I think you need to give yainer a try at first and give abreu at least 2 weeks off to feel good physically and get his swing feeling better . If we trade to upgrade any part of ML roster I’d prioritize it like : pitching #1 - either a #2-3 starter or a stud RP. You could really shorten games or find good matchups and have ‘hot arms’ so to speak. if salvy Perez is available and the cost isn’t too high Id like to get him. another bat . Prefereably can play 1b and LF . Like mancini lol . How’s he doing this year btw ? breggy not playing great but I don’t think you make a move to move him . Defense and eye at the plate still very good . dubon as a super ulitily guy is not bad . He’s got it goin this year . Does Hensley derseve another look ? Could he play 1st ? bottom line before we make a move we need to see what we got a bit more . it’s almost June dusty , it’s time . I like Jake and Chas in CF . Meyers looks a lot better this season and maybe his pop will come back a bit more . Chas is great baby lefties And can even put up good AB’s agaisnt RH too . granted , I’d def give up prospects if LAA falls off . Getting shohei would be the bomb and he would help shore us up a great deal at this point .
It's all about the 26 man roster and matchups during the season and the top 10-11 position players, and top 8-9 pitchers in the post season. Position players: Altuve, Bregman, Pena, Alvarez, and Tucker are in stone. Meyers really looks like he is coming into his own and we may include him above after a couple more "prove its not just a hot streak" months. If Brantley returns and is effective then a platoon with he and McCormick in LF/DH would be very impressive. If Abreu can hit at even a .750 OPS level from now to the trade deadline then that should be good enough and finish all but catcher. If not then a bat first rental should be brought in like last year. Then Abreu's contract will still give him the starting 1B job next spring to try again. That leaves catcher which simply doesn't look like many options out there. The good news is Maldy is healthier than last year and the team won with him. * Dubon is on the roster. Maybe he is defensive replacement for Altuve to finish games but not one of 10-11 crucial position players in playoffs. Pitching: Framber, Javier, Brown, Pressly, Abreu, Neris, and Maton are in stone. That just leaves a starting pitcher and 5th bullpen arm. McCullers defaults to 4th starter and is OK as long as he is healthy. Nobody else on the roster moves the needle on this. Urquidy? France? This is a big area of opportunity that can be improved and turn this into another all time great playoff staff. A 5th bullpen arm is a luxury that will just take a little pressure off and let everyone sleep a little better. Maton and Stanek both have the ability to pitch their way into this spot but are on the outside looking in now. If the matchup happens to he a team that is right handed heavy then Martinez could be a surprise and a weapon.
It's not even Memorial Day yet " When the baseball season really gets started" Last year, the team had: 4 above average hitters: Yordan(185), Altuve(159), Alex(132), Tuck(127) 3 about average hitters: Chas(109), Pena(100), Diaz(94) 2 below average hitters: Gurriel(83), Maldy(68) This team showed that that recipe can win a championship. This team has the same 4 above average hitters. At this point there is no reason to expect them not to finish at 120+. ( Even If Bregman only has .800 OPS the rest of the season -and he had .891 after June 1st last year- he would get to 120) Maldy is actually slightly better this year, though still bad (77) But it's the other 4 hitters that will determine how far this team goes. Chas (109) has transitioned to Jake (107, but 120 since terrible 1st 2 games) Pena (100) is slightly down (89) but no red flags to expect he won't finish close to 100. Aledmys Diaz (94) was better than Mancini as primary DH and that role goes to Chas (87 after a bit of a slump, 106 career) and Brantley (119 last year, 117 career). That looks to he at least slightly better than 2022. Abreu is the wild card. He has been unsustainably bad (51) but 117 is his career worst and he only needs to replace Yuli's (83) production to match Astros 2022. Just league average- 100- the rest of the year and he should beat that. To me, this all seems very easy and actually likely. And if it comes to pass this team will end the season slightly better offensively than 2022.
To sum that up (Offense only) Top 4 are the top 4. Maldy and Pena should be about the same. Meyers looks to be better than Chas past year. Chas/Brantley should be better but certainly no worse than Diaz last year. Abreu needs to be average the rest of the year to match Yuli from last year.
The more I look and think, the more I feel this team needs another bat to handle RH pitching. Brantley is the key. I think if Brantley isn't back by The ASB then the team will need to make a decision on Gilbert, Dirden, or trading for someone. I still think a starting pitcher is the #1 priority but I'm starting to change my mind about another bat to handle RHP #2. Yankees have Rodon and Cortes. Tampa Bay has McClanahan. No other playoff contenders really have a lefty among their top 3 starters but things change at the deadline. If Boston falls out of the race, I wonder what kind of a package they would want for Sale ( if he is still healthy) and Verdugo?
