Would a Eovaldi signing be to replace Keuchel, McCullers, or Morton? Basically would he be the number 3,4, or 5 pitcher? If he's 4 or 5, I would assume Houston would still want to acquire another pitcher (number 3).
Morton (3.1), Keuchel (3.6), and McCullers (2.5) put up 9.2 fWAR in 2018. If Houston replaced them with Eovaldi (3.0), Happ (3.4), and James (2.2), the drop off would be less than 1 projected win.
Eovaldi, Goldy, and Greinke would be a pretty damn good haul to replace McCullers, Keuchel, and Marwin. Hope we can still keep Morton.
You could go with McHugh, Peacock and James if you added Realmuto/Goldschimdt. Then either bring up Whitley or make a trade at the deadline if you have too. The farm is fully stocked with talent pitchers. I mean where would guys like Framber,Martin/Perez/Buskauskas (SP?) be. You trade Buskauskas an, d a guy like White for Goldy, then trade Tucker/Martin or James for Realmuto would you do it? The next 2 years would be all in but you only get so many chance to win a championship. Just know, I believe in Nolan when it comes to scouting pitchers and he personally scouted Whitley and signed off on him. That's good enough for me. Whitley can help the Stos aftre Super 2's. Whitley is one of the best prospects to come along in a long while. If Ryan's right, he's this years Walker Buehller.
I'm not comfortable with McHugh, Peacock, and James as the 3, 4, and 5 starters. I would prefer the Astros sign Eovaldi or Morton. If they can't do that then try and swing a trade for a starter. If you take all 3 of McHugh, Peacock, and James out of the bullpen then you probably have to go and shop for another bullpen arm as well. My interest in Realmuto is dropping by the day. The Marlins are asking for too much. Of all the players that have been mentioned as being available there are only 2 that I would include Tucker in the deal... Kluber and Syndergaard. There are too many catchers available to include Tucker in a deal for Realmuto. A couple more catchers just became available tonight as well in Cervelli and Martin. My preference would be to sign Ramos or trade for Cervelli from the Pirates. Cervelli had the highest OBP among regular catchers at .378. He has had 5 of 6 seasons with an OBP over .370. Cervelli only has one year left on his deal which means he should be pretty cheap in terms of prospects. The Astros might be able to get away with an even cheaper player at catcher if they add at other spots. If the Astros traded for Goldschmidt and signed Nelson Cruz or Michael Brantley they could afford to go cheaper at catcher with Lucroy or possibly bring back Maldonado.
Unless you have some kind of inside sources, you have no actual idea what the Marlins are asking for or what they will ultimately get.
We know what they asked of the Nationals at the deadline and then this article seems to make it pretty clear.... https://www.fishstripes.com/2018/11...prospects-forrest-whitley-kyle-tucker-package "MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Friday morning that the Houston Astros “have remained in contact” regarding Realmuto. A source tells him that the Marlins are requiring them to include one of their top two prospects—outfielder Kyle Tucker or right-hander Forrest Whitley—in any potential deal." Unless they take significantly less I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't do the Alvarez, JBB, and Martin deal mentioned in that article either. Catchers are likely to start 130-140 games max a year. He's not worth it in my opinion.
I believe Nolan Ryan also really liked Tyler Kolek who went 2nd overall and was a complete and utter bust. Maybe Houston can get Miami to toss him into a Realmuto trade.
What more does Whitley have to prove in A ball? He has pretty much dominated at every level and has garnered attention as one of the top 2 pitching prospects in the major leagues. Can we expect him to see the major league level this year at all, and not just a September call up?
I think (assuming he isn’t traded) that Houston is expecting Whitley to throw about 130 innings in 2019, with at least half of those in the majors. If he stays healthy and throws well, my guess is he will be in Houston sometime in June.
As Realmuto is still a Marlin a year after he should have been traded, it is pretty easy to see Marlins are asking for more than any other team has been willing to give up. The Marlins may cave at some point.
I know he’s good, but it's not like he is prime Pudge Rodriguez. I know the main plus to his game is his athleticism but that can decline so rapidly with catchers. We obviously need a catcher but there is no reason to sell the farm for him even though he is likely the best option available.
Seems like Ramos is the better option at catcher to me, all things considered. Grab him, make the trade for Goldy, Cruz for DH. Sign at least one front end starting pitcher, done.
