There are 89 games left. This season is not over. This team has all star level players in all aspects of the game. 2 months ago this team won 7 of 9 vs the Rays, Braves, and Blue Jays. 1 month ago they won 8 in a row. This team CAN still win the World Series this year but changes need to happen soon or that chance will be gone.
This team is very reminiscent of the 2004 team where the team was super talented headed in the all-star break but incredibly underperforming with a manager that the fan base started to turn on...
Are they though? I'm not a Dusty apologist (I disagree with his game management decisions the same as you guys), but it's been less than a year since he won a WS. Are you saying we won it in spite of him (I actually think he managed the playoffs just fine for the most part). With all that said, isn't he only one a 1 year contract (2 at most). We'll end up with a new manager with a new group of youngsters arrive that's for certain.
If Yordan really is out till the end of July, I think they seriously need to see what they can get now. This offense is 2016 levels of bad.
The Astros last year basically had a very easy roster to manage regarding playing time outside of CF, Mancini v. Diaz v. Gurriel, and Vasquez v. Maldy. Click had to intervene in the postseason for CF (or Dusty made a radical change in thought late last year in favor of Chas only to play Julks over Chas a lot this year), and Mancini and Diaz ended up sucking making that an irrelevant decision. I tend to think the other guys made more of an impact on winning than Maldy.
I think a key to winning with Dusty Baker as manager is to not have any weak hitters on the roster. Gotta have at least 12 of the 13 guys as average or better hitters.
I really liked the idea to make a final offer to Tucker and then either sign him and trade Gilbert / Leon / Meyers, or trade Tucker if he doesn’t take it. The system is unbalanced and it is a seller’s market. Perfect time to cash in some OF chips to upgrade pitching or 1B.
The idea of trading Tucker, Framber, or Bregman is resoundingly unpalatable… but this will be a crazy buyers market and may not be a bad time to reset our organization. I would hate to lose any of them, but such is the nature of the beast.
I’d for sure hold on to Framber, to reload and compete the next 2 years. Bregman probably has less value than the fan base thinks so I think he stays put. I’m really intrigued at the idea of getting a massive package for Tucker, he’s not a part of the long term future, if they can get a couple of elite prospects for him I think it would pay off in the long term. This is all assuming we don’t get things turned around by the trade deadline.
Bregman and Framber are different. We don’t have good replacements for either. Tucker is, while not expendable, at least replaceable by Chas, Gilbert, Leon, etc. There would be a drop off, but presumably more than compensated by the return of the trade. It is an asset rebalancing, not a timeline reset.
I don’t think Tucker is replaceable quite yet. Chas and certainly Leon cannot be counted on to replace his value. Gilbert possibly…but prospects fizzle out at a resoundingly high rate, which is my concern with trading Tucker to begin with. He is a known, star quality player and will be so for a decade to come. There is something to be said for having a star player and knowing he is dependable. Tucker has stayed healthy and relatively consistent throughout his career. While it’s possible that the prospects he can bring in would be just as good one day, it’s just as likely that they all fall flat on their face. This is similar to when we traded Hunter Pence, except the organization is in a very different place. I think I would prefer to hold onto our pieces and not trade them, and trust Dana Brown to restock our farm through the draft. But that’s my two cents, and I’m not the Astros GM.
Unfortunately I think Crane’s competitive nature will not allow a soft rebuild. It’s also a bummer that Bregman and Tucker aren’t playing well as that likely would affect their value if the Astros were open to selling. If things don’t turn around, the best thing Houston can probably do this deadline is trade for a good reliever with more than one year of control remaining without giving up major prospect value. Their team still projects to be very good next season and they have prospects on track to replace their pending free agents (Gilbert for Brantley, Lee for Maldy) outside of the bullpen.
Lol... the team despite no JV, McCullers, Urquidy, Garcia, Altuve for two months, no Yordan till the end of July is in the thick of the AL WIld Card race. It would be one of the dumbest things Crane could ever do giving up on a season in late June while still in it. It's not happening. Urquidy and Alvarez will be back soon. Trades will be made and then they can discuss the possibility of trading Bregman or Tucker in the offseason. EDIT: It's hard to go B2B and stay relevant this long. Not being hampered by these massive deals has allowed for the possibility/a chance at continuing this dominant run. The Yankees and some of these other teams with massive deals are struggling too. The bottom feeders of MLB aren't bottom feeders anymore. In the end, Astros will be ok.
