Pena is old for a prospect and if they have really big belief he will play well they might as well just start the season with him, because if he does well enough in the ROY race he will earn his service time anyway. Even if that doesn't happen, it's possible that we don't really find it to be too terribly vexing if we lose the opportunity to keep him for his age 32 year b/c of service time maniupulation. There are tons of good arguments for him starting the year in AAA. Dusty said he was the starter in spring training so maybe the astros are going to change their philosophy with the new CBA. Will be interesting to see who does.
Totally plausible, in which case Pena is the SS, Goodrum to the bench, and Jones to AAA. Pena is also an extension candidate. Could see a 7 year deal which would not buy out any free agency but just give both sides some certainty. Something like $35M/7yrs plus maybe some award incentives.
I'm still a little surprised they tendered Montero given the logjam of AAA pitchers they have and how mediocre Montero has performed in the past. They must have some kind of plan for him.
Not me. Diaz seems to be declining defensively (he turns 32 this year) and probably doesn’t make a good option at SS; he’ll be fine as the backup this season (although he’ll likely be 3rd string behind Pena and Goodrum), but I am ready to cut him loose after this year. He doesn’t strike out much which is great but other than that he doesn’t have much to offer. Hopefully Houston has someone like Leon or Kessinger or Whitcomb break out so they can take his place as a super utility option.
I agree that pitching is the first ( and maybe only) priority. If rosters are expanded to 27 it must be a pitcher. If it's 28 MAYBE they both need to be pitchers. Or they could just adopt September rules for April - 2 additional roster spits 1 pitchers, 1 position player.
I doubt it seriously. He was a full time outfielder before last year and showed promise but still performed like a supremely gifted athlete who is learning the position. I see this like Myles Straw- regular outfielder that can play there once in a while when there is a fly ball pitcher on the mound and Dusty has some issue keeping him from wanting/able to use the regular infielders or the matchuo dictates his bat needs to be in the lineup
Another thing to consider about Leon. Depending on which prospect evaluations and predictions you look at, the Astros only have 3-8 prospects who project to be average starters or better. And we all ( or most) like Meyers, McCormick, and/or Siri but they also project to be average regulars. Why would the team limit Leon to a position that is already the spot for one of your other top prospects? Keep giving Leon the experience but not at the expense of his outfield play. It's hard to become a MLB regular. By all accounts he can be an above average starting outfielder. It's much less likely that he becomes a starting shortstop.
Looks like rosters will be expanded to 28 until 5/1. So I would expect Abreu and James to be the 2 extra pitchers they carry.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him in left some for an audition to be Brantley replacement... He's a solid contact hitter with a little pop... i think he could start for 5 or 10 teams...
Not baseball, but I finally broke down and got VPN after all the aggravation with blackout rules. I hope it's worth it. It's far worse than teaching an old dog a new trick.
Every time I see the Gifted Athlete label, I think back to Tom Landry. He said, get me an athlete and I can make him a football player.
Let's see how the pitching staff does without the pitcher whisperer. Might be a bigger loss than Correa
Roster size will be 28 until May 1. Pretty huge deal for the Astros bullpen. I wouldn't be surprised if the Astros start the season with 15 pitchers.
If I’m him and it means I get to start the year in the bigs, and there is no bull **** associated with team options (I.e fully guaranteed) I’d sign that deal. His best case scenario if he becomes a star is probably 55 or 60 million. To get 35 guaranteed and to be done with the minors for life I’d take that certainty and sign on the dotted line.
