Weakened their pen though I think we will see some teams try to match what we did in our pen with multiple lock down arms. Toronto will be scary if they can get anywhere close to what we have in our pen
Yup, and it is why the first person on the Astros that Crane called after the WS wasn't Baker or Click, it was Verlander. He hoped to get a deal done quickly, but I also have to believe that he knew damn well it was a real long shot. If I heard that Verlander wanted 3/135 from someone with the Astros, Crane had to be keenly aware. There will come a time relatively soon where the Astros sign Verlander or move on and target someone like Abreu. Crane and Verlander are both very shrewd negotiators and they remind me of some very successful people I have known before, everyone and everything around them is ultimately expendable. Agreed I don't think it is zero sum either and Crane has said that before.
Exactly, Pitching Pitching Pitching! And JV is currently elite. 61-19 with a 2.26 ERA 0.833 WHIP 7.24 SO/W. All those numbers save the rest of the staff. If I'm Crane give him 3 years. They'll find a bat to sign or trade for to replace 1B/DH plus young guys are close.
This offseason only? I know Javier was speculated at being traded for Castillo at some point this past year. I'd rather not trade any of the SPs under any circumstance. Keep a strength a strength. That said, Garcia's extra year and better performance make him a lot more desireable to keep. If any of the SPs are trade bait, it should be Urquidy. If 2.5 seasons of Urquidy was worth 0.5 seasons of Contreras, 2 seasons of Urquidy is reasonably going to fetch one season of a player about half the value of Contreras (~what SIri did last season). I think Crane going out and spending is much more likely to get a good player than trading Urquidy. Edit: I don't think it would take much spending to get someone as good as what Urquidy can get in a trade.
I haven't seen who the Jays got back, but this trade saves them about $15,000,000 for 2023. FWIW the top offer for Justin Verlander in 2022? The Toronto Blue Jays. I don't have any inside source on this, but I would not be at all shocked if they are making money to add Verlander to their rotation. They have a lot of younger guys that they will likely not be able to afford soon, and they need better pitching..... adding Verlander to Manoah and Gausman potentially gives them the best playoffs starters in the AL.
I find myself going back and forth on this. I get not spending this money on JV given age...and then I read what you just wrote and think it's a great point. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if I was Crane with regard to this decision.
Also JV knows the inner workings of the Astros. You're not just getting an arm. You're getting intel.
Also, if Montero was overpaid by the Astros.... he isn't any more, after seeing guys like Nick Martinez get 3/27. At first blush the Teo Hernandez deal looks like a win for the Mariners.... but the Blue Jays shed 15 million in salary and added a very good reliever under team control for years..... this is a really good deal for the Jays. This improves their pitching and moving on from Teo will improve their defense.
I would go 3 years UNLESS it will affect the ability to resign guys like Tucker, Javier, Framber, Garcia etc..... I haven't looked close enough to know how the money will look after 2024, if giving him that 3rd year could affect our ability to keep any of the young studs then I would balk at it. If those guys big money days are a year further down the road, then i'd be all in on 3 years
Yeah, I don't think so either. Crane may give a third year OR a larger base salary, but he isn't doing both. The risk is high for the Astros on a 3/135 deal. If Verlander gets hurt again it could crush the Astros for the next few years.
Crane knows that Verlander is worth a lot more but I doubt Scherzer contract more. I just don't see anyone other than LA or a non contending team giving him that contract. Either way, we would still be favorites to get to the world series.
Don't need Nimmo. Chas is way cheaper on similar production. If CF becomes that big a problem again you can always swing for Reynolds if need be.
Nimmo can play LF with Chas in CF. If Astros don't get JV, I'd hope for for Nimmo, Contreras, and a 1B.
I think Verlander deal for $35M for 2023, $35 for 2024, with team option for $35M with $10M buyout sounds right. Obviously that is less than Scherzer, but guaranteed $80M at age 40 is pretty damn good.
I was all-in on Castillo but not for Javier. I do understand the thought process though. Castillo is a 200 ip workhorse top of the rotation type. Javier wasn't as established at the time and was swinging from bullpen to starter. Even at his best I don't see 200 ip from him, more in the 150-160 range but that's all that's needed with a 6 man rotation. As for the current situation, I could see the team moving Brown into that part time starter part time reliever role for 2023 but having anyone else in the bullpen would be a waste of value. If a team has 6 SP its a big benefit If a team has 7 SP its a big problem.
