Chemistry didn't matter for Dallas, Cole, Morton, Springer, or Correa. His numbers do matter. You waaaaay over valuing Yuli.
Yuli was top notch in Cuba, pedestrian in the US until his Batting title. He is not as bad as his age might suggest nor as good as his batting title suggests. He is a perfect organizational holdover if he is ready to convert to a post player career. But most have difficulty with this transition. Brantley is just a question mark. He is younger, but old enough that recovery from his surgery is less likely. I'd take a chance with a prove it contract with Spring training invitation. But I'm not willing to bank on his return to form. A healthy Brantley would be an asset, but who knows. Last, What to do with Maldonado? He is spectacular in some intangible ways working with he pitchers and game management. Once again we have to accept the cost is a hole in the line-up. But he is in a similar situation as Yuli. His value may lie in transitioning to a non player role. These players role will need to be addressed since they play positions that appear to be ripe for improvement. You need to keep a path for prospects and FA/Trades to improve the team..
Yuli's 2019 was better than his '21 batting title season. He was 2nd on the team in OPS behind Altuve and 5th among 1B. .298/ 40 2B/ 31 /HR/ .884 OPS 2017 good 2018 pedestrian 2019 great 2020 (shortened) bad 2021 very good, 8th ranked 1B 2022 bad
I think he can still have a role on this team as a utility player and occasional DH. He played well enough in the postseason to warrant being brought back in a limited role. If he's capable of playing more than just 1B and DH, I think he'd have even more value, but we don't know his limitations defensively so maybe that's a pipe dream. It's worth pointing out that this isn't a Cole, Springer, Correa, etc. situation. Yuli isn't going to make hundreds of millions elsewhere. Frankly, he'd be lucky to find a starting first base job anywhere else in the league. And if the Astros do go all in for Abreu, another older guy, you need someone who can play first as insurance, so bringing Yuli back on a cheap deal makes sense.
Yeah it’s really really really odd. Upthread someone mentioned something like 3-4 years for Yuli being in a decline and I was like 43? You think Yuli is playing until he’s 43? Seriously odd. He needs to be gone. Not a backup. Not a platoon guy, just gone. this organization prides itself on being analytical and not emotional and all about value. Yuli is not worth the opportunity cost that comes from paying him anything beyond the minimum or giving him a roster spot.
If you can bring him back cheap and have him take some of Mancini and Diaz's at bats, what's the harm? The Astros have enough roster spots to find a place for him and while Yuli has lost his power, he's still solid at putting the ball in play. You're acting like re-signing him would break the bank or prevent another huge signing from occurring. Neither are true. If the price and length of contract are right, Yuli still has enough value to play baseball at this level in a more limited role.
Even after leading the team in batting for the entire postseason at .347? While Tucker .204, Yordan .192, Altuve .190 struggled to make contact for long stretches, Yuli went 48 straight AB's without striking out versus some of the most elite pitching in the league? One reason I'd love to see Yuli back is to give Yainer time at first base as well. They need to see what he can do this year and if Brantley is healthy and signed Yainer can DH vs lefties and start enough games at 1B and 3rd Catcher to get maybe 350-400 AB. If Brantley is not signed, of course, that changes things a lot at DH and someone like Abreu is a necessity at that point.
2017 good [OBP .332 OPS+ 121] Good 2018 pedestrian [OBP .323 OPS+ 105] Average 2019 great [OBP .343 OPS+ 126] Good 2020 (shortened) bad [OBP .274 OPS+ 77] Bad 2021 very good, 8th ranked 1B [OBP .383 OPS+ 131] Very Good 2022 bad [OBP .288 OPS+ 84] Bad Just a slightly different evaluation concerning 2019 and a broader concept of pedestrian.
Bringing back Yuli makes a lot more sense if Houston thinks one of the unproven young players currently on the roster can become a core piece (Yainer Diaz, Jake Meyers, David Hensley, or JJ Matijevic). I think he would be serviceable defensively at 2B and 3B, and wouldn’t be embarrassing in the corner OF. So signing him for $7M or less on a one year deal with the understanding that he’d be a part time player would be a good idea if they only intend to add one other elite bat.
When counting roster space, we have to include one spot at Catcher 2 behind Maldy, whether it's a FA or bringing in Lee. The active roster spots are precious and limited.
His last 50 games of the regular season: 1 HR 10 XBH .297 SLG .571 OPS That's your first baseman. Not your defensive specialist catcher who calls tremendous games. Your first baseman. As a reference point, Maldonado has a career .634 OPS.
He’s not signing for something like 1M- fangraphs and all the dork sites have him at 6 or 8. Those AB’s you are talking about need to go to Hensley, JJ, Y Diaz etc for their continued major league development to see if they can be average or better players making minimum wage. You don’t pay 6, 8 or 10M to an ancient dude to DH and backup 1B, not in a clubhouse full of accomplished winners. They don’t need the locker room presence and they damn sure don’t need the on field presence or waste of money.
It’s 12 games for Yuli over the course of a month. It’s beyond meaningless as a sample size or a predictor of what would be to come.
It's not meaningless, but it means less than 500 PA in the regular season. I know it may not seem like it, but if JV moves on from Houston, we have to improve the offense because that's where we have been less productive. The people who were here were here for a reason, but we had that luxury. Now we will not. Because much of what they do is intangible (aka off the field), we should consider off field roles. Abreu would be a great fit at 1B, Trout or Judge would appear the only real drastic impact players in the OF but neither is likely. DH, 1B and C seem to be most likely as significant, though less dramatic improvements. I just don't see a place for players who tread water at best.
https://climbingtalshill.com/posts/...3JE2ZIZacyX27exhYZexk8Xu-o-zI4_1M-_ymrDjdoVug Not sure who the guy is they have number 1 but he sounds good to me
All I know, when it mattered the most, Yuli stepped up. He was the teams most consistent hitter in the playoffs (had hits in 10 of the 12 games he played). He hit .347 and his OPS was .850 On top of that he played incredible defense (as he always does). If you want to move on from Yuli that's your prerogative but to imply that he's trash in my opinion that's pathetic. Also go look at how he's played in the postseason with the Stros. I don't know how things are going to play out with him and whether he's back next season (none of us do) but to think that they shouldn't even consider bringing him back in some type of role and just kick him to the curb is being extremely short sighted.
Would bringing him back as a backup be “kicking him to the curb”?? try some middle ground. It’s fertile.
