. Bat swing/path, if he makes adjustment, could be dynamic. He needs a shorter path & part of plate he can get to. He can lead to LF easily. Approach, mechanics, take a deep breath. Gustave - easy demeanor, he got mature. Used to be wild around the strike zone. Throws 100, good enough for me. Paulino - best breaking ball outside of McCullers(Harris may fight me on that). Big, tall, high angle guy, up in the strike zone with nasty breaking ball.
Sounds like this has a good chance to be the OD lineup, assuming no additions. Springer Reddick Altuve Correa Beltran Bregman McCann Gurriel Aoki
Luhnow is not going to be pressured into giving more away for a starter. I think discussions with TB for those 3, Gray, Quintana, Duffy will take some time. Could last up until spring training, Astros will be patient too wait for the right deal..even at the deadline. I think there are two more potential upgrades. The market for a 1B is great. EE's "big contract" is shrinking as time goes on, Napoli/Valbuena,etc are looking like short term 1-2 yr deals. This solidifies the Astros as the most dominant lineup in the AL if not better than the Cubs in the NL. McCann EE/Napoli/Valbuena 1B Altuve Correa Bregman Reddick RF Springer CF Gurriel LF Beltran DH Gattis Marwin Marisnick Aoki Adding an elite left handed reliever is the only must have..Blevins, Javier Lopez (?) from the Giants and Boone Logan. If they could get rid of Sipp, adding two is a definate upgrade.
