every other contender is trading prospects (There has already been a report that the clubhouse did not take it well when a move was not made last year) Luhnow needs to step up and make a move to help the team for a World series push STOP hoarding prospects (Lets get better now)
If there was ever a year or time to overpay, this is it. This is our best team in a long, long time and standing pat at the deadline sends a bad message to the club house.
Let me get this straight. You want them to make a move, because everyone else is doing it? Yeah, not sure I agree with that. Luhnow comes from a Cardinals organization that believed in winning long term. He'll make a move if he has to, if not then I still trust him.
Everyone doesn't want darvish because of giving prospects to Texas but he's arguably the best pitcher available and should come at a cheaper price because he's a rental. I would surely take him and not fret about it being in the division. He shouldn't cost a Tucker, Whitley but maybe Perez.
It's important to note that we don't know what is being offered and what is being asked for along with how other teams view any individual prospect. We can't sit here and say well obviously Lunhow could have beaten so and so deal with some mid level prospects. Maybe not. Clearly Lunhow values his farm system and he should, but I wouldn't view no deal being made as not trying. That said, I hope we can come to an agreement for a reliever. I also agree that it looks better to the locker room to make an investment in the now, even though one could argue that there was off-season investment in free agent signings and the Gurriel pickup last year. That's how we ended up with the best team in the American League.
The Cardinals made moves nearly every year they were buyers... Luhnow was never the GM of the cardinals, so he never actually signed off on those moves nor did he ever have to execute them. He merely provided the farm system players to be used in some of those moves.
The biggest factor/difference from last year to now is having 3 MVP candidates in the everyday lineup playing at an MVP level. And as long as those guys are locked up, in the lineup, they need to be doing everything in their power to win now.
Have you been watching lately? McCullers is struggling hard, I have zero faith in the rest of the rotation staying healthy. Our best bullpen arms are ones that were also in the rotation, we have the 22nd ranked bullpen, and just came off our worst month. We have one of the youngest cores while being the top 2 teams in baseball. There is absolutely no reason to hoard prospects. We need pitching help. Gray, Britton, Hand, Darvish, Verlander... All of those make us better. No way do Fiers and Peacock keep up their streaks. This is the best year we have had in a while but you are acting like its 2012 and we need to keep planning for the future. Cut the umbilical cord.
So instead, you allow your bullpen to continue to be a trainwreck, your ace to struggle getting back to form, and your #2 to fall of a cliff?? All for PROSPECTS? It's like some of you don't understand that this game is played at the MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL The Minors are there to SUPPLEMENT the big league squad......not the other way around. You'd be willing to pass up on a golden opportunity for a World Series appearance now because you don't want to be bad in 2022?? Give me a break. Also, nobody is saying "decimate the farm system." FOH with that. We're saying that the asking price is what it is, and other teamrs (our competitors) are out here swinging deals.
If every other team is making moves to significantly improve their team and significantly improve their chances of beating us come playoff time, then yes, you absolutely need to make a corresponding move. The Red Sox already made a move to bolster their bullpen. They will now be a tougher team to beat in October. The Yankees will likely add Sonny Gray. They will now also be tougher to beat in October. The Indians are already going to be tough to beat and even they are rumored to be looking at adding a top notch SP/RP. Obviously you can't be overly reactionary. BUT, if the majority of other legitimate contenders are making moves, then it makes sense to make a move or two as well for the Astros. If they stay put there is a much smaller margin (if any margin at all) between them and, say, the Red Sox and Indians come playoff time.
Well apparently they were talking to the Indians about the number 16 overall prospect. Maybe it's just posturing, but it seems possible that it will require one of our top 3. Maybe a straight up type of deal. Who knows. I am leaning to still doing it. If we can come away from this deadline with darvish and a reliever while only losing 2 of our top 6 then that is a HUGE win for us. Leaves us with plenty in case a deGrom or someone like him comes available in the winter.
A small part of me is holding out hope that Luhnow is instead putting all assets toward a SP ace we didn't know was on the market. Not getting a SP is going to be a big disappointment for me. I would've loved either Verlander or Gray. At this point, even getting Britton doesn't seem like enough of a jolt. I wish they would've considered offensive upgrades as well, despite their success so far.
Well, without (I assume) the illegal hacking. Getting harder by the minute to concentrate on what I need to be doing. While I know they aren't going to let one game or one series determine the outcome of the rest of the season...but this series against the Tigers highlighted the needs for pitching.
I really think the most important thing to remember at the trade deadline, especially with how good we have been so far this season, is that the regular season and postseason are two completely different animals. Great hitting and average/above average pitching can easily make you a 100+ win team in the regular season. But come playoff time you NEED elite pitching. The Royals of 2014 and 2015 are the perfect example. Yes, they had a solid offense, but it was their elite bullpen that carried them. Even last season, the Cubs had a great offense, but they also had fantastic pitching and a really really solid bullpen. The worst thing that could possibly happen this season would be to irrationally believe that our offense is going to produce 6-8 runs per game throughout the playoffs to a WS victory while we only have average to above average pitching. That simply isn't very realistic.
I'm confident that Luhnow, et al, is smart enough to realize they need help and that the playoffs are a different thing all together. If a move isn't made today, it's only because it wasn't one that the front office determined would improve the team now or in the future. They're not going to not make a move because they think this is good enough.
But we're not advocating making a move just to make one. We have obvious holes in our starting rotation and bullpen. We would be making a move to improve those. If we trade for a second baseman, then sure... that would be making a move just to make one.
I'm sorry, but you when you have the #22 ranked bullpen in the Majors, and a #2 like McCullers who has completely hit a wall, there aren't many moves out there that WOULDN'T help you.
