I like how people say Greinke is a $35MM middle of rotation pitcher, but other teams will send prospects to us for him. And that Mortons are just hanging around waiting to be signed for cheap deals.
He was #2 in the MVP balloting last year - after he got paid and when no one has accused the Astros of cheating.
He is one for us. He might be a #2 or even a #1 for someone else. And Mortons are out there. Even after he broke out with Houston, he only signed a 2 year deal for $15 million per. We don’t need a splash pitcher this offseason. We need someone that can eat some innings.
The Astros lost the best pitcher in baseball to free agency. They lost their best set up man to free agency and they lost their starting catcher. The Astros lost the second best pitcher in the AL (Verlander) after one start for the entire year. The Astros lost their best hitter (Alvarez), their all star caliber closer (Osuna) at the beginning of the year. The Astros #3 starter (Urquidy) missed the first 75% of the season... the Astros back up closer (Pressly) had arm problems and struggled. The only other veteran in the pen (Smith) sat out the year. Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel combined for a 700ish OPS. The de facto ace (Greinke) was hurt going into the post season. The Astros swept the Twins... had a gentleman’s sweep of the A’s and fought back from an 0-3 hole to almost win in 7 against a Tampa team that likely would have won 110 games in a regular length schedule year. Astros fans should be proud... the Astros fought really hard and did well, when to be frank, under the circumstances they had every right to lose against the Twins. Also, the 2021 Astros will be very good, better than the 2020 Astros. The Astros will keep at least one of Springer or Brantley and they will add more pieces as well. This was a great season.
The Astros are not trading Greinke. Before he was hurt, he was exceptional this year and in the playoffs he stepped up.
At least, The Astros won 2017 World Series championship. It was written in stone and there is always next year. Houston will win championship again, whether it’s it is rockets Texans Astros or other team. We will keep adding great pieces. We are getting there soon.
I couldn’t agree more. With all the injuries and under-performing hitters the Astros had in this shortened season, I would never have believed they would nearly become the second team in MLB history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series. Even in the Wild Card Round against the Twins, it took outstanding pitching and an error by the Twins for the Astros to advance. It wasn’t until the ALDS against the A’s that the Astros’ offense morphed back into the feared juggernaut it had been the previous three seasons. Between this offseason and next, the Astros lose $165 million in payroll and only have $37 million in current salary obligations for the 2022 season if they decline the club option on Gurriel’s new contract. They also only have only one really important player hitting arbitration in 2022 and that’s Framber Valdez. Provided Jim Crane is willing to maintain a higher 2021 payroll to ensure continued long-term success in a city that absolutely loves this version of the Astros and is not a small market by any means, the payroll flexibility is there to keep both Springer and Correa long term while also retaining Brantley on a short-term deal. We can thank Brent Strom and Martin Maldonado for that long-term payroll flexibility, too. They both helped develop and guide a lot of young pitchers that had no business being thrust into the roles they had this season into a group that did enough to get the Astros one game away from another World Series appearance and should be able to fill many key roles on the 2021 pitching staff and beyond.
To add to the Morton thing. I don't know when the last offer was made but apparently Morton knew he was going to get 1 last final offer from the Astros. Maybe he got the Rays offer and allowed the Astros to counter. From the sounds of it he was expecting a good counter. Apparently when he saw the offer he saw that it was a shitty offer(not sure if it was money or term, maybe both) but after seeing the final offer, he felt heartbroken. Probably realized that his time with Houston was over. Then proceeded to sign with TB. Not sure if all that was true, the broadcasters said it during Morton's return last year. Not sure if they spoke with him and shared the story or if they were going off rumors. Regardless if the story was true or based off rumors, sucks either way. On a unrelated note, I expect Abreu to bounce back. And if Whitley could stay healthy, whether he starts off as a starter or relief pitcher and finally shows he's good, that's another 2 young pitchers to add to the core
So is that forrest whitley guy ever gonna be a thing? or is he looking like that dude they picked number one that was a huge bust? Im a playoff fan only
Who knows. Was it 2 years ago he had his suspension which didn't help his development? Then last year he had arm fatigue and this year he had elbow soreness. Apparently if he didn't have elbow issues he would have had a shot this year in the bullpen after the injuries struck them. Maybe as of now, don't expect him to be a starter, see how he is as a reliever and ease him in as a starter?
People on the fb are saying that Springer was talking about being an Astro in past tense in the post game interview. They said Correa also references Springer in the past tense. People on the Astro’s Nation fb group said they’ve heard that Springer has sold his house and moved his vehicles and that Brantley’s house is up for sale too. Hopefully it’s all just wild conjecture and rumor mill stuff. But I guess we can’t be surprised if those two are gone.
In his postgame interview, LMJ did say he could miss Springer/Brantley/Reddick... But I wouldn't read anything into that or anything you hear on Facebook or the internet in general.
There is this odd reaction from fans that say "**** those cheaters!" while also talking crap about Verlander for not saying anything about it but also cheering on Charlie Morton. It's going to be funny IF (and I hope it doesn't happen) Springer goes to the Red Sox and becomes a darling that everyone loves... it's "**** the Astros" but they all want our players.
