Haven't heard anything on Alvarez's hand in a while, but at the time it was reported as a non-structural injury. I interpret that as something not requiring surgery. In-house options at first are J.J. Matijevic and Yainer. In-house options at catcher 2 are Korey Lee and Yainer. IMHO Hensley is a bench guy. Strongly doubt he's given the chance for the 1B position full-time. Depends if they choose to seek a veteran bench bat but currently yes there's room for both Hensley and Dubon on the roster. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/astros - Good look at what the org depth currently looks like.
Cheaper in the sense that he's probably gonna settle for a 1 year make-good contract. AAV wise I could see him getting something similar to Brantley.
Should we continue to use a 6 pitcher rotation? Even with JVs departure (assumed), we have the depth and we do have potential starters in the minors as injuries occur. I believe we hit on a successful strategy by accident and shouldn't be too quick to go back to a less effective Rotation. Framber Javier McCullers Urquidy Garcia Brown Prospects Whitley 25 AAA Murray 26 AA Melendez 21 AA Santos 21 A Arrighetti ** 23 A+ Taylor 21 ROK Tamarez 23 AA Uliola ** 21 A Dubin 27 AAA ** Expected to rise rapidly
I liked the 6 man pitching rotation. With all the breaking stuff and/or sheer gas; the strain on the pitchers gasses them and taxes them! But that only works if you have at least legitimate starting pitchers to pick from. So I would definitely go with a 6 man rotation if it’s available.
There was some unprecedented health in the rotation this year. I don't think they can bank on it again. If they roll 6 man and two starters are out at the same time, that's a big problem. Think it'll depend on what they think of their depth starters (Bielak, Jayden Murray, etc...)
Fansided Predictions (Astros Isolated) Verlander 3-$120 ($40M AAV) Contreras 4-$80 ($20M AAV) Bell 4-$60 ($15M AAV)
Garcia has 4 years of control. It's hard to find any player who isn't still establishing himself to have more.
Takeaways from listening to "Locked on Astros" podcast last night. ( recorded from a couple of days ago) Guest Kenny Van Doren. 1) Enoli Paredes is hoping for a fresh start away from Houston ( though he has no control) 2) Yainer Diaz is not having a good start to winter ball and that along with his lack of playing time in September after his callup probably means he will start 2023 in AAA. 3) The Astros hope Korey Lee makes the team in spring training and the Astros view him as a future catcher but a guy who could possibly play 1B and even a little LF to get ABs since Maldy will be the starter 75% of the time. 4) Pedro Leon's winter ball manager is Alex Cintron and he is having a good start to the season. The Astros, especially Dusty, love his tools. Don't be surprised if he wins the starting CF job. Only K rate is holding him back. He improved last year and working with Cintron all winter can only help. 5) the Astros love Hensley's versatility. He has all but already made the team but they will not pigeon hole him into playing significant time at a single position so he is not a candidate for starting 1B job. 6) Corey Julks would most likely have been added to 40 man if he hit left handed. Very good chance he is lost in rule 5 draft but if not ( or returned) he is among most likely players to get a call to Houston if there is an injury. 7) Will Wagner is very hot now. Some scouts thought he did not have the arm to play 3B but were wrong. He was just playing 2B so often that he was holding back. 90+ mph throws from 3B. 8) OF makes up FAR AND AWAY the most talent in the system. Infield is very weak at least at upper levels. 9) Luis Santana improved his stock greatly last season. 10) The Astros and observers are very happy with the pitchers in the 2022 draft class. 11) 2021 draftee Colton Gordon is on the fast track to Houston. 12) Miguel Ullola may be the next Cristian Javier. He just needs experience and command improvement. Well that's all I remember about my thoughts listening to it. Thanks for reading.
Which one? I agree that it is a big commitment but none of them looked out of whack as far as more money than they are likely to get.
All 3: Verlander a year too long (and 2 years at 40/per is already a lot of risk). Contreras doesn’t have the defense for 20/per. Bell a slight overpay.
So you are saying it's more than you would want to pay and they would end up bad deals because of it? I get that and you may be right. I'm just saying that those players will most likely cost that if Houston wants them. And as a fan who is not paying the bill, I would be happy and excited for the 2023 and 2024 teams if that happened. P.S. with the raising CBT each season and general rate that salaries are rising I don't think any of those contracts hurt the team unless the players drastically under perform or miss significant time to injury. Verlander needs no explanation. Contreras and Bell have both proven they have a floor at or above those salaries just with the bat alone regardless of where they play or how well they field.
Astros get: 1B Christian Walker C/OF Daulton Varsho Diamondbacks get: RHP Jose Urquidy RHP Brandon Bielak RHP Phil Maton C Yainer Diaz Diamondbacks get pitching (including Strom guys), and we get Varsho and Walker, two good defenders with power. Diaz was kind of hard to include in the package, but we will still have Lee and are getting Varsho, and you have to part with good prospects in order to acquire proven talent. Resulting Roster: Infield: Walker, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Hensley, Dubon (and occasional OF if Dusty must) Outfield: Alvarez, McCormick, Tucker, Meyers (pinch runner/defense), Varsho (also a C) Catchers: Maldonado, Lee Rotation: Verlander, Valdez, McCullers, Javier, Brown, Garcia Bullpen: Pressly, Montero, Neris, Abreu, Stanek, Martinez, Mushinski/Taylor Tucker and McCormick play 150 games each (assuming no injuries - 145 OF and 5 DH each). Varsho: 60 games at C, 85 games as an OF, 5 games at DH Alvarez: 75 games at DH, 75 games at LF That's 26 games where one OF spot is open for a guy like, say, Dirden to get a look. Also, there are still 72 games where the DH has not been assigned to. Say each of the other regulars (Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Walker) also get 5 DH days each. That leaves 52 DH days to give other guys a look. If you want some of them to see the field more often then you can give the 3-9 position players a few more DH days to do so. Of the 102 games Varsho doesn't catch, Maldy gets 80-90. Give Lee some time too. Sorry if this was long, but those are my thoughts. I tried to come up with a hypothetical that would maximize defense, production, and rest/load management.
Sorry man but that is a ridiculously light package going to Arizona. Swap Bielak for Hunter Brown and Maton for Bryan Abreu and it is in range. Varsho has a LOT of value.
I’m saying that if the Astros front office pays that much for those 3, they haven’t done their job of negotiating and making wise decisions.
I agree, but I’ll say this—almost every trade feels to one fan base like a deal was lopsided. It’s rare that an actual trade occurs AND merits what we would consider an even deal.
There's no downside of a 6 man rotation due to injury. If starters get hurt there are still guys "stretched out" and can go with a 5 man until he returns or a guy gets ready If you go with a 5 man rotation and have injuries then someone needs to be stretched out which takes time Multiple injuries will always be an issue but for that scenario 6 is always better than 5
