Ben Verlander said "Whatever team ends up with Justin Verlander between the Astros and Dodgers, I think will win the world series." Big surprise. Lol
Yeah I understand . I say 70 would be good because we should be in 1st place either way. It saves Maldy too. If he's completely worthless he'll never make 70 games but he's a former first round pick time to see if he can cut the mustard or not.
This is why we will carry a 3rd C with experience. If we dont want to trash Lee, we let him learn under Maldy, slowly. 30ish starts would be a good place for Lee to be as a rookie.
My thoughts: C) Maldy 65% Contreras 35% 1B) Abreu 90%, Gurriel 5% Contreras 5% 2B) Altuve 92%, Gurriel 8% 3B) Bregman 95%, Gurriel 5% SS) Pena 95%, Hensley/Dubon 5% LF) Alvarez 50%, McCormick 20%, Brantley 20% Contreras 10% CF) Meyers/Leon 65%, McCormick 35% RF) Tucker 95%, McCormick 5% DH) Alvarez 45%, Contreras 45%, Brantley 10% Of course this just reflects Dusty's load management days off. Injuries are inevitable and would change it.
Lee and Yainer have a similar problem for different reasons. They're both blocked from full-time catching work at the big league level. Lee for offensive reasons, Diaz for defensive reasons. IMHO 30 starts just isn't enough for Lee's situation. It's not enough to get comfortable with the staff but definitely not enough time to find any rhythm hitting wise. *if* they chose to carry him as the back-up C, he'd need to play more just to see what's there. I think if they carried Yainer as the backup, he'd get good mentoring from Maldy with the understanding he probably wouldn't be a full-time C in the near term.
If they sign Contreras then it will be time to trade Lee. Maybe SF? They need catcher and Putila is there now? Lee, Enoli Paredes and another prospect for Mike Yastrzemski? But that guarantees Brantley not coming back.
Great work on the splits. This is where i see an issue with Yuli. 18% would be 29.16 games. Is Yuli really worth paying and rostering over Lee, Hensley, Dubon, Yainer, etc. for 29ish games? As much as i would miss Yuli, i dont think hes worth 3-5M for 29-30 games. And I’d rather see the young guys get a chance to grow than block them with a vet we are only playing 18% of the season.
I dont think we have the organizational depth to make that move. In 2024, Maldy is gone and Lee and Contereras can take over.
Catching is a critical position. The pitchers rely heavily on the catcher to execute their pitches. Maldy is likely to get 100 games behind the dish. That leaves 62 max for someone else. If we bring in Contreras or another vet, its very likely Lee takes a growing role and gets half of that load. More than that would expose his weaknesses too much. He has a lot to learn.
Problem with that is the is exactly a 0 percent chance Dusty would split time for Maldy. At best he would get a spot start like he did last year.
I think the benefit is insurance. If Abreu, Altuve, Bregman, or Pena get hurt then Yuli slides into a starting role until he returns instead of an unproven rookie. If it's substantial- say 80+ games that could be the difference between a bye or a WC.
Thats an expensive insurance policy. I think Hensley and company can handle the load. And we can always trade for someone in season if necessary.
All true points. And I like Hensley But it's more about what the Astros would do, not you or me. I think for $5M they would like to keep Yuli. It's more than play on the field. It's chemistry and culture too.
I agree. But i think the Yuli geatures are more about respect being paid to him by the Astros in the media. Behind closed doors i think Yuli knows his time has come. You could read it in his face all last season.
Yuli can only play 1b. He may be able to handle sparse spot duty at 3rd. He cannot be an option at the middle infield spots.
You may be right. But a couple of weeks ago Bregman said that Yuli can play SS in MLB right now. It may be hyperbole but even there is a little truth to it he could play 2B and 3B. I can't imagine he would flat out lie about that. I was not expecting him to play SS.
I agree with your point, very valid. I just think given the opportunity for this organization to let Hensley (who looked like he belonged in the major leagues) take over utility IF over a greatly diminished Yuli would be the wiser move. I would be disappointed if someone like Hensley is back in the minors while Yuli drags out the very last breath of his career.
