He’s just better than Urquidy and Garcia my man. I love Hunter Brown. I am going to need to see more before I put him over LMJ.
There is no way I think Dubon is better than Yuli or Brantley. However, based on the roster construction having both Yuli and Brantley would make the bench very weak in defensive versatility. Neither are spring chickens anymore. I doubt Brantley can play anywhere but LF and despite what he could do 5 years ago I doubt Yuli can play anywhere but 1B ( and maybe 3B) It would leave Hensley as the only backup for 2b, 3b, and SS.
Altuve Pena Alvarez Bregman Tucker 1B Acquisition Brantley McCormick Maldonado Hensley Yuli Dubon Yainer/Lee (whomever wins Spring Training battle) AAA Meyers Yainer/Lee Matijevic Julks Leon Perez Bielak Dubin Blanco James S Martinez Mushinski Paredes Whitley Taylor It works.
You need a defensive replacement for the OF that can cover all 3 positions. It's either Dubon or Meyers.
2022 Meyers xwOBA .251 K% 33.8 BB% 4.4 Barrel % 5.2 Exit Velo 87.3 Max Exit Velo 37th percentile Sprint Speed 89th percentile Outs Above Ave (not available on baseball savant) Arm Strength 43rd percentile 2022 Dubon xwOBA .271 K% 11.7 BB% 4.9 Barrel % 2.3 Exit Velo 84.7 Max Exit Velo 35th percentile Sprint Speed 74th percentile Outs Above Ave 92nd percentile Arm Strength 78th percentile Meyers hits the ball a little harder than Dubon and he's a faster than Dubon, but Dubon strikes out a ton less, hit more often, and he has a lot more arm strength in the OF. Meyers likely has not recovered from the shoulder injury. His arm strength dropped from 60 to 43. It is possible he recovers and becomes the player that the Astros hoped he would become. But for 2022, Dubon was the better player. Unless Jake shows improvement, Dubon gets the nod for 2023.
I think he probably saw this. It's not even an "insider" who is predicting it to happen, it's merely an "opinion" piece where the writer says he thinks it should happen. https://www.si.com/mlb/phillies/opi...n-justin-verlander-dave-dombrowski-mlb-rumors
Dubon is an average to above average multi-positional defender. Still flabbergasted how that manages to piss so many people off. I think you can reasonably argue Dusty played him too much, but as a versatile fill-in he at least ensures the position's defense doesn't crater when the starter is out.
The strength of the team is a historic pitching staff, I've gota great idea, lets start trading it away. They have the money to re-sign JV and one more impact FA. They also have prospects in the minors to add a couple of guys through trade if need be. Leave the pitching staff alone and put Urquidy/Garcia in the bullpen. Trade from Maton/Martinez etc....
Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic The Astros have identified Anthony Rizzo as their No. 1 free-agent target at first base. They also are considering Yuli Gurriel and José Abreu, but signing Rizzo would serve the dual purpose of bolstering their own roster while weakening the Yankees Verlander, who personally negotiated his free-agent deal with Astros owner Jim Crane while vacationing in Italy last offseason, seemed a good bet to re-sign quickly with the Astros. But it has not happened, perhaps because Verlander sees the potential for lucrative opportunities with the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers, among others. The likely AL Cy Young winner, who turns 40 on Feb. 20, could be a short-term, high-dollar fit for any of those clubs. The Mets face the losses in free agency not just of deGrom, but also Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker. The Yankees declined to pursue Verlander at the 2017 trade deadline and missed on him in free agency last offseason. The Dodgers might pursue Verlander if Tyler Anderson rejects their $19.65 million qualifying offer — and heck, even if he accepts, too.
I would be fine with rolling with Lee as backup and then making an in-season trade if the need materializes.
