Well, this was unexpected...but a welcome one. He's a pure hitter, but at his age you always have to worry about bat speed slowing down a tick. Not without risks, but we desperately needed an outfield bat. This frees us up to go pure glove in CF, I wouldn't be opposed to letting Straw have a chance. Maybe go after a Marisnick.
I saw this posted below on Twitter and thought it was pretty funny. I wonder if the Blue Jays rumors were even true at all? He saw the inauguration ceremony and decided to stay in America. Michael Brantley is a true Patriot.
Jake would be nice but would be great if we can sign someone with a more consistent bat/health history unless Jake is just a 4th OF. Not sure we would be able to trust Jake starting.
Brantley is a very good bat and Houston’s offense is set, but they still need a CF who isn’t an empty bat, a backup C, and at least 1 pitcher. And they probably have <$15M to spend.
Does that rule out a Benintendi trade? Would think they will want a legit CF with a limited Brantley in LF
This means no Ozuna....... while he is probably a better hitter than Brantley, he is also likely going to get more years for more money. The Brantley signing is the more cautious approach. It is also possible that the Astros can go after someone like Pillar or possibly even a trade for a centerfielder on another team...... and have the money to add a closer or sign a rebound candidate for the rotation like Paxton.
My understanding is that they believe Benintendi can play a solid center if healthy. So no I don't think it rules him out, but I think they go a different direction.
Potential CF solutions: Tier 1: Starling Marte, Joey Gallo, Whit Merrifield, Ketel Marte Tier 2: Andrew Benintendi, JBJ, Jurickson Profar, Joc Pederson, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, Ian Happ, Jacoby Jones Tier 3: Kevin Pillar, Brett Gardner, Jake Marisnick, Kevin Kiermeier, Charlie Blackmon, Lorenzo Cain If Houston gets one of the guys from the top 2 tiers their offense will be their best ever outside of 2019. If they don’t, it will still be very good but not quite as good as 2017-2019.
C for $1-2M CF for $6M RP for $6-7M Seems like plenty even if Astros skimp on either the OF or the RP.
I cannot see them getting a centerfielder with a decent bat through trade. Otherwise we are likely looking at guys like Marisnick or Pillar in centerfield. The best bet is trading for someone like Margot or Sterling Marte.
$120M/6yrs was the cap of what I would have thrown Springer, so Toronto isn’t getting totally screwed; it is unlikely to be an albatross. But they did overpay by ~20%. Houston is likely to be up near the luxury tax threshold again so it’s really hard to talk **** about Cranes spending. He locked up Altuve and Bregs and he brought in Verlander and Greinke. And he brought back Brantley. Like he has said for years, “you can’t keep em all.”
Brantley’s short swing and approach at the plate makes it very likely he continues to be a productive hitter as he ages. He and Bregman have the shortest, most compact strokes on the Astros, and they let the ball travel well, too. Those types of guys will age more gracefully than guys that simply rely on raw athleticism to hit. Conversely, George Springer’s violent swing makes him more susceptible to struggles if his bat speed declines as he gets older.