I was talking about starting pitchers the Astros may face. The context was needing another lefty bat but I got mixed up and started talking about left handed starting pitchers instead if right. So my point- every other starting pitcher besides those 3, lol.
if the Marlins are sellers, we should trade for yuli at the deadline. easiest, cheapest way to rectify their enormous mistakes of not signing him and signing abreu. don't have to spend big assets or make a decision on trying to replace abreu with another bigger ticket 1B. and can transition yuli into starts, rather than having to admit they made a huge mistake and outright replace abreu, which crane would never do this quickly anyway. this is a happy medium, and hopefully it would be apparent that yuli should get all the 1B starts come playoff time. oh, and apologize and extend him cheaply for another 2 years while they are at it.
The Astros are three games out of the division yet Dusty arranges lineups like they're 10 ahead. Now is not the time for the Corey Julks experiment when we already have two above average center fielders who both hit better than Corey. Martin Maldonado has no business playing the 2nd most games of his career when our #2 prospect is a catcher, and the pitchers pitch better when Diaz catches. And after two months, now's especially not the time to have Jose Abreu work through his problems after showing zero improvement through the first 50 games, when the aformentioned #2 prospect already can play first base and we have a utility infielder having the best hitting season of his career. But there's zero chance action comes from above, as the last manager to butt heads with Dusty in any way got fired after winning the World Series and organizing the best Astros draft in years.
On the contrary, this is exactly the time to do all of this. Tons of season left. We haven’t even gotten to the part of the year (last year) where the Yankees were being throned as one of the best teams ever having one of the most historic seasons of all time! No team stays hot throughout the season. It’s also telling that people perceive this team to be struggling while they’ve won 12 out of 15. I’ll be intrigued to see what happens when they finally start to play well!
I think any bat the team gets must be lefthanded. There is no way Abreu is benched. At worst, he starts 1/2 the games if another 1B is brought in. So, let's say trade deadline arrives, Abreu still hasn't turned it around and the team decides they need more production at 1B. There are no LH 1B among the free agents that would be considered an offensive boost. They are all bad, or RH hitters. I think a guy like Seth Brown makes a ton of sense. He is very good vs RH pitchers and can play 1B or LF. He can start vs RH pitching while sitting either Abreu or McCormick. He sits vs Lefties but is a bullet on the bench if a team brings in a RH leverage reliever vs those guys. He is arbitration eligible so won't be cheap but that's when the A's like to unload guys, and they like multiple prospects almost MLB ready rather than blue chippers from lower levels. I would guess Pedro Leon, Shawn Dubin, and Joe Perez would be a good return.
Genuine question—do you really see this offense eventually turning it around and playing consistently well? Alternatively do you see the Rangers offense hitting a huge collective slump?
Now that Altuve is back, the lineup is 11% deeper. If Brantley is healthy for 2bd half that's another 11%. Bregman, Abreu, and Tucker to an extent will be better. That's inevitable. the Astros may not have a top 5 or even top 10 offense when it's all said and done but they will be above average. All offenses have ups and downs. Texas is on an up right now. They will probably be a top 10 or even top 5 but won't hit like this the rest of the season. It's going to come down to pitching and the Astros are MUCH better even with the current injuries. As Long as offense is above average they win the AL West.
Bringing in a declining free agent on a three year 60+ million dollar contract was a big mistake and now you propose to compound that error by bringing in another at the deadline? An internal solution to this problem is the only one that makes any sense. Diaz Julks and Joe Perez all represent significant upgrades to Abreu right now and if we are talking about waiting till the break you could add Loperfido and Dezenzo to that list. Adding three top prospects to the already excessive cost of our lack of a 1st baseman is even more crippling, especially if all you get is player that can only play against RH pitchers.
The Astros aren't nearly as panicky as their fans. Fans have been complaining about this same thing for the past 6 years, alternately freaking out about the A's, Mariners, and Angels depending on the year. But if you do care about winning every game now, it's worth noting that Julks has been way better than Chaz in May. And Maldy has been way better than Diaz in May. And the team has been pitching way better and winning a lot more with Maldy than Diaz in May. So if your concern is about winning now, Maldy and Julks have been better options for the past month.
