Including the Astros. Other teams trying to win aren't going to give up good MLB value for Urquidy, and rebuilding teams aren't going to give up good enough prospects for him to make it worth it for the Astros. Granted, I thought the same about the Musgrove and Moran before the Pirates traded Cole for them. I still think that was a weird trade for the Pirates even with Cole and Musgrove both exceeding expectations.
My only hesitancy with trading some of our starting pitching is that we have had what feels like unusually good health in our pitching staff this season. Verlander had his calf thing and Pressly has had a couple IL stints, but otherwise I can't think of any significant time. Had we lost any of our guys for extended periods of time, we would have been so happy to have the depth in our SP that we do. If we trade one or both of Urquidy and Garcia, we'll be back to possibly seeing guys like Bielak getting 5-10 starts in a season (or more). Maybe that possibility is worth having a guy in LF or at 1B that can hit consistently throughout the year. I guess it just depends on who that is.
They could have used him to fortify the back of their rotation, sure, but his marginal impact was very unlikely to be seen as worth enough to give up enough value to make Houston go thru with trading him, especially if Houston was looking for a controllable star outfielder in return.
After last year's playoffs I will never undervalue starting pitching depth ever again, I will always be on the side of keeping ALL of your MLB level starting pitching talent. We were basically short two starters going into the WS. Not only does it help for depth in case of injuries, but if guys stay healthy you can go into a 6 man rotation and limit their loads. The depth is going to help these guys from getting gassed in the post-season.
It is possible. I don't see it as likely unless a team really likes Urquidy. I think it is much more likely that Crane nuts up and signs regulars to fill positions than to trade Urquidy for a decent regular or undervalued prospects as long as Click is GM. I don't see budget problems filling positions unless Crane opens future budgets to go after someone big that isn't a 2022 Astro.
What do the Astros do if they both resign JV (or another TORP) and don't trade away any of their current starters? That leaves you with a rotation of JV, Framber, LMJ, Javier, Garcia, Urquidy, and Brown. You can't effectively utilize seven starting pitchers in an MLB rotation and I doubt they are going to hold Brown down in AAA for large parts of next season after he's demonstrated that he's more than ready to help the MLB club win now. I think you either forego signing a TORP and use that money elsewhere or you trade one of your starters for a controlled above average starter at another position.
KC badly needs pitching. They have a lot of good young hitters in the upper minors and recently promoted to the majors (edited to clarify), including two left handed first baseman. I would offer Luis Garcia for Vinnie Pasquantino. Highly unlikely as I don’t see the Royals parting with him but I’d try if I was the GM. Daulton Varsho, a lefty-hitting C/OF with pop would be another trade target I’d look at.
Completely agree. 6 starters are necessary. 7 is a problem unless you can stash one in AAA. None of the 7 we are talking about are best suited in the bullpen. Putting a guy like Garcia or Urquidy there and having him pitch 2-3 innings in the middle of a ballgame once or twice per week is a terrible waste. A team that expects to compete but is losing Vazquez, Gurriel, Mancini, Brantley, Castro, and Aledmys Diaz to free agency and only has a couple of 45-50 rated prospects in AAA really needs to use that excess value to fill a hole. As fans do we want to see 7 starting pitchers but unproven marginally regarded guys at 1B and/or CF/LF Or 6 starting pitchers and an established young 1B/OF in one of those spots?
I'll give you he isn't going to be the main piece for that. I'm thinking you trade him for prospects. Some of the guys we got for guys worth less than Urquidy: Josh Hader Yordan Alvarez Yainer Diaz Its about identifying guys early on that may see their value skyrocket. On the flip side we traded away Teoscar Hernandez in a deal for Liriano. The other option is you look for a team with 4 good OFers and swap depth for depth.
If the FO can get equivalent value at a weaker position, the obvious option is to trade someone. I don't personally think carrying all 7 starters next year is a big deal. Only Framber is on-pace for 200 IP and i think they could run a 6-man rotation for longer stints than they did this year. Then you stash someone in the pen and have a ready injury fill-in available. Completely taking starting pitching off the table as a possible trade deadline need is a bigger deal than people think.
Yes, that’s fair. You might be able to flip Urquidy for a fringe regular like Anthony Santander or Austin Hays. But you’re not getting Cedric Mullins. Not that it’s a bad idea. Flipping Urquidy for Santander or Hays is a decent way to lengthen the lineup if they don’t think Meyers will bounce back (or Leon or another OF will be ready early in 2023): 2B Altuve RF Tucker 3B Bregman DH Alvarez LF Santander/Hays 1B Y Diaz/Matijevic CF McCormick SS Pena C Maldonado/Lee
If everyone was perfectly healthy, Crane went cheap for 2023 budget, and a SP got a established young 1B/OF in a trade so this was the question, I'd go with the second scenario. However, in the likely scenario that there are multiple starting pitchers hurt at the same time, would you rather Roll with Chas in CF over a marginal improvement with Garcia starting or Have a marginal improvement over Chas in CF with JP France starting?
Health is always the gamble, but that's why I am talking about wanting 6 SP not 7, instead of 5 rather than 6. FYI I think 1B is the position of need. I like the chances of Meyers, Leon, Dirden, Julks, Barber, Gilbert, Melton, Brewer, Barefoot, Cerny, Hamilton, OR Daniels to be able to become a regular or semi regular starter in the next couple of years. Add one of them to Yordan, Chas, and Tucker and outfield is workable without a trade. But back to pitching: If the rotation has: JV, McCullers, Framber, Javier, Brown, and either Garcia or Urquidy then it can take 1 injury and still have a 5 man rotation that is the envy of the league. With the general health and workload of them in 2022 a 5 man rotation would be much better and more acceptable/ less risky than it was this year. If 2 get injured then the other 4 plus a combination of Jayden Murray, Jaimie Melendez and/or Forrest Whitley should still make for an above average rotation until one or both return.
Though we have few people who will give Odorizzi credit. he did fill in nicely with an under 4 ERA while he was here until LMJ returned. This helped keep the workload down on the three Amigos via a six man rotation under which both Starters and Relievers appears to have thrived. And while I was REALLY skeptical of Smith's value, he appears to have turned a corner after a rough start. I wouldn't be disappointed if he made a post season roster against a lefty heavy team.
There are basically 3 potential teams the Astros are likely to meet in the playoffs. I am planning on doing a deeper dive into strengths/weaknesses of each but for now just L/R hitting Blue Jays: 8 of top 9 hitters are RH. Biggio, Tapia, and Zimmer are the only lefties among position players. Rays: 9 most used position players: 5 RH, 2 LH, 2 switch. 2 additional LH and 1 switch on the bench. They use platoon starts as much as any team. Mariners: 9 most used position players: 4 RH, 3 LH, 2 switch. 2 LH and 2 switch on the bench.
I hate everything about that decisions that would go in to making that a reality. You have to bring in a major bat somewhere. Spend to the threshold and you can still get one impact bat.
