If he didn't have a qualifying offer attached I would be somewhat interested. Hard to give up our 2nd pick and 500k in international money for a guy that threw 109.1 IP because of injuries and wasn't that effective when he did pitch. 3.87 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 1.235 WHIP, 109 ERA+
And is he even a clear improvement over anyone except Urquidy (our #6 SP)? Without the QO, I’d be interested, but I don’t see the point with it.
Ah. Did not realize he had a QO. I knew he was banged up but admittedly didn’t look at his stats. I guess it all comes down to cost…if those hits are factored into his contract it may be a risk/gamble worth taking.
I really like the talent the Astros have. That said, I worry about depth. There are only 9 of 13 position players who are proven commodities. Maldy, Abreu, Altuve, Bregman, Pena, Yordan, Tucker, Chas, and Dubon. Good news: 1) That COULD be a starting lineup. Every position is covered. 2) There are enough talented unproven players to fill the 4 remaining spots. 3) Using the young players instead of veterans extends "the window" and keeps payroll flexibility for trade deadline. Bad news: 1) a 162 game season requires at least 17 position players and likely 20+ ( other than 2020 the last time the Astros used fewer than 20 was 2005 when they used 19) 2) the position player depth in AAA is also quite shallow. 3) the Astros oldest hitter ( Maldonado) is also the most likely to get hurt and plays the position with biggest question marks behind him. I will add a new post with current options for 4 remaining spots.
Who are we making this guy out to be? He's an Urquidy or Garcia. A 4 or 5 in a good rotation. And we have a great rotation.
Yes it’s my concern after watching McCullers career. He gets hurt all the time.. unknown for Brown Losing cy young winner. Pitching should always be a concern
We don't really "need" anything We were the best team in baseball and we upgraded that all ready. just because you have money you don't need to spend it and especially on guys that don't really move the needle.
He was an all star in 2021. I love Urquidy and Garcia but neither have been All Star quality pitchers thus far in their careers. He also lives in Houston. He may have too much mileage/injuries at this point but has elite swing and miss stuff when healthy, and was a TOR arm for a few successful playoff teams. I would trust HOU’s staff to maximize his stuff if the price is right. IIRC, he had elite spin rates.
And yet, in that all-star 2021 season ... Luis Garcia was better than Eovaldi. Eovaldi: 3.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 1.07 K/IP (185 innings) Garcia: 3.30 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 1.07 K/IP (155 innings) The only thing Eovaldi did better is pitch more innings, but that's also one thing he doesn't do well. Garcia's 155 IPs in 2021 is more than Eovaldi had in 9 of the 11 years of his career. Urquidy in 2021 was also better (3.62 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) though only 110 innings. And 2021 was the best of Eovaldi's last 5 or so years.
I agree too BUT I don't worry about the pitching it is just better to have too many arms than not enough. We may have more than enough as is. It would require no more than one of the main 6 starters being in the shelve at a time. There are some innings eaters on the farm too that will most likely get a month or so of work. Even the bullpen is overloaded with guys that need work. The real key is to develop guys through the regular season keep guys fresh and ready for the postseason. That being said adding a veteran arm that they could tweak maybe get 20 starts out of and eat up 120 innings could go a long way to having everybody fresh come post season. Many posts to go I talked about we didn't just lose Justin Verlander's innings we also lost Jake Odorizzi's contribution. So while we are getting Hunter Brown for full season possibly along with Lance being ready at the start you never know how a long season will play out.
Current position players in system behind the 9 guaranteed to make opening day roster ( I'm not arguing Dubon's worth. He's out of options and Astros have a need to keep him) C ) K. Lee: 24 yrs old. .432 OPS in 26 career PA all last year. .790 OPS w/ 25 HR in AAA last year but w/ 28.5% K rate. Positive return to AAA last year Has talent to be MLB starter ( eventually) Y. Diaz: 24 yrs old ( before 2023 season) Only 9 PA in month on Astros roster in 2022 Supremely talented hitter dislikes catching .898 OPS w/ 25 HR and 16.3% K in AA and AAA Has physical tools to be MLB catcher Versatile enough to play 1B and possibly LF/RF. Inf) David Hensley 27 yrs old (before opening day) Very impressive in 16 games last season Made playoff roster Versatile - can play all inf + LF Extremely high floor - low ceiling player. Well rounded offensively speed/power/eye Close to a lock for opening day roster. Dixon Machado 31 yrs old ( before opening day) Signed minor league deal this off season Played 5 games for SF after no MLB since 2018. No organized ball 2020 or 21 .762 OPS w/ 12.2% K for ChC/SF AAA in 2022. .577 career OPS in 177g and 522 PA Plays SS/2B and can play 3B. This year's Nikko Goodrum, Robel Garcia. J.J. Matijevic 27 yrs old Bat over field but can play 1B/LF .582 OPS in 71 PA looked over matched (25 Ks) in 2022 .933 w/ 16 HR and 24% K in 282 PA for Sugar Land. Hits left handed Hit huge HR off Garritt Cole 100 mph fastball Joe Perez 23 yrs old Primarily 3B w some 1B and corner OF Arm and developing power are biggest tools Struck out in only Astros PA last year. .776 w/ 20 doubles and 23.7% K (359 PA) at 3 levels. Finished strong at Corpus Christi. OF) Jake Meyers 26 yrs old Gifted CF w/ below average arm (even before injury) Poor 2022 likely due to shoulder injury in 2021 ALDS. .761 OPS as primary starting CF 2nd half of 2021. Positive 0.5 bWAR in 52 g despite only .582 OPS. That's all the players currently on 40 man or spring invite currently announced.
We definitely could use another starter to eat innings. Other than Framber we don't really have anyone to consistently get deep into games. This will wear out the bullpen over time.
Astros had the best bullpen last year and our bullpen threw fewer innings then any other team. Agree with your point.
