The Dodgers are looking for a RH hitting OF. They picked up Marisnick and now he hurt his hammy after 4 days. Jake Meyers for Jason Heyward and Caleb Ferguson?
A whole lot. The White Sox ownership and front office were/are very bitter at how the team has played the last few seasons, and a lot of the Hispanic players (including Robert) were blamed for a poor locker room and lack of effort ........ they also were blamed by LaRussa. Since then, Robert has taken off and arguably in a franchise player - so I have no idea what the cost would be. How much disdain does ownership/Willians and Hahn have for Roