Obviously.... if he's 2019 Odorizzi next year he is a legit number 2/3 pitcher. The upside is not the concern. However, IF he could be moved this offseason I would be willing to eat 3-4 million if I were the Astros to offset the risk.
I think that's a terrible plan. Rotation wise, LMJ is the only other one on the books costing any real money. It's not like the rotation is full of workhorses. Its a bunch of young guys, most of which won't sniff 200 innings. Having an established/solid guy like Jake who can throw 150 innings next year is a huge safety valve.
I'd bring back Verlander. Verlander McCullers Framber Garcia Javier Urquidy Brown Solomon Whitley Tamarez ( possibly later in the season) Bermudez Ivey If they keep Correa I use Pena and some of our pitchers to go after another top of the rotation arm via trade.
If Correa is gone and they don't sign someone else at SS (Semien, Story, etc) than of course you don't trade Pena....
The thought of Baez on the Astros is nauseating. 5 years of strikeout-reduced baseball replaced by the SS version of Rougned Odor.
Guys in the first year back from Tommy John are usually a shadow of their peak performance. I wouldn't pencil Verlander into all-star level performance next year. The rest of that rotation is not deep at all. Only LMJ and Garcia topped 150 innings this year. Zach did too but he's not coming back. Collectively if Brown, Solomon, Whitley, Tamarez, Bermudez and Ivey don't top 1 WAR next year i wouldn't be totally surprised. They need another 1 if not 2 starters. Odo is a good starting place, means they only need to get one guy in FA. If one of them is JV then i might add another swing guy.
Right, I think they can move his contract but it would need to be timed right and they would need to time it well. Someone will want a starter and his financial commitment isn't THAT large for a #3-4 starter.... but he is a pitcher a team settles for, but doesn't target typically. I think he is moved because the Astros are supposedly not interested in pitching him more than twice through the order and that means he may not hit his incentives and may end up in the pen and that will cause problems.
Meh. I live in Chicago and I have seen probably half of his career at bats. I won't lie, there are serious warts when it comes to striking out. He is going to strikeout 25-33% of the time and there are points where you just shake your head and ask how he remains a big leaguer. However, overall he comes with risk but has been very good. He is a very good to great defensive shortstop and he has a lot of power. He is likely to give you a low on base percentage but nearly a .500% slugging and also 4-6 WAR. Is he Correa? No he isn't, but if you move Tucker up in the line up and him down to 7th, he can be very productive. It all comes down to cost with a player like Baez. One of these shortstops isn't likely to get the money they expect and it may be Baez. If you can get him for a shorter term commitment and possibly have money left over for a starter or catcher upgrade in the short term (Contreras), I think you really consider it.
Baez, Contreras, a ToR SP acquired using Pena (Marquez), and an elite RP (Iglesias) would all fit in Houston’s payroll (assuming Baez has to settle for something far below what he projects to get) and would probably be the most talented roster Houston has ever had.
Yes, it would certainly be the deepest team the Astros have had and possibly the best. They are stuck between trying to maximize their window and winning now. I am sure Click doesn't want to give up Pena but that may be the direction they go. This team would really like an ace.
Too bad the Marlins number 1 prospect is a SS. If they can't work out an extension with Alcantara he would be awesome in our rotation.
Marlins have a couple really good ones between Alcantara and Rogers.... they also as an organization do not agree with the consensus as far as what value a particular prospect has. It would be nice to get either of those arms, even at the high cost of Pena and possibly more.
Nov 19 is the deadline for teams to set rosters prior to the Rule 5 draft. Here’s how I see Houston’s Rule 5 class: Extremely high risk: SS Jeremy Pena, RHP Shawn Dubin High risk: LHP Jonathan Bermudez, 3B Joe Perez, C/1B Yainer Diaz, C Mike Papierski Moderate risk: C Scott Manea, C Cesar Salazar, IF Enmanuel Valdez, OF Ronnie Dawson, RHP JP France, RHP Angel Macuare, LHP Julio Robaina, RHP Ronel Blanco, RHP Johanse Torres, RHP Diosmerky Taveras Low risk: OF Corey Julks, OF JJ Matijevic, OF Marty Costes, OF Alex McKenna, OF Ross Adolph, RHP Brett Conine, RHP Kyle Serrano, RHP Cody Deason, RHP Jose Alberto Rivers, RHP Alberto Jimenez, RHP Felipe Tejada There a lots of others who will be eligible but that I don’t think have any realistic shot to be picked.
The Astros are not signing a catcher. They have 2 they like on the roster and 2 in the minor leagues that have very high ceilings.
I agree it is unlikely. But if they want to improve their offense then SS, CF, and C are the only realistic spots to do so.
