Astros Trade option(s)

Did you watch Morton pitch tonight? I think we forget how good he can be.

Take Morton and Martes (Paulino out) away from this team and we are left with Keuchel, McCullers, Fiers, Peacock, McHugh and Musgrove. I would NOT risk the loss of 2 of our depth pieces for the upgrade of Machado over Bregman/Marwin G.

 

I think Brad Hand may be the most impactful piece available. I think a lefty reliever is just as big a need as SP (if not bigger because a Morton/Peacock tandem would be lethal). Also like Doolittle as a LOOGY and would probably be even cheaper.

Would love to get #2 level pitcher, but at what cost and what performance upgrade?

 

I heard you're full of it.

 

https://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/inside-baseball-al-notes-whats-astros-strategy-deadline/

The Astros are thought by rivals to be waiting for a “big fish” to augment a talented but somewhat fragile rotation – though they aren’t totally convinced that pitcher will be made available. It isn’t known who their top pitching target is, but as has been mentioned in this space before, they like Gerrit Cole (who’s likely to stay in Pittsburgh). Rivals still see Jose Quintana and Sonny Gray as the most likely pitchers to land there, but they’ve called about several other pitchers, including Julio Teheran, so they are investigating everything, including pitchers who aren’t necessarily likely to be traded.

 

From the interview with Luhnow earlier in the year, it sounded like he learned from 2015 and really regrets pulling the trigger early and missing out on David Price. So I wouldn't expect anything to happening until very close to the trade deadline.

 

The Astros are not trading a 19-20 year old starting pitcher with TOR potential for a relief pitcher.

 

Yeah it isn't fantasy baseball. Just a friend of mine, who is an oriole fan, stating his wish list. He revealed to me a little later that it was just him joking. But yeah i see the rude comment. Kinda surprised it's only one, but then i only skimmed over a few of the responses.

 

Try reading just a tad further.

 

Alright guys, what do you trade to Toronto for Stroman and Osuna?

 

Tucker
Martes
F Perez
Moran
H Perez
Cameron

 

It would likely cost you Tucker, Martes, Fisher and another prospect in our 5-10.

Osuna and Stroman are going to be arbitration eligible soon but are not free agents until 2021.

I think it comes down to how good you think Stroman will be.

The deal would certainly help us.

 

I'm moving into the let-this-team-get-healthy-and-do-its-thing camp. Between Fiers, Peacock, Morton, and McHugh, I think you can get 2 starters for the playoffs, and then 1 or 2 bullpen guys to shore up that area. Outside of injuries, there's not a lot of need for hitting depth, because everyone is so good that you don't need to pinch hit for the most part. And with MarGo being able to play pretty much anywhere in the field, the team can sustain one hitting injury without much issue. As long they maintain this lead and can keep piling up innings pitched with scrubs that won't be on the playoff roster, I think the team's needs are fairly limited. I think we'd be heavily favored against any team in baseball in a 5 or 7 games right now, and I'm not sure adding another player changes the odds that much.

 

If you're gonna dream, dream big.

 

Generally I agree. But I think the upgrade from Morton/McHugh to Quintana can still matter a lot. In 7 a game series where the 3rd starter may pitch twice, I think a significant upgrade could change the odds from, say, ~55% to ~60-65%. Especially when the difference in the 3rd starter on the 2 teams will be large. (i.e. Keuchel and LMJ are great, but so are Kluber and Carrasco. But Morton/McHugh are in range of Bauer...while Quintana would far surpass them.)

Also worth noting that the Yankees as a team have an .822 OPS vs righties, .716 vs lefties. (Indians, .783 vs. .768 so less relevant.)

 

I feel like all of our guys - Fiers, Morton, McHugh, Peacock - as well as the trade options - Quintana, Gray, etc - all have fairly big question marks. I agree in theory Quintana is better - but has he really pitched that way this year? He seems like a mess all year - with 3 or 4 terrible starts, followed by some good ones, followed by more meltdowns, etc. I think Morton can provide that same level of performance, without having to give up a ton of stuff.