Verlander and Castillo would be amazing. Don’t want Story, He is not a good bat away from Colorado. I’d much rather gamble on Pena or a stop gap Diaz then waste money on Story. I like both Graveman and Yemi and would try to re-sign one if not both. If the play is one big bat and one starting pitcher, I would let Correa walk and try and get Bryant and either Castillo or trade for Bieber, although as you alerted me earlier that would probably mean losing Pena.
That ship has sailed. Bregman has had far too many lower body injuries. Not to mention, when healthy, he's a very good defensive 3B so you don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul. 3B is set; move on and focus on finding a replacement for Correa.
I agree with Nooks comment that the Astros will be reluctant to add a hitter who strikes out a lot. It’s one reason why I think Starling Marte is a really good fit for the Astros. Bryant, Story, Semien, Canha, and Pham all strike out about the same rate as Correa. Baez and Taylor despite their defensive versatility are probably not good fits as they strike out quite a bit more than Correa. There are 4 guys who will likely be very cheap who, while not good hitters overall, can play SS and rarely strikeout: Andrelton Simmons, Jose Iglesias, Ronny Torreyes, and Matt Duffy. I think any of those guys would make a fine 13th position player to serve as insurance in case Pena struggles (provided Houston adds a good outfield bat).
I share the reluctance on Story. If cost and duration is remotely similar, give me Marte over Story every day. Marte at the top of our lineup would be absolutely electric and push Altuve down to an RBI position, which I think suits him better.
Yep, and Dusty could have bailed his team out if he had used his best relievers instead of using Raley I disagreed with using Garcia on 3 days rest and was hoping that Dusty would pull him at the 1st sign of trouble. Didn't happen. This is the freaking WS win or lose with your best and have the best in the bullpen throw 2 innings a piece if needed. There was only 4 possible games left in the season. There's a reason after all of these years Dusty doesn't have jewelry and I don't expect this to change. Hope I'm wrong.
Do not want Story, at all. Would gamble on Pena. It would be huge win if we could get Pena for 5 years to be an everyday SS with an average bat and a above average glove. Like Graveman but his performance with the Astros was uneven, vacillated between good and great. Worth 8 inning money, but someone may pay him to close. Not a fan of Yemi. Worth 6th inning money, but may want more. Would sign Correa over Bryant. Not even close. Trading a SP1 is going to hurt. Prospects that we really like will have to go.
I don’t think you have much to worry about with Story, unless he’s willing to sign a one-year prove it deal as a place holder. If the Astros don’t get a deal done with Correa, I’d expect them to target Taylor, Marte or Bryant. Marte because he’s a CF upgrade, and Taylor or Bryant due to their versatility. They would wash out on draft picks because they get one if Correa and/or Verlander leave.
The fact that the Astros had their best offensive players at premium defensive spots up the middle was a huge advantage in building a roster. When you have Marwin Gonzales/Josh Reddick types in the corner spots, there are plenty of attainable upgrades. When you are locked into B+/A- bats at all the corner spots and DH, you have to find players who can play SS, CF, or C. For that reason, I don't think Bryant is an option. Marte and Taylor make sense.
I consider Bryant to be the least likely of the three, too. Mainly because I don’t think he can be an everyday CF. I still want the Astros to simply sign Correa and call it a day from an offensive standpoint. That’s my preference, by far.
My preference by far, too. Just hard to find an upgrade at another position that would make up for that loss. Bryant has started 14 games in his career in CF and has only 5 complete games in center. He's a corner OF who can play there in a pinch. I do really like Marte as a short term CF option, but he's 33 already. How long does a speed guy like that stay productive in his mid-30s? Maybe he's the next Rickey Henderson, but if he's not, it might be a steep drop off.
Yep. Easiest path to a complete roster is resigning JV and CC, trading Pena for a controllable affordable ace, and spending the rest of the offseason bargain hunting for BP and CF help. I wonder if the Yankees would be interested in an Aaron Hicks for Odorizzi swap.
Agree with that on Marte. Also he’s not really a power guy, and we already have players at 1B and LF (two traditionally power-oriented positions) that are low on power. I think someone else will give him 5 years, 22M AAV, which takes him through his age 37 season.
Reading the MLBTR offseason outlook for the Twins reinforced to me that they seem to match up extremely well with the Astros on a potential Buxton trade. The Astros need a high quality CF, preferably on a short term deal as they have multiple potential long term solutions. Buxton fits that mold to a T, and the Twins have an OF surplus. The Twins need starting pitching depth, preferably guys who won’t be paid a lot of money and can eat innings. Odorizzi and Urquidy fit that description, and Houston has an SP surplus (at least in terms of MoR/BoR types). I am not sure Houston would give up Urquidy for one season of Buxton. But if Minnesota threw in Taylor Rogers and Houston offset the financial impact by sending them Odorizzi, the deal starts to look pretty fair. Rogers has some injury concerns so that would assume he is healthy. The value still seems to favor the Twins (Urquidy projects for ~10 war over his remaining control, while Buxton/Rogers project for half that), so maybe Houston could get them to throw in a 3rd tier prospect like Matt Wallner, Aaron Sabato, Yunior Severino, or Wander Javier. If the Astros were able to add Buxton while also resigning Correa, their 2022 lineup would likely project to be one of the 5 best in MLB history. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/twins-trade-rumors-offseason-byron-buxton-free-agency.html
As for CF, I would love for the Astros to trade for Bryan Reynolds. It is said a few teams are interested in making a deal with the Pirates. If they can sign Correa, Peña quickly becomes a great trade piece. We also have one of 3 CF's to offer in return. But, I imagine Pirates would also want some young pitching. What would it take? His .390 obp would look great inserted into the lineup.
Yes, and I’m pretty sure that’s what he meant by “cannot be counted on.” He cannot stay healthy over the course of a full year.
Buxton is what he is: one of the most talented players in the league who has been extremely injury prone. When healthy he’s a legit 30/30 threat with stellar defense in CF. Those talking about his k rate are judging on his early years; he projects for about 24% k rate, which is above average but not bad. It sucks for the twins that he was their “Correa” and they only got <500 games out of him across 7 seasons. Any team should be extremely wary of giving him a long term contract. And no one should count on him as their most valuable player. But on a team like Houston, where he would likely be the 5th or 6th best hitter and where the team has the depth to ensure he gets plenty of rest days and can sit as needed to maximize the odds he will stay healthy, he could have tremendous value.
