My guess is that Diaz may play every day at SS until Super Two period is up for Pena... really depends on the new CBA.
Nope. They have promoted people faster until the majors, but still wait until the next opportune regarding service time and arbitration to make that last promotion for position players and most pitchers (pandemic caused Astros to be a little more aggressive with some guys). Though, a lot of their fast promotions got traded.
If healthy I could see Bregs at SS and Diaz at 3B until after super 2. Diaz wasn't a good defensive SS when he was younger and I'm sure his skills haven't improved.
One thing that seems pretty clear is that the moves Houston makes this offseason are extremely likely to be of the high impact variety due to the relatively high quality of their areas of weakness. Breaking it down: C: Maldonado projects for 1.1 fwar. No free agents represent a meaningful upgrade to that, and the only obvious trade targets is Willson Contreras, who represents only a 1 win upgrade. I don’t see Houston making a move here. SS: FG projects Pena/Diaz to combine for 2 wins here, so any player they bring in would need to be worth at least 3 wins to be worthwhile. Of course Correa, Seager, Semien, and Story represent that in free agency, but I’m not even sure Baez or Taylor is good enough to be worth the cost to supplant Pena. And I don’t see any 3 win SS trade targets. I think this is a situation of Correa, Story, or Pena. That said, depending on price, adding a guy like Jonathan Villar, Miller, Iglesias, Galvis, or Simmons as the 13th position player might be worthwhile if they miss on both Correa and Story. CF: Meyers/Siri carry a 1.6 win projection combining for the vast majority of Houston’s CF projections. Bryant, Marte, Pham, or Canha might all represent worthwhile adds (although Pham or Canha would be a risk). There may also be some trade fits: Buxton, Nimmo, Laureano, K Marte, and Reynolds all represent significant upgrades but not all are for sure available. SP: FG shows Urquidy as a 1.5 win player in the 4th spot with Odorizzi and Javier combining for 1.2 fwar in the 5th spots. There are roughly a dozen free agent SP who project to be meaningfully better than that, with another dozen or so options available via trade, so I think it makes sense for Houston to add 2 starting pitchers. I expect Verlander to be one of them and for the other to come via trade; Urquidy and Javier would seem like valuable trade chips with Odorizzi a potential salary dump. RP: WAR Projections for RP don’t tend to be very valuable in this context but it’s safe to say the Astros can stand to add at least 2 relievers. But I think who they target and how they acquire them will be determined by how they address their other needs. This may be the one area they address with lesser known commodities.
I think the window for Alex Bregman playing SS has passed. He's had too many quad/groin/hamstring-style injuries.
Compensation pick. This isn’t just any player it’s Verlander. Astros are making sure we don’t lose him for nothing.
But, judge was cheated out of an MVP by Altuve and the hated Astros. Correa is nothing but a scum cheater Ooooooooooor, do they need to recant all of that so they can sign him
Actually it appears the only person who didn't cheat is Altuve in that scenario. The Yankees and Dodgers appear to have both cheated with Judge and Seager on the team... Judge's home/road solits in 2017 and 2018 are more extreme than anything out of Coors Field... Like Mike Trout at home and Maldonado on the road...
“I think our starting pitching is actually in a pretty good spot,” Click said Tuesday at the general managers’ meetings. “I know that people have started probably mentally thinking of Cristian Javier as a reliever, but we don’t think that way, and having him as a starting pitching option is very real for us and creates a lot more depth.” Click did not seem concerned about Valdez’s playoff clunkers — the lefthander also threw an ALCS gem — or McCullers’ strained forearm muscle. The general manager described both men as top-of-the-rotation material and softened a thought that Houston needs to add a top-flight starter. “Need is probably too strong of a word,” Click said. “I think that when Lance McCullers and Framber Valdez are firing on all cylinders, they have the ability to go out there and shut people down with everybody. They both had ERAs just north of three, which is in this day and age kind of ace caliber. I think we have that one-two punch at the top of the rotation where we’re set up to do very well. At the same time, adding a star free agent or a star, ace-level pitcher can help any team, ours included.” Presuming health, it leaves Houston with a homegrown five-man rotation. On paper, Odorizzi appears the odd man out, yet he profiles as what this staff might need most: a durable veteran with a proven track record. Instead, Odorizzi offers uncertainty. His usage and actions signaled some semblance of mistrust from the organization. Manager Dusty Baker rarely wanted him to face a lineup thrice. Odorizzi called it “bull—-” in August and needed a meeting with Click and Baker to clear the air. “I wouldn’t say (there is) distrust,” Click said. “I think the opportunities might not have been exactly what Jake wanted. I certainly don’t want to speak for him, but I think he certainly showed in spurts and flashes what he’s capable of. I think by the end of the year he was showing the All-Star form that he had from a couple years ago.” Click said he hopes to connect with Odorizzi later this winter “to talk through what this situation looks like for 2022.” “I don’t want to just assume that because we have depth in November, we’re going to have depth in May and June and July,” Click said. “If there are opportunities, we’ll consider everything.”
Per MLBTR projected contracts I’d say go Starling Marte 4yrs 80 Million (20 mil AAV). Move him to LF in 2022 if Leon has a big year in AAA. Raisiel Iglesias 4yrs 56 Million (14 mil AAV) Kendall Graveman 3yrs 27 mil (9 mil AAV) Justin Verlander or Carlos Rodon 2yrs 40 mil (20 mil AAV) I think that can keep payroll in the $210 mil range Crane is accustomed to spending with all the extra playoff revenue again. Not out of the question of acquiring a CF or Frontline starter via trade either. Altuve 2B Brantley LF Gurriel 1B Alvarez DH S. Marte CF Tucker RF Bregman 3B Pena SS Maldonado C Castro C Diaz IF/LF OF’er McCormick/Meyers/Siri One Spot: McCormick/Meyers/Siri/K.Lee/Stubbs/Leon McCullers Verlander/Rodon/Trade Valdez L.Garcia Urquidy Pressly Iglesias Graveman - Three Closers Stanek P. Baez Maton Odorizzi Javier/Paredes/Taylor/etc
I really like this. Would set them up well for 2023 too as Leon steps in for Brantley, Lee steps in for Maldy, and they’d have plenty of payroll capacity to replace Pressly and Gurriel if no internal options emerged.
One question about that plan- Is Iglesias, who was tendered a QO, really worth losing the comp pick? He’s really a luxury with Pressly still here and Graveman coming back in that scenario. I’d rather not IMO
Welp. So much for Meyers as the opening day CF and so much for using him as a trade chip this offseason.
Yea... I don't know that I want to give up the pick for a reliever. Especially in a scenario where we bring back Graveman.
