Gore would be great. Idk about Perez and his contract length! Verdugo seems to not have the power the Astros are looking for but a fair .280 hitter. Solar is a .250 hitter and has power but and I mean but not a consistent hitter. Eloy Jimenez issue is health. His issue is also he needs to refine his hitting. Could be fixxed. D. Cease would be great addition but at what cost? Alexis Diaz would be great as an addition. Again his cost will be very high. Name to look at if hitting is the way Luis Arraez. Dude nocks the ball every where just not so much power. Brent Rooker isn't bad again what does Oakland think? Z. WHEELER cost and are the Phillies out? J. Montgomery wouldn't be a bad add. Merrifield that's a guy who can hit and play multiple postions.positions. C. BASSIT looks like an Astro. E. Swanson knows our division.
I disagree about Verdugo. I think he is a perfect players that the Astros would target. True he is only a 15-20 HR kind of guy, but plays good defense, has a great arm, and does not strike out. He also has .899 OPS vs RHP w/ .526 SLG so he is productive despite moderate power. He would be an ideal platoon w/ Chas in LF and the #7 spot if Brantley does not get healthy.
I honestly think Luis Arraez would be better suited in the infield. And Solar for the power bat and post season stats. Verdugo to me hasn't turned it all the way on yet. Sure you can start him in LF. And yes he is better then Julks as we speak. McCormick would be traded if we added Verdugo. Or any OFer of significance. Maybe Julks instead. But alot of signs point to he has the Value to make a team think.
I'm sure Boston would want an MLB ready OF so I agree Chas would be most likely used to obtain him. This may make that a non-starter but I would not be opposed to it. 1) Verdugo has been an everyday starter and hits well enough vs LHP that it would not be tragic. 2) Dubon and Meyers both hit LHP well so could cover LF and CF vs LHP if they wanted to sit Verdugo. 3) Yordan could play LF vs LHP allowing Altuve to DH and Dubon to play 2B. 4) Julks is close to average vs LHP and would be much better overall if he sat vs most RHP Chas is just too much like Meyers and does hit RHP well which is what this team is weak at and trying to improve. So I would be OK with that trade as long as other prospects balance the value out.
Who is the main prospect you are giving up for Verdugo? McCormick would not be the center piece of that trade. We all know who every team is going to want in a trade. Spencer Arrigheti. I will be somewhat surprised if the Astros acquire anyone that isn't a rental because they really need their top prospects to be big parts of the MLB roster going forward.
Actually, I was expecting Boston to add a prospect, not Houston (if 1 was needed) Verdugo has 1 year of control left. He has averaged 1 WAR every 204.2 PA in his career and 107.8 PA this year. Chas has 3 years of control left. He has averaged 1 WAR every 190.2 PA for his career and 137.5 PA this year. From a production standpoint they are very similar players. Boston may view Chas as a less valuable player because of his platoon splits and never being an everyday starter, but he has performed at that level despite not being used as a platoon player vs LHP. But if you look at on field production and years of control, Chas is the more valuable player in a trade, not Verdugo. That's why if any prospects were included they would come back from Boston.
I really don’t think we need a bat. Just play Diaz. Abreu is coming back. He has been hitting the ball hard into some bad luck. If you want to improve our lineup just convince Dusty to retire. Diaz is the real deal, Maldonado gets worse and worse. Against LHP: Altuve 2b Pena SS Alvarez DH Bregman 3b Tucker RF Diaz C Abreu 1b McCormick LF Meyers CF Against RHP Altuve 2b Pena SS Alvarez Lf Bregman 3b Tucker RF Diaz C Abreu 1b Brantley/Dubon DH Myers CF Even if Dusty remains Diaz should be playing at least 4 out of every five games 3 at catcher. I don’t really think position players need a lot of rest, unless they are getting long in the tooth. But you can have plenty of rest days for Abreu, Altuve, Brantley using Dubon, McCormick and Diaz.
Aa a fan I love this. As a realist who pays attention, I know that 1) outside of injury there is no way Diaz plays more than 30% of games at catcher. It's just simply how it is. 2) No way Dusty hits Abreu 7th, or behind a rookie. 6th is the lowest you will ever see him regardless of who is in the lineup. He will hit Tucker behind him before dropping him below 6th.
Yeah, I know. I just like to dream every once in a while. Diaz needs steady playing time and I think he will become a great hitter. If he was our starting catcher, I truly believe he would be a rookie of the year candidate.
