Acquiring Varsho only makes sense if you think he can make it as your primary catcher moving forward. As a CF I don’t see much of an upgrade over McCormick or Meyers in spite of his 4 WAR season last year.
I prefer Alek Thomas to Varsho. But Astros/Diamondbacks seems to be an awkward fit as trade partners. The valuable pieces they would be interested in are likely to contribute to winning in 2023. Not like Astros top prospects (that aren’t outfielders) are in A ball or something.
Haven't watched Varsho...but is there any general opinion on why his power and walk rate has translated well from the minors but his batting average has dropped almost 70 points? He doesn't really seem to be much of an upgrade over Chas unless they think he will start hitting closer to .300 like he did in the minors. He's actually right in line with Chas on his batted ball metrics from statcast. Equal avg distance, Chas slightly higher exit velo, Chas a good bit higher hard hit %, and equal barrels per batted ball event. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/lead...022&position=&team=&min=q&sort=6&sortDir=desc I guess platooning him would be good with the lefty righty splits of him and Chas and the positional flexibility is really nice since he can play catcher. Am I missing something else with Varsho or does that sound about right?
He has caught 41 and 31 games the last two seasons. He has thrown out a solid amount of runners though. Back in 2019 he caught about 80 games. He is a useful player, but he isn't exactly a talented hitter. I love his glove, but I am not giving up the names being mentioned for him.
Maybe not yet. But after Brown ascends into the majors, Gilbert easily becomes our top prospect. And with Tucker looking like he has no interest in an extension, Gilbert is nearly untouchable to me.
Not even Leon? Are you confident he'll find a way to improve his K numbers? 27% in AAA followed by 34% in the Winter Leagues is not exactly encouraging. And his BA is near Mendoza levels. But apparently AZ is high on him (but he alone won't be enough).
Exactly Varsho has value, especially to a RHH heavy team that values defense. But he is a Maldy level black hole vs LHP ( .615OPS career, .553 in 2022) But if the other team values him as an everyday starter and expects that kind of a return then its a pass for me. I have no issue with Leon (especially with the glut of outfielders at the top of prospect rankings in the system), Paredes (who appears blocked and reportedly wants a trade), and a couple other top organizational prospects. Brown's potential and Lee's position (lack of options in system)right now keep them from being dealt. I would even be okay with Garcia or Urquidy only if it reduces the other pieces AND another major league starter is signed But I fully expect Arizona to expect too much.
I haven't delved deep into his numbers. I knew of him in the minors because his dad was a big -leaguer years ago. The thing that stands out to me is that his strikeouts are a lot higher than in the upper minors. If he can cut his strikeouts down to under 100, and his walks creep up, then he can possibly get you an OPS closer to 800. Right now it is the BA and OBP that are red flags to me.
Leon? Yes I would give up Leon as long as the PD signs off on it. I am not giving up Brown or Javier for him and not Leon on top of other players.
I'm getting annoyed with the trade talk while the Astros are coming off a World Series win and 35 million under the tax... Sign Vazquez Sign Brantley or Conforto Save the trades for the deadline.
Absolutely not. Varsho - defensively- is among the best handful of CF in baseball but a mediocre catcher who can not throw. In 2023 with the larger bases, I fully expect stolen bases to increase so his value as catcher will be even less His value is as a perennial gold glove contending CF who can be an emergency catcher to help the roster in a pinch.
It tells me that the Astros are not confident in the what is left on the free agent market. It could be the cost.... the Blue Jays just threw 3/63 at Bassitt to be their #4 starter.
Looks like Braves got Murphy for Muller, Contreras, Tarnok, and Yeager. Muller is their #2 prospect and Tarnok is their #9 prospect. Yeager is a throw-in. So for an Astros equivalent, I would say Whitley, McCormick, Dubin, and Ty Brown. That would have been a very fair/good deal for Houston.
Agreed, but remember that the A's are very different than most teams when it comes to evaluating prospects. Their "list" deviates quite a bit from the list most teams have. Sometimes it pays off for them and sometimes it does not. My guess is that there are a player or two the A's over valued compared to the general consensus.
The trade market seems to be just as ludicrous as the free agent market. Brown or Javier + prospects for Varsho, who has red flags in BA, SO, OBP, OPS+? Are you serious? Bryan Reynolds is the only one currently on the trade market I’d give up that package for.
Anderson is on a down year but he's in the same conversation as Luis Garcia... Adames down from a career year.... On second glance, Adames may be decent comp for Pena...
It is comical to me that the Astros may end up well under the CBT when it's all said and done when one of the primary justifications for ousting their GM a week after winning the World Series was his inability/disinterest in making big deals. Like, how differently would this off-season had gone if Click were still running things?
