In fairness, the Astros have gotten used to having pathetic hitting at the catcher spot over the past 40 years. In that time span, they've had exactly 3 catchers put up over .800 OPS, Jason Castro, Mitch Meluskey, and Alan Ashby. Biggio didn't even manage it till he moved to 2nd base. Having Contreras would give the team a weapon they've basically never had before.
Let's not forget that there is a greater than 0 chance that Maldonado is worn down to the point he shouldn't/can't catch every day once the playoffs get here ( or injured) if the Astros catch him 110+ times again. I love his toughness and dedication as well as his baseball I. Q. but he is no spring chicken and catching takes a toll.
We had McCann in 2017 and 2018 including 21 playoff games. But Contreras would probably be a step up from McCann.
He never had an .800 OPS season for the Astros, those days ended in Atlanta for him when he was around 27 years old.
He wants a large salary next year AND a player option next year. So basically, if he plays well he is gone after one year BUT if he gets hurt or struggles, you have to pay him for two years. I know the Astros did that with Verlander LAST year, but that is a very very player friendly type arrangement and would be a big risk.
This is reassuring if true. Good to know they understand this and won’t just stand pat thinking our pitching will be the same or that a rookie can make up what a cy young gave us.
Conforto is a nice player, but he isn't JV nice. The only way I see that working is if the player option is low enough that it reduces the AAV down to benefit the team and not as likely to be taken. Maybe: 1yr $17M w $7M option no buyout. The AAV is $12M which gives the team $5M in 2023 to sign a depth bullpen arm or maybe stay under the 1st or 2nd CBT tier. Conforto won't take the option unless he is terrible or expected to be hurt much/all of 2024. And the risk of that is small and even if it happens the 1 year moderate cost won't kill the team.
I hope this made sense to you. You left out the fact that since Maldy has been the starting catcher they have 2 WS appearances and a ALCS appearance and a WS win. But hey I guess you know better that the guys who have created a dynasty they don't know that Maldy is so easy to upgrade from. So if Maldy is so terrible, why is he still here, and why have we turned into a dynasty since he has been here?
nope. If we go for Contreras, I'd prefer to sit tight with the rest of the lineup and leave the bench open for prospect development. 1-8 is effectively covered between Altuve, Pena, Yordan, Bregman, Tucker, Abreu, Contreras and McCormick. Let your young bats have a few swings here and there and see who rises to the top.
Willson was the #53 player in the league by WAR in 2022. #32 in SLG%. #29 in OPS. #68 in wRC+. #13 in xwOBA.
Wow I never would have thought to look at Edwards. He was a defense first catcher and .800 OPS had to be rare from those guys in the 60s especially in the Dome !
Crane and Dusty have specifically named interest in Contreras. Reports say we are actively involved with him. If this was a legitimate concern, our biggest leaders would not be making public statements of interest in this particular player. I'm not in a clubhouse. I'm just a fan studying what the Astros are doing.
