Pitcher A: 67-68 4.16ERA 1.322WHIP 7.6K/9 2.5BB/9 Pitcher B: 74-69 3.99ERA 1.248WHIP 8.4K/0 3.1BB/9 Everyone here was pretty happy to see pitcher B gone in what was basically a salary dump.
Eovaldi gives you depth and innings with the upside of being nasty in the pen in the playoffs or being a high talent arm that can possibly get high leverage hitters out in the playoffs. That has real value for any team, but especially the Astros. I am not saying the Astros will sign him or even should sign him, but I would feel more confident with another arm with a track record of success and with really good stuff. He is perhaps a luxury, but that type of pitcher to have is nice. I suspect he will end up elsewhere for more money. The Astros have over 40 million dollars available still. My guess is that may wait until the deadline if they don't get Conforto..... but I could see an argument that can be make that the Astros could decide to split that money between Conforto and Evoldi with the idea that they would then have enough internal pitching to fix any issues on that side of the field and that with Conforto, they have enough depth to deal with any injuries. Evoldi also has the stuff to do multiple roles.
Agreed...... but you come and tell me that one of them has to pitch in the playoffs, you know who I will take. I agree with your wider point but there is a lot of context to it all.
I'm just a fan from Idaho. Plenty of folks here have more/better information than I do, but. . . Hensley can absolutely play 2B ( and 3B). SS is one of his primary positions and he did play there for the Astros last year. He is so tall I'm not sure if the Astros feel he can play more than a few games there per season or whether he will age out of it. He can do it mow but I don't know how effectively or how long. I would appreciate input from some who have better knowledge than I do. Thanks.
2B Altuve SS Pena LF/DH Yordan 3B Bregman RF Tucker 1B Abreu DH/LF (empty) CF McCormick C Maldonado INF Hensley C Diaz and/or Lee OF Meyers and/or Dubon INF/OF (empty) SP Valdez SP Javier SP McCullers SP Brown SP Garcia SP Urquidy RP Pressly RP Montero RP Abreu RP Stanek RP Neris RP Maton RP Martinez After looking at this again, there are only AT MOST 2 spots available on this roster, and both are on the lineup side. If you bring in another starting pitcher, either a current starting pitcher has to move to the bullpen (which would bump a reliever off the roster) or a starter/reliever has to be traded. What starter/reliever on the market would you take right now over any of our pitchers at their costs? Keep in mind that if you sign a starting pitcher, that's $10 million+ that you don't get to use on your lineup. I don't believe there are ANY relievers or starters that can justify their higher costs over what we have right now. Urquidy, Garcia, Maton and Neris are our average arms and they are all backend of our bullpen/rotation. The only gaps we have are at DH/LF and utility INF/OF. The utility INF/OF is debatable because it's entirely possible, even probable, that we carry 3 of Meyers, Dubon, Lee and Diaz. I keep coming back to Kris Bryant because he gives you the most flexibility in roster construction. Adding an elite bat at the #7 spot in the lineup allows you to let things play out with your younger players.
1. Altuve 2. Bregman 3.Alvarez 4. Abreu 5. Tucker 6. Conforto 7.Pena 8. McCormick 9. Maldonado Hensley/Dubon/Meyers/Lee 1. Valdez 2. Javier 3. McCullers 4. Garcia 5. Eovaldi 6. Urquidy Brown/Neris/Stanek/Montero/Abreu/Pressly That leaves one spot on the 26 man roster for someone else in bargain bin free agency or the minors. The payroll would be right at the tax level.
And that's the big question. The Astros have: Starters: 3 established starters who have the stuff to an opponent's nightmare in the playoffs: Framber, Javier, and McCullers. 2 who have the stuff and potential to join them but are not there yet: Garcia and Brown 1 starter who is a consistent unspectacular innings eater that is crucial to GET TO the playoffs but not important IN the playoffs: Urquidy. Bullpen: 4 elite proven performers with top of the scale stuff that will play in the postseason in any high leverage situation: Pressly, Abreu, Montero, Neris. 2 pitchers who have elite stuff but not the consistency or trustability to perform in high leverage: Stanek, Maton. 1 pitcher who is elite vs RH batters but a liability vs LH so usuable depending on the matchup: Martinez. Ideally some combination of Garcia, Brown, Stanek, and/or Maton take a step forward bringing the playoff staff up from 7 deep to 9+ deep. Also Garcia or Brown are highly likely to be top tier bullpen options even if they don't step up as starters. But the question is: Do the Astros stand pat hoping for this and getting through the regular season with Urquudy, Bielak, and maybe a guy like Murray? Or signing an innings eater #4-5 type guy? Or do they identify a guy who can automatically add to the 7 sure fire playoff arms they have? I think if it's the latter then wait for the trade deadline and hope some prospects stand out and raise their trade value.
Funny thing is Urquidy who is our worst starter is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in the world series. The guy shows up when needed and our pitching staff is still stacked and all have tons of post season experience. There is not a choker in the bunch now with Verlander gone.
This is as much as a medical decision as a line up decision. The last two seasons he averaged about 350-400 PAs per season. That doesn't bother me because we can use a quality bat at DH/3B/OF. But as his dWAR keeps falling, he is better suited for DH. But his cost should reflect that role. The only estimate I can find is about $9M per years value with a $27M annual Salary. 18x6=$108 and the Trade game calculates $110M. Unless I see otherwise, we should recoup most of the difference if we go that route. If our medical people think that's an over reaction, then our value would differ on the calculation. I would not expect money to come back, but they do have some high value prospects (Tovar and Romo) they could add which would immediately jump to near the top of our prospect list. But that would be hard to swallow for Colorado. In 2025, Tovar at 2B, Bryant at 3B and Romo at C would be nice if we cannot retain Altuve, Bregman and a short term C.
It's not that the Astros haven't signed any big names after Abreu, it's that they haven't signed anybody at all...however I told myself if they won another championship I wouldn't complain, so I have to keep my mouth shut...
Going into the World Series, I was like just win and I don't care what happens next season, I'll be happy for 2022. They win the World Series, they retain Montero and signed Abreu and are 1 of the favorites again and I'm like DAMN IT, THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING SINCE ABREU BUT OTHER TEAMS HAVE!!! But Benintendi, Conforto still out there and trades could still happen and still months away from the season. I just need to enjoy the off season, occasionally watch the post season highlights, smile and be happy.
Yes that is funny but small sample sizes can be funny. There is much to be said for preparation, execution, and determination But I think we can all agree that Urquidy does not have top level "stuff" Brandon Backe came to mind.
3 WS series wins out of 5 appearances is a larger sample size than 99 percent of pitchers in MLB history.
Agreed. And if we wait, we might know what our biggest need is going into the playoffs. There is always a surprise, like Pena performing, Brantley going down or Meyers not being ready coming off his injury. And I challenge anyone to name the pitcher who was harmed by the six pitcher rotation. Any griping about the routine seems laughable now.
Forcing Brown to the pen just to add depth is bad for Brown's development and usage in 2023, IMO. If we go Conforto over Bradley, OK, but Bradley is likely their man, don't you think?
