Yeah, this is a solid deal for both sides. He can be a work horse behind the plate if healthy, he is also a good defensive catcher and while he really struggles to make contact, he can be a positive hitter because of his power. I wouldn't have minded if the Astros had gone after him.
These are exactly the type of FA the Astros should be chasing right now. Players that, if they don't pan out, don't really hamstring them. And if they do pan out, they can way outperform their contracts.
This team can win the World Series as it is. The 4 things that would improve those chances are: A proven catcher. A LH bat for the OF or DH A starting pitcher as insurance or improved depth A LH bullpen arm. I don't think the current 26 ( projected) roster should be used to fill any of these spots unless it's for a player who improves the same position or a signing adds a surplus Who out there would be a significant and definite improvement over Korey Lee, Yanier Diaz, Jake Meyers, Seth Martinez, Blake Taylor/Parker Mushinski?
Losing a key person when the replacement you want is not readily available is a difficult situation to be in. We need a GM. Basically Crane has 2 choices, hire one or be one. I have always found that in the long run hiring the wrong one is harder to fix than "being one" till you can hire the right one is. Ask me how I know.
This team doesn't need a LH arm in the pen. Vs Left handed hitters (2022) *regular season Stanek .175 avg .264 obp .238 slg .501 ops Neris .205 avg .252 obp .286 slg .538 ops Abreu .189 avg .287 obp .208 slg .494 ops Montero .158 avg .262 obp .246 slg .507 ops Pressly .178 avg .235 obp .278 slg .513 ops Those are dominant #s!!
I agree with you but I have heard the Astros mention it as a want. By the way, you only gave the numbers for 5 pitchers, not 7-8 which is the size of a typical bullpen. It is conceivable that THE RIGHT lefty could help displace the current #7 or #8 on the roster and improve the team.
My current 13 Pitchers: SP1 L Valdez SP2 R Javier SP3 R McCullers SP4 R Brown SP5 R Garcia SP6 R Urquidy CL R Pressly RP1 R Montero RP2 R Abreu RP3 R Neris RP4 R Stanek RP5 R Maton RP6 R Martinez My 13 Position Players 1B R Altuve SS R Pena LF/DH L Alvarez 3B R Bregman RF L Tucker 1B R Abreu DH/C3 R Diaz CF R McCormick C R Maldonado Bench C2 R Lee IF R Hensley OF R Meyers SU R Dubon/Leon I am not concerned about a left handed thrower as long as we have a right handed thrower that can get lefty batters out. I'm not too concerned about a DH because we may very well have no one who reaches 40 starts at DH due to the rest policy. I put Leon in beside Dubon because that's what I want, but left Dubon because that's how I expect the season t start.
2 of 5 prospects with an ETA of 2022 ended up on the active roster (Brown and Lee) 1 of 10 prospects with an ETA of 2023 ended up on the Active roster (Hensley) Hensley graduated from the prospect list.
Leon either wins the starting CF job or is in AAA. He is wasted on the bench when he could be getting still needed experience. Y.Diaz hasn't won a starters job (yet?) and I think the Astros would still like Chas to be a 4th OF. That means Meyers or Leon starts in CF with Chas the most often player in LF when Yordan is in DH. How badly does the team want a 3rd LH bat? Matijevic could make team ahead of Diaz. Since Lee won't DH a 3rd C isn't needed unless he's one of the 13 best players. Altuve 2B Pena SS Yordan DH/LF Bregman 3B Tucker RF Abreu 1B McCormick LF / Matijevic DH Meyers CF Maldy C Lee C Hensley inf Dubon util. I will say that Diaz could beat out Matijevic but that spot is most likely replaced by an off season move. A catcher will be signed to compete with Lee. If minor league deal its 50/50 which makes the team. A regular FA signing beats out Lee unless he has options. My hope is that either Hensley or Bregman can be the backup SS so Dubon can be DFAd if he dies not have a great spring, beating other people out. Pitching is good as is until/unless a signing is made.
