It is a big deal to put Ivey or Solis on the 60 day IL because then they have to pay them an MLB salary. So the rest of the year that is 300k or so. Considering our current luxury tax situation and the need to trade for relievers that could be a big problem.
Then cut/DFA Nivaldo, Jones, Garza or Nova, or trade Smith, Pruitt, or James with 300K less in salary coming back if the 300k does cause the luxury tax threshold to be exceeded. Astros could also just cut Hartman if he isn't worth more than just a spot appearance. Considering Astros are going to have to trade 1-2 relievers who don't have options, I don't see the 300k as a big deal, and if one does see it as a big deal, the Astros have guys that can be cut.
considering the first two stats are basically lumped together... you might as well just spend less attention on batting average when evaluating a player's performance (both ways). Things will then be less 'confouding'
Guys on the 40 man but in the minors aren't making MLB salaries. They get a bump in pay but they make 46k the first year and then it goes up to 93k for 2nd year on 40 man roster while in the minors. The problem is guys kept getting hurt. Emanuel was hurt while on the MLB roster so he is getting an MLB salary. Abreu was getting an MLB salary while hurt, so was James, so was Pruitt, so was Taylor, so is Paredes. If Crane blows past the luxury tax none of this matters. If the Astros decided they were planning on dumping Hartman anyway then yea that move makes sense, but if he stays on the 40 man in AAA the rest of the season it is a head scratcher. Nova has been terrible. Will be interesting if they cut him.
I get that tiny sums of money go to Hartman for being on the 40-man. I get that the Astros are close to the budget Crane has set for Click. However, Click is good with math, and has the actual precise numbers of what his budget is and a better estimate of how close he is to it than is publicly available. Do you honestly think Click called up Hartman without knowing if he has the budget or other moves to handle whatever <$1M in salary this will cause? I fully expect the Astros will have some pitchers get hurt later this season, and we've not seen the last of Hartman. I don't expect Hartman to pitch well, but he should be able to soak up some innings.
You are conflating 2 issues. Moving Hartman to the 40 man has a tiny impact on the overall luxury tax (less than 20k if he is in the minors). It was more of a 40 man roster question not about the money. Adding Ivey and/or Solis to the 60 day IL like you brought up earlier as a way to make room on the 40 man is more significant regarding the luxury tax. That's why I brought up Emanuel and the other guys pulling an MLB salary while hurt.
McCormick having double-digit HRs w/ solid RBI output at the halfway mark is not a story line anyone expected but here we are. His K or bomb approach may need some tweaking, but we’ve got ourselves a solid 4th OFer. Between him and Straw’s resurgence, I think Click et al may be happy with our OF band moving forward.
Rehab day in AAA.... Joe Smith 1.0 IP, 2k, 0H, 0R, 14 pitches and 9 strikes Austin Pruitt 1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 12 pitches and 6 strikes Josh James 1.0IP, 0R, 1H, 2k, 1BB, 20 pitches and 11 strikes
Former Astros fwar rankings (only including guys in the top 200 who haven’t reached free agency yet): Position players: 52. Ramon Laureano 72. Max Stassi 88. Josh Rojas 99. Tony Kemp 148. Teoscar Hernandez 157. Jake Rogers 169. Brett Phillips 189. JD Davis Pitchers: 29. Josh Hader 36. Joe Musgrove 72. Richard Rodriguez 93. Jose Cisnero 191. Vince Velasquez
Astros' position player fWAR rankings: 1. Correa 2. Altuve 3. Alvarez 4. Straw 5. Gurriel 6. Brantley 7. Tucker 8. Bregman ...that is just funny. I am genuinely shocked that Straw has broken out they way he has.
This outcome wouldn’t have surprised me at the beginning of the season. But after his first 150 pa this year I had pretty much written him off. Such a great development for the Astros and mad props to Click for sticking with him. Click is responsible for 3 of those players in the lineup (Gurriel, Brantley, Straw) and they have all be great for very reasonable prices.
Playing CF offers a lot defensive opportunities which Straw has been taking advantage. On offense, I expect he will at some point settle into a 10-20% below average hitter, but hope he can keep up being an average hitter for at least the rest of this year. At this point, I think it would take a severe defensive meltdown much longer than 3 weeks to get him out of CF and we need to accept he's likely the CF for a long time provided an all-star doesn't fall into the Astros lap. Click is running out of places to spend Crane's money this offseason.
