Seth Lugo had the 2nd best spin rate in MLB on his hammer curve, behind only Pressly. And he’s under team control for the next four seasons. Would be a huge upgrade to the pen. Astros & Phillies are showing trade interest on Robbie Ray per MLBTR
Astros get: RHP Seth Lugo ($40M surplus value) RHP Jason Vargas (-$3M surplus value) $5M Mets get: OF Josh Reddick (-$8M surplus value) RHP Chris Devenski ($15M surplus value) RHP JB Bukauskas ($20M surplus value) LHP Cionel Perez ($15M surplus value) Astros get Lugo, who they can use either in the pen (to replace McHugh this season and several others who will be gone after next season) or in the rotation (more likely). They also get Vargas, a flyer to offset some of Reddicks contract, who might also be able to beat out James or Valdez for the last rotation spot; otherwise he can serve as a long man in the bullpen or just be cut loose. Houston also gets rid of Reddicks contract which allows them to add another expensive player (either C, SP, or bat). Mets get Devenski to replace Lugo in their bullpen. They also get Perez, who can battle their other young arms for their last rotation spot, although they should have enough money to acquire another decent SP. They also get Bukauskas, a top prospect, and Reddick, a solid corner OF who can allow them to play Nimmo or Conforto in CF and get Lagares into the 4th OF role he belongs in.
That was diagnosed 20 months ago. Never had surgery, came back strong out of the pen last year, lots of cheap club control left...why not take a flyer on him depending on the price?
Medicals would influence it a lot. I agree I could be overestimating his value but the guy has one of the top 5 FB/CB combos on earth and comes with 4 years of cheap control. Of course it could be said that Devenski has one of the best CU/FB combos on earth.
I would have preferred him having the surgery. But, yeah, if the price is right and the doctors say ok he'd be a nice piece.
Mets have already said that if/when he's there next year they want him in the bullpen. That may temper the price, and the Stros may feel differently about his usage. Hell if I know.
There’s a poll on MLBTR on Grandals contract; 88% of folks think he will get <$60M. If that’s the case I think Houston should be all over him. A star catcher for $50M/3yr would be a steal imho. I still expect him to get $70M/4 or $80M/5 but could be wrong; the late offseason is already here and these guys will start to panic.