Agreed. And I think a terrible opportunity was lost. Diaz should have had at least 8-10 starts at DH over the past 9 weeks with Salazar on the roster. Diaz is without question one of the 6-7 most talented hitters on this team. Everything Yordan was in LF, Diaz should have DH'd unless one of the starters were there to get a 1/2 day off. Putting Julks at DH while Diaz rode the pine was borderline embarrassing and very frustrating.
Verdugo is on pace for a 5.7 WAR season. McCormick is on pace for a 2.2 WAR season. Just because McCormick MIGHT put up more WAR during his team control versus Verdugo's remaining team control doesn't mean Chas will be valued higher than Verdugo in a trade.
Red Sox have DFA'd Raimel Tapia. He's actually quite good vs RHP and can play all 4 OF positions, though weak in RF. No power but good contact and speed. Doesn't strike out much. Would be a big upgrade over Julks especially with Chas still on the roster so he isn't needed vs LHP. Not "The" answer, but a cheap improvement. He can likely be had for a lottery ticket or mid level prospect like Jayden Murray or J.J. Matijevic.
Verdugo is going to be somewhat expensive. Dirden, Melton, Gordon, Leon type expensive. 2 or 3 of these type guys.
Disagree with this. Didn't you just quote what WAR the player MIGHT get to defend your position while using the same thing to discount mine? Bottom line Chas has been very close, or better than Verdugo per game or PA and has 2 more years of control. The only reason I would trade Chas is that the team needs more production vs RHP. Otherwise I think Chas is better and, without question, a more valuable trade chip.
Well we just disagree. Verdugo is an All-Star outfielder right now. He has the 6th highest OPS amongst qualifying outfielders in the American League. 1.5 years of a player on pace for a 5.7 WAR season is going to be valued more than 3 years of a 2ish WAR player. Chas hasn't been able to secure a full time starting job. Blame Dusty or whomever you want but that hurts his value. You do realize Kyle Tucker has never put up a 5 WAR season. That's the kind of year Verdugo is having.
We can agree to disagree. We are both just Astros fans. As for Verdugo's year? I do see what you are saying but don't agree that he is as valuable as those stats make him look. In short, I disagree with the stats and Baseball sites. He has 124 OPS+ and on pace for 175 R+RBI (I put them together because different players and batting orders result in 1 over another) He has never had more than 113 (aside from the short 2020 season) or 161. He has never had more than 2.1 fWAR before. It's reasonable to expect some regression and pay for the entirety of his MLB history and projected future (2.8 fWAR next season per ZIPS) rather than pay based on a career 1/3 of a year. As far as him doing better than Tucker, Kyle equaled or bettered almost every stat he is on pace for each of the past 2 years, despite "never putting up a 5 WAR season" (5.7 bWAR and 5.3 bWAR those years so obviously you were referencing fWAR) so his 5.7 WAR pace may not be as good as it looks. Just my viewpoint. Obviously I like him since I suggested him but I don't think his career year is the sum of his projected trade value. I see him as a borderline all-star having a great year.
Alex Verdugo has one year left and Chas has three years left. Having said that, one year may be enough for the Astros to give up good value for Verdugo because the Astros really need a steady bat and the Astros best prospects in the minor leagues are outfielders. My best guess is that the Astros would give up solid but not spectacular value for someone like Verdugo who can hit anywhere in the line up. Altuve Pena Bregman Alvarez Tucker Verdugo Abreu Meyers Maldonado
I don't disagree with anything you said in this post. To me the value you just explained is still more than Chas in my opinion. Verdugo hits for more average, gets on base more, and this year their slugging % is nearly identical. Verdugo also strikes out only 13.7% of the time compared to McCormick at 25.5%. The K% isn't a fluke either. In 2021 it was 15.9% and last year it was 13.4% for Verdugo. Verdugo would be a great fit for the Astros. MASSIVE improvement over Julks. I think the cost will be pretty high IF he is even available. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Red Sox extend him.
I would give up Spencer Arrigheti for Alex Verdugo. I get this year and next year from Verdugo in exchange for a AA pitcher that could be solid, but also has a ways to go. The Astros still have a window, and getting a guy that is very solid with the bat and glove for at least this and next year is a real win. I then don't have to find someone to replace Brantley - I just need to find someone for 1st base if Abreu doesn't post an OPS of over .700 over the next month or so. That also gives me a very deep outfield and I can trade someone like Chas McCormick if I need to or can play him if Meyers falters. A defensive outfield of: Verdugo Meyers Tucker is pretty damn good.
