Contreras is a terrible defensive catcher. I’d be all for upgrading Maldy via trade, but I don’t think Dusty would play him.
Its tough replacing Maldy, he is one of the leaders and I for one would hate to ruin team chemistry. But Maldy is by far the weakest link offensively and I'm not so sure the chemistry and defense makes up for it. I say if Maldy wants to come back bring him back....
From what I was told before the playoffs even started, Click was already giving ultimatums of “it’s me or him” and was very upset at what he viewed as restrictions on his job and being undermined. I said a month or longer ago it wasn’t just a matter of whether Crane wanted Click back, that there was a real possibility Click would not want back. This wasn’t just about contract length and money too. Click felt he was in a position to demand control over the manager and a level of authority that Crane wouldn’t give to a man he didn’t 100% trust when it came to judgment.
I have seen a lot of Contreras, I live in Chicago and have heard about him since he suddenly started playing well in the minors after not even being a serious prospect. I think the Astros could easily live with him defensively. He has a lot of tools and talent behind the plate and outside of sometimes getting sloppy, his glove is fine. The problem would be how Contreras handles pitchers and prepares. His work ethic is up and down and he doesn’t have the IQ or passion or discipline that Maldonado has. Contreras in a line up like the Astros could put up an 850-900 OPS and hit 30/100. He is a talented hitter in high leverage situations too. The question is how much is that values compared to Maldonado’s preparation.
@Nook do you think the Verlander free agency will be a long drawn out process or sooner than later he agrees to a deal?
The GM for the Astros isn’t someone that will come in and clean house or lay down the law on how everything will work. That mentality is why Click is gone, he felt he should have a great deal of control. For Crane, whoever the new GM is, has to add to but also buy into the talents and roles currently on the roster and the front office. They need to be able to get a long with other talented people in the front office and also acknowledge that ultimately the boss is the owner.
The Astros preference is to get it resolved ASAP so they can address other holes. The problem is that it takes two sides to make it happen and I don’t know if Verlander is willing to agree early or if he will wait until teams bid against each other.
You don’t need three effective pitches if your stuff is good enough. Things are not that way anymore.
They want to add a near all star level bat, but some of that will depend on who is available on a 2-3 year deal and how high market prices go.
That's why you sign Vazquez. I love that dude. He's a great chemistry guy in the clubhouse and would be an instant leader on this team.
Why would you sign a pitcher who's guaranteed to be injured? You sign JV at 40 way before the injury prone DeGrom. When is the last time that dude had 30+ starts in a season? I don't get why anyone is gonna pay that guy. So if he's worth $40, pay him $16-20 million based on the 40-50% availability he's likely to give you.
I don’t think Vazquez cares to play under Dusty in 2023, unless Dusty agrees to play him in the Maldy role.
His comment was IF we fail to get Verlander. Degrom is the most skilled pitcher, likely ever. Think about what he could do with our staff. Worth the risk on a short term deal.
Injury only seems to matter on some players. And only the last two years is factored into most estimates of value. Your injury discount makes sense, but MLB hasn't figured it out. They tend to skew toward peak value rather than average value and then sign for too long.
