Feels like way too much. It just seems you have to pay the piper eventually. Let's say you trade away Luis Garcia and try to replace him for an equivalent pitcher. Taillon is probably slightly worse than Garcia and he gets 4yrs/$68mil. This doesn't even get into trading away Abreu or Hunter. Is Murphy really worth that much? Sean Murphy is really good when he's away from Oakland. 126 wRC+ and .817 OPS for his career. His OPS in Oakland is .686. Overall, I don't like it. I think the better option is to sign Omar Navarez. You get a lefty bat and you get a solid defensive catcher for probably a reasonable price. He was bad last year, but he's been pretty consistent in his career. He would be great to platoon with Maldy. Before his disaster season last year Navarez had a career 112 wRC+ and .778 OPS vs righties. Since 2018 Maldy has a 94 wRC+ and .706 OPS against lefties.
I think The Astros walk away with a big upgrade over Maldy, hoping for Contreras because I think intimidation is important. The stress on a pitcher knowing The Astros will pretty much have no weakness in the lineup must be immense in the post season. But if its not I trust they will have a good option next year. If Contras wants 4 or 5 thou, give it.... Some teams are throwing up 11 year 300+ mil contracts. Astros are the champs and loaded with a young core. Pay now and set yourself up to continue making these teams cry...
Might as well ask for Valdez and Javier too, maybe LMJ while we are it? Sign Contreras and let them try and screw some other team... They can have ONE pitcher not named Framber, Javier, LMJ, Brown, Abreu...
The more I think about it, given how high their demand is, I think Oakland sits on Murphy for another year and waits to trade him next year, like the Marlins did with Realmuto. It also gives them more time to evaluate Langeliers, Soderstrom, and Susac. Vazquez is not as bad as y'all are making him out to be. Sure, he isn't an All Star, but he is a better game-planner, already familiar with our staff (especially Javier). And per Savant, he actually has a higher xBA and lower chase/whiff rate than Contreras. He's not Bench, Piazza, Pudge, etc. but if given consistent playing time he can be a solid bottom of the order hitter who can provide tough ABs and get some hits. There was a time when he was in a 12/14 stretch or something and everyone here was clamoring him to be playing more. How quickly people forget, indeed.
I read CF. If it wasn't a typo, then that would be my tweak. Alvarez makes most of his starts at LF. DH is a work share position and half day off of fielding for hitters. C need an upgrade or at least a backup, preferably the former.
"My Favorite Martin" is a catcher... COACH. "60s sitcom reference" with Bill Bixby and Ray Walston. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056775/
I just realized I have one foot in the grave and the other one is on the banana peel when I reference one of my favorite shows and it's almost 60 years old. At least I'm not trying to play professional ball and demanding a Gazillion Dollars.
Then I'm bringing back Vazquez at 3-27 if I can't sign Contreras. No way do I give up that much pitching for Murphy.
Lee can hit .280 and has caught a no hitter in the WS? If Lee can do that then Crane wouldn't be talking to Contreras. Signing or trading for a vet catcher makes Lee a trade piece and I like Lee.
Maldanado is very smart, and he works VERY well with our pitchers, but he is not an elite defensive catcher.
Vazquez is a mediocre batter and slightly above average catcher. We are looking for an elite bat to pair with Maldanado that will have value to the team when Maldy is catching. Vazquez would be used the same way as last year.
The idea is that Lee isn't ready to start for a contender and may never be. He's looking at a backup role to earn a starting job over time. Contreras would be the primary catcher. I understand the interest, it just depends on what he wants and what other needs would cost you... if Nimmo is getting 5 year 150 offers then it makes sense to move on....
C is certainly a strength on the Astros farm; they have more quality depth at the position than just about any point in the last 20 years. Just because an organization doesn’t have an elite prospect who is completely major league ready doesn’t mean it’s a weakness on the farm. Lee and Diaz are 2 very good catching prospects. They are not elite MLB Top 50 types, and they are not 100% certain to be major league ready. I’m sure the Astros still believe one or both can be solid big league catchers. But neither guy has proven themselves to the point to warrant passing up a more established player for the right value. Lee hit 25 HR in AAA and showed very well defensively. He struck out too much, and that certainly lowered his projection a bit, but it is certainly possible he can improve there, but even if he doesn’t, he still projects as a fringe-regular catcher as an above average defender with power. Judging him on 26 inconsistent MLB plate appearances is silly. Diaz’s offensive MLB projections would put him among the best hitting catchers in the league; his 113 wRC+ projection is very close to Contreras’ 118. It just remains to be seen how viable he can be defensively; the tools appear to be there it’s just a matter of effort and refinement. It’s not that Lee/Diaz aren’t good prospects. It’s that Houston feels they cannot afford the risk of relying on them in 2023 because of where the team is in their competitive window and how important they feel catching is to the pitching staff and defense.
If ok with an overpay to Contreras. It solves a lot of problems for us the next several years. It gives us the ability to be creative. It would require us to carry Lee or Yainer and i love that scenario. I would be ok if that is our final move of the off-season. It would be exciting to get one more bat and one more pitcher, but neither would improve the team as much as Contreras.
His range factor is elite for a catcher. His passed ball issue was NINE pitches all season long. It's entirely possible that's a fluke. His fielding % is above leage average. His pitch framing is still solid. His arm is still ok. His % of runners thrown out is lower but that figure has fluctuated throughout his career. It was 40% in 2021 and 26% in 2022. With the volume that's a difference of 9 plays all season long. I don't think he's gold glove level anymore but he's easily a top 10 defensive catcher.
No doubt Contreras is an upgrade. Lee is young enough to backup Contreras for a couple of years. I absolutely do not want the Contreras contract cited as a reason we don't lock down Javier, Valdez, or Tucker. I put priority in that order because we'll have some replacements for Tucker coming up by then. I still like Nimmo and his likely .400 ob% added to the lineup. He's a lefty and can hit leadoff. We have no great alternative at leadoff if something happens to Altuve.
I like Vazquez a lot, but it seems Houston wants the bat that Willson brings. Vazquez wants more playing time, and Houston will not give him that at catcher. I will say Vazquez was very happy being on this team during the postseason. You could see how invested he was.
