Go with a rotation of Valdez, Javier, LMJ, Garcia, Brown, Urquidy... that's still an embarrassment of riches. Then I'd like to see us resign Brantley (if that's medically wise) and Abreu. If we think we can sign Brantley and Abreu and still afford JV then that's cool too but if that's not possible I'd rather have the bats.
If he leaves let's keep our bullpen strong and deep, as well as make our offense top 3 again, then torture MLB.
We obviously have a great rotation, but I think we need JV or another TOR to really slot everyone into their roles accordingly. I’m not worried about JV’s historical WS pedigree. Dude is a regular season workhorse…our division is only going to get tougher. SEA is becoming more formidable and TEX is spending more and has good players coming through the farm. Don’t overthink it…the recipe is right in front of us. Bring back our HOF stud.
We can afford JV at $40M, Abreu at $20M, and Brantley at $10M each at a 2 year deal and still be under the tax for 2023/2024. This would assume Montero leaves and Abreu assumes the 8th inning/high leverage role. We'd have to target an undervalued FA RP out there somewhere.
I'd like Verlander back but mostly because if he leaves it'll be to another contender. If Verlander stays, I want at least one of a LF/1B/C signing for someone that wasn't on the roster last year. If Verlander leaves, maybe at least two of those holes filled in the lineup.
Our SP rotation is pretty sick. Our bullpen is no joke either. With or without JV next year, we still need to add another high price bat (Abreu) to the middle of the lineup. Resigning uncle Mike would be huge too. In what universe would uncle Mike be hitting 7th or 8th in the lineup. We’re gonna be effing savages again next year.
I really hope Correa signs with the Giants/Orioles over the Dodgers/Yankees. I would hate to hate him.
Same. Anywhere but the Dodgers or Yankees. Dodgers seems more likely if Turner goes to the Phillies..
I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t think we ~~have~~ to add an elite bat. We just won the WS obviously. We have a lot of good hitters already penciled into our lineup already…we clearly need to add some players, albeit internally or from the market, but I just don’t think we’re SOL if we let Yuli and the farm compete for 1B reps and something similar on the OF.
My concern with Uncle Mike is we don't know what we're getting with injury + age and hasn't he been statistically declining the last couple of years? At some point you just don't have it anymore and that's a concern. Same with someone like Yuli... these dudes are getting old and the bottom could fall out at any time. Now, Abreu is mid 30s as well but he hasn't show signs of slowing down yet.
I trust him at the plate more than most players the Astros could possibly sign. He still hits for average and doesn't strike out a lot. Plus the shift ban will help him even more next year.
Urquidy 2022: 164 IP, 3.94 ERA, 134 K, 1.168 WHIP, 4.6 FIP, 98 ERA+, 1.2 WAR Verlander 2022: 175 IP, 1.75 ERA, 185 K, 0.829 WHIP, 2.49 FIP, 220 ERA+, 5.9 WAR If you can drop Urquidy from your rotation and replace him with Verlander, that is a huge difference even for a team with as much pitching as the Astros. The Astros should be willing to spend to keep him in Houston.
I would not hate Correa if he signed with the Dodgers. I actually might like him more for proving to them and their fanbase how hypocritical they have been for the last 5 years.
Seattle will be good next year. They need to lengthen their lineup and get more pitching depth. They have several very strong SP arms to compete. NYY didn’t have benintiendi or lemahieu. They should be stronger next year. Astros went 11-2 in the postseason. Very very hard to win at that clip. If we just run it back we will be AL favorites. I think we can be better if we allocate JV resources toward Abreu and contreras plus extending one of our horses. if the off-season breaks just right, we could have a team on paper that looks damn near flawless Edit : honestly, NYY are the ones who desperately want JV to walk. He humiliates that squad in the postseason.
State of the Budget 2023 Cap: $233M Current Payroll: $110M Estimated Arb: $30M Estimated PreArb: $8M Budget: $72M Arbitration Eligible Framber: $8M Tucker: $5.75M Javier: $3.5M Urquidy: $3.25M Stanek: $3M Maton: $2.5M Dubon: $1M James: $800k Taylor: $800k TOTAL: $28.6M (let's round up to $30M) PreArbitration Eligible Too many to list, let's say $8M So total estimated current spend is $161M leaving us with $72M Start posting your combo of players using $72M
Fangraphs does the work for you and they are at 168.3 https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/astros
I think Seth Martinez will do nicely without going outside the organization. He has a few things to work on, but certainly good enough to give good innings in the right situations. With a full Spring training, we won't have a 28 man roster to start. Most people need to trim their wish list or tell us who get's replaced. Position Players (13) Locks 1. 2B Altuve 2. SS Pena 3. LF Alvarez 4. 3B Bregman 5. RF Tucker Coming back 6. Maldonado 7. McCormick 8. Meyers 9. Hensley 10. Dubon 11. Lee Houston FAs 12. Brantley 13. Gurriel 14. A Diaz 15. Mancini 16. Vasquez Pitchers (13) Locks 1. Valdez 2. Javier 3. McCullers 4. Urquidy 5. Garcia 6. Brown 7. Pressly 8. Neris 9. Stanek 10. Abreu Coming back 11. Maton 12. Martinez Houston FAs 13. Verlander 14. Montero
I agree with you to an extent, because I think that player could be Yainer Diaz. We just saw what kind a season a talented 24 year old rookie can produce. Maybe he follows In Peña's footsteps. Yainer hit 16 HR in only 200 AB at Sugar Land. However, he's going to need to see time at 1B as well as backup DH to I hope Brantley. That is why I would like to see Yuli on a 1 year deal. After the post-season he had, I'd like to see what he can do along with giving Yainer time there to split or possibly takeover depending on how they produce. We can always go after a bat at the deadline. I would imagine they want to see what Yainer can do because it looks like the kid can rake.
