Uh, no. The whole “we signed him for his veteran leadership” was the fallback for when they realized he wasn’t going to produce offensively and it didn’t make sense to cut him because of PR reasons (though I will concede he did offer value as a mentor, but that is not why they signed/kept him). They paid him $16M because they thought he could be the middle of the order bat he was just the previous year when he put up a 124 wRC+.
Eh, no. Of course they expected him to hit better than he did and not age 5 years in 1 offseason, but here's Jim Crane on the day Beltran was introduced to the media: "His maturity, he can still play at a high level. He proved that last year. He brings a lot to the locker room. We think he'll be a good influence on a lot of our young players. Not only do we get a good play player who's mature and will add some stability, they'll learn from him. That was a big plus."
If you actually think they signed Carlos Beltran for $16,000,000.00 primarily for his locker room influence, I’ve got some property I think you’d be interested in.
They primarily signed him for his 2016 bat. Unfortunately he couldn’t duplicate it. That being said, his leadership and past experiences were additional compelling reasons and were certainly important considerations.
I never said anything of the sort. You *did* say that the whole vereran presence thing was a "fallback" after he was not producing at the plate. I was just pointing out that they made it very clear from the *day he was signed* that it factored into their decision to sign him.
What a silly quibble and those asterisks don’t add jack ****. I never said it wasn’t a factor. I was merely pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that he was signed primarily for his expected off-the-field contributions. Sure, they mentioned it when he was signed but anyone thinking it was the primary factor is detached from reality. Once he starting sucking, they had to fall back to that line to avoid embarrassment.
Why would it be embarrassing for them to have pursued and signed a guy who hit .295, slugged .513 and had an OPS of .850 with 29 home runs the previous season?
@Snake Diggit ... are you embarrassed for making these comments? Signing Beltran would mean a non-tender for Aoki. It would also mean a wicked deep lineup But as a DH who wouldn't be hopeless if he has to play the field I like him on a 1 year deal
I’m talking about after the fact. Once the season got far enough along that it was obvious Beltran wasn’t going to be a productive player, the coaches, front office, and ownership had to fall back to his off the field contributions to avoid embarrassing him and themselves and deflect from the fact that Beltran was not producing anywhere near what he was being paid.
Just to recap where all of this came from: Somebody else: “Houston should sign Lucas Duda.” Others: “No they shouldn’t. He sucks on defense.” Me: “I am not a huge Duda fan or anything but there is some logic behind signing him.” Others: “Houston doesnt sign players who suck on defense.” Me: “Carlos Beltran.” Others: “They only signed Beltran to coach.” Me: “lol that’s the stupidest **** I’ve ever heard.” Others: “no, you’re stupid for disrespecting Beltran!” In summary, I don’t give a **** if they sign Lucas Duda and there are other guys I think make more sense, but if they DID sign him, I could see why and I can envision how he would be used. And it’s in the realm of possibility, evidenced by just last season Houston signing a player with zero defensive value. I love Carlos Beltran and all the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros.
Embarrassed is a strong word. Signing a player who was productive the previous season, who is a solid citizen, who is respected around the league, who is a good locker room presence, who can act as an additional coach and mentor to the younger players to a one year contract is never an embarrassment. Beltran was integral to their success and eventual World Series win. He was an exceptional signing even after the fact.
Yes — worth every penny (of Crane’s money) for his “Why Houston” players tribune article alone! Edit: Always worth a re-read. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/carlos-beltran-astros/
Best comp I can think of would be Kyle Tucker, JD Davis, Gilberto Celestino, and Yoanys Quiala. I would have been ok giving that package for Yelich, but I’m also glad they didn’t.
It is almost as funny as suggesting a player slower than Gattis that would tasked with playing the outfield can lack position flexibility to the degree of someone not tasked to play in the field often.
Have you considered that where the team was in Winter 2017 is not where they are in Winter 2018? The compelling reasons to sign Beltran to a deal last year do not exist today for Duda. They don't need the leadership (and no, it was not just simply a fallback after the he started sucked. It was talked about from Day #1). He doesn't fill a hole in the lineup - last year, MarGo wasn't MarGo and Gurriel was a big question mark. We now have an excess of players that fill the role Beltran was signed for last year. The likes of Duda don't fill any needs on the team at all. BTW, on the Beltran thing, this is from his article last January - before his bat sucked - about why he joined the Astros: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/carlos-beltran-astros/ Before I signed, I had a few conversations with A.J. Hinch. We talked about the season I had last year, and what I thought I could do from a production standpoint — how my bat could help the Astros achieve a deep playoff run next season. After that, we talked about mentorship. The Astros have an unbelievable group of young players leading the team — and, believe me, it’s not just Altuve and Correa either, there’s Springer and Bregman and Reed, a whole bunch of extremely talented guys. But nothing in this sport comes easy. You’re going to go through a lot of ups and downs. There’s no escaping it, no matter how talented you are. Over the years, I’ve become passionate about helping guys get through those down times — whether it’s sharing preparation tips, or things I do in the cage, or just providing encouragement. If someone’s struggling, or needs some guidance, I want to do all I can to help, and I told A.J. that straight up. Then, when I decided to join the Astros, I called him up and relayed a very simple, straightforward message. “Put my locker next to young guys who I can help,” I said. “Get me around the kids … the players who I can have an impact on. In spring training, during drills, whenever you can. Give me the opportunity to help all the young players get better.” If you think the Astros signed him only for his bat, I think you missed the bigger picture of what the Astros were trying to do last season with Reddick, Beltran and McCann, which was about instilling stability and veteran presence and all that stuff.
