He hit the ball too hard and in the air too much last season. He either needs to hit the ball even harder to get it over the outfielders or go back to the tried and true.....
Surely it is worth it to at least get a cheap OF in Marisnick or Pillar in case Straw falters? Even if Straw is the starting CF or we plan to trade for one, we will still need proven OF depth. IMO, Marisnick is easily the player to go get and compete for CF starting spot or play as the 4th OF in case of injury. We definitely need a veteran OF especially since there are likely good deals to be had for a veteran OF later in the offseason I assume. Maybe find a lefty to platoon with Straw if Marisnick is not the answer?
I expect them to get someone that can play center, I just personally believe that they will not be super picky about who it is. They may wait until the price goes even further down. I don't think they care much if it is Pillar or Marisnick if one is a couple million cheaper than the other. There are a handful of guys that can play the position in that price range and they all have flaws with the bat.
They likely need outfield depth regardless because there's a good chance Brantley is going to miss some time (or need lots of offdays) now that he's forced to play the field daily with Alvarez back in the lineup.
Give me Archer or Rondon over Hand/Colombe & let Javier thrive in the bullpen. Our bullpen isn’t too shabby even if we don’t have a top name closer right now. Between Javier, Canoli Dotel, Pressley, Smith, and the rest of our pen, we should be able to get high leverage outs late in the game even if there’s no de facto closer right now. Relief pitching is so year to year...pitchers explode out of nowhere, so I’m okay with a more patient approach on that end given where we are and what’s available.
Add to this that if he is the everyday CF he can focus on being the everyday CF and not having to jump around between SS and other positions he has had to play in the past. If nothing else that should help mentally.
Very good point......... being asked to suddenly play SS has to be extremely difficult, especially for someone that isn't even established yet.
Right now Fangraphs projects Straw to post a 84 wRC+ for 1.1 war. Those numbers would be roughly in line with the 2019 performances of Lorenzo Cain, Manuel Margot, and Jake Marisnick. Below average for sure, but not terrible at all, especially considering the cost. Bring back Jake for a year (who is one of my favorite Astros ever) and the position player roster is set.
I would love to get someone at Center who has a little more pop to the bat. I don't it's possible but just a wish. I hated seeing the other team trying to walk players just to get to Reddick and the catcher spot.
If they want a cheap CF who is a power threat, Kevin Pillar (21 HR in 2019) or Danny Santana (28 HR in 2019) would be my picks. Neither should cost very much. Totally out of the box, but Abraham Toro does have 60 grade speed and a good arm. I wonder if there's any way he could handle CF.
Toro has a much higher ceiling as a hitter than Straw. Straw has never had an ISO at or above .100 in any season in which he's received at least 50 PAs. With Straw's lack of pop I can't see anything much above league average as a ceiling for him even with a .320+ BABIP and decent BB rate. Then again, if he can play a well above average CF then a 90-100 wRC+ would be just fine.
Why not let Javier continue to be a starter? Dusty and Strom called him a future star in spring training interviews. He’s 23 and finished third for ROTY. No one on the FA market is an upgrade. We have one open/non-guaranteed spot for a pitcher. I’d much rather have a veteran closer but a veteran starter in the pen would not be bad.
