I didn't ask that question (I should have), but based on the general direction of the conversation (as told to me) Click is at this point.
Lunhow had a cheap core of elite players, so he could spend $17MM on a complementary catcher and spend on other middle-tier players. The current team has a very expensive core of elite players, meaning they have to be be cheap on the complementary players. We've known this financial crunch was coming for many years now, and Covid has made everything more complex. Lunhow would be in the same situation. The highest paid players on the 2017 Astros were: $17MM - McCann $16MM - Beltran $14MM - Gurriel $13MM - Reddick That was possible because: Correa - $535,000 Bregman - $339,000 McCullers - $548,000 Springer - $3.9MM Alture - $4.7MM https://www.usatoday.com/sports/mlb/astros/salaries/2017/player/all/
Yes, this summarizes it well. Click wants payroll flexibility to the extreme, and fears signing players long term to market level contracts. It would literally require ownership saying that Correa will be resigned. I don't know if that extends to shorter deals, like theoretically Greinke or Verlander or another older player with a high salary for short years. It wasn't something directly discussed but my "guess" is Click has less of an aversion to these types of deals.
Right. The only compromise I can see would be that Luhnow perhaps would have let one or two of the true core players leave and then have some money to make Brantley (in the past) and McCann type deals for veterans that are on short deals. I trust Click on international signings and bargain hunting. What I personally would like to see is the Astros identify players very young and get them on extensions like the White Sox and Rays have done.
The problem with this strategy is that everything has to line up perfectly and then maybe once a decade you get a shot at greatness. The A's kind of have a better version of this same thing. If he wants to actually maintain consistent success, he's going to have to be willing to invest in those $100MM other players. Otherwise, you're rebuilding your team on the fly every year, as Tampa Bay will have to do again this year losing their top two pitchers because $15MM/1 yr was too much to spend on an ace.
Tampa has had more success than the A’s. They went to the World Series this year and the ALCS the year before. They’ve been really really good for a really long time. If they weren’t in a division with 2 of the richest teams in the league they likely would have had even more success. And that’s not to say Click will run the Astros in exactly the same way the Rays have been managed. I just think he is more likely to use Houston’s superior financial means to invest in prospects and shorter term deals than in $100M+ extensions and free agent signings.
Tampa lost to us in the ALDS last year. They made it to the WS this year and in 2008, but were 0-4 in the ALDS in the years in between, and missed the playoffs 5 years in a row while experimenting with putting all those random parts together and failing. The problem with this strategy is that you have no real foundation to build upon. Knowing they have the Altuve/Correa/Springer/Bregman core is what made the Astros consistently successful the last 5+ years. Having to replace all the good players on your roster every few years when they get expensive because you're not willing to pay anyone means you're going to have a lot more downs to go with the ups, because the reality is that you're not going to consistently find star replacements. And if they aren't willing to pay the stars, it seems unlikely they'd be willing to throw money at the Beltrans or McCanns of the world to fill holes either.
They really haven't been really good... for a really long time. And you sorta contradict your stance when you say the only thing holding them back is the teams that spend more... The Astros shouldn't be emulating the small-market mindset/payrolls unless they need to do a total tear-down/rebuild when Luhnow first took over, and they didn't have a farm or any foundational players. The Rays/A's don't ever have to think twice about spending big-time money... and I understand some fans envy that sort of high-value/prospect-development mentality... but like Major said there are a lot more variables and unknowns those teams have to deal with and in the end the financial restraints don't increase their chances of winning year-in/year-out.
Trading for JV/Pressly/Osuna/Maldy/Gattis etc... alot more aggressive than Click has been. Maybe Crane has turned off the money?
Maybe you should be more patient? This is also Click’s first full offseason. He took over the team in Feb. after the roster was set. As far as the restrictions in the draft. Astros graded out well on their picks in the mid/late rounds. It’s a slow offseason all around the board except San Diego
And Crane hired Click to provide him the information to make these decisions. I hope Crane gives Click the financial backing and the trust to follow Click's recommendations. Owners spending money on Boras free agents after consulting with Boras instead of their GM have lead to the rebuilding of many teams. I'm hoping the Astros are run smart like Tampa and the Astros were, but with strong financial backing. For short term, I worry a little that Click will prioritize future years too much as he seems more skeptical of the Astros in the 2020 playoffs than I would expect.
Cubs GM making it sound like a fire sale up in Chicago. Baez, Bryant, and Contreras could all potentially be moved. Bryant has had a couple of down years and with one year remaining on his deal I wonder what he’d cost. Hypothetical: Astros get: 3B/LF Kris Bryant Cubs get: 2B Gray Kessinger OF Matthew Barefoot P- Carlos Sanabria Then bring back Jake Marisnick or sign Kevin Pillar. lineup: Altuve-2B Tucker-RF Bregman-3B Yordan-DH SS-Correa Bryant-LF Yuli-1B Marisnick/Pillar- CF Maldonado-C
So tell me how they were able to trade for Greinke/Osuna at the deadline with costs rising? Also with Osuna/Reddick/what looks like Springer and Brantley coming off of the books there should be plenty of money left to spend. Not to mention 2/3 of JV's salary should be paid for by insurance.
