Unless I'm mistaken the only payroll coming off the books next season is Brantley/Stanek/Neris/Maton/Maldy. Crane has said countless times he's willing to take on salary (going into luxury tax) but saying it and doing it are two different things. He's yet to do it. So taking on payroll this yr in a rental isn't a big deal but beyond that? I'll believe it when I see it. The bullpen already needs to be addressed next yr (losing Neris/Stanek/Maton) and if Montero doesn't get his $h!t together he may be replaced as well. Plus you're looking at Framber and Tuck getting big bumps in ARB so again I'm going to sit back and see how Dana Brown and Crane handle the trade deadline this year (rentals vs yrs left on a contract) given where the payroll will be next season.
Payroll projects roughly equal with this season, assuming Neris picks up his $8.5M option. I think they have ~$20 to spend this season so they should have some room again next season, and that’s not counting if Crane is willing to go over the tax threshold. Extending Altuve and backfilling the bullpen will be offseason priorities. They may also make extension offers to Framber, Tucker, Bregman, Abreu, and Urquidy, although I wouldn’t consider any of those to be likely. I guess the takeaway from all that is the Astros have money to spend, and taking on arbitration eligible players is doable, but they won’t be trading for any 9 figure contracts.
Right - but in a trade, you get something back. So it's not just "don't trade Diaz". It's "what do I get in exchange". Making a good trade is about value and finding areas where you value one of your players less than another team and they value one of theirs less than you do. If the Astros think Diaz is best suited to be a DH/1B (and the Astros have Abreu the next 3 years and prefer Yordan at DH, plus they have to fit in Brantley for this year if he returns), and they can trade him to someone who thinks he's a true catcher, they can extract more value from him than they (the Astros) think he's worth. For example, another team might have an outfielder that's the equivalent of Diaz. They want a catcher; the Astros want an outfielder. The Astros are giving up a DH to get an equivalent OF. The other team is giving up an OF to get an equivalent C. That's a win-win for both teams.
Long story short: If Diaz's future is at C, there's no way you trade him. If Diaz's future is at 1B/DH, then you can trade him. None of us have a clue, that's why Brown and the scouts get paid the big bucks.
Not necessarily. You could trade Diaz for another rookie, for example. Then both teams get 5 or 6 years of control or whatnot. Or you could trade him for an star player with a few years of control on a team going nowhere that wants to reload. There's nothing that says a traded player has to be in their contract year, and I can't imagine Diaz would be traded for anyone like that, even if they don't view him as a catcher.
Didn’t Dana already said it looks like we have our future catcher…like over a month ago? He’s got elite arm strength and pop time…it’d be insane not to use him as a catcher.
LOL you’re not getting Cease and Robert for Diaz and Gilbert. Edit: That’s not even close to enough for Robert alone. If not for Ohtani, he might be leading the AL MVP race. He plays a premium position, is elite defensively and he’s only 25 years old with 4 more years left on a favorable contract. I’d trade Diaz, Gilbert and Chas in a heartbeat for Robert.
We are Anything that starts with Diaz would be a good way towards being enough for Robert. Diaz is going to be a top 5 catcher in two years.
Robert might have more value than Soto when he was traded last year…did you see what the Nationals raked in? I love Diaz but Robert has been a borderline top 5 PLAYER this year. Edit: He’s only a year older than Diaz and he was a top 3 prospect in baseball before his call up at only 22.
Robert might have more value than Soto when he was traded last year…did you see what the Nationals raked in?
I would rather keep Diaz and Gilbert. Cease and Robert have too many warts and do not fill any glaring needs for the Astros.
Lol Robert is on pace for 45 bombs and a 6+ WAR season with 4 years control while being barely older than Diaz. All while playing elite CF defense. Yeah…definitely wouldn’t help us. Edit: People on this board overvalue our prospects WAY too much. Gilbert hasn’t exactly torn up AA either.
Soto had the most value of any player in the history of MLB that was traded. Robert has too many red flags to be on the same level maybe three or four rungs down.
None of his injuries have been something that would worry you long term. You think the White Sox are taking Diaz and Gilbert for Robert and Cease too?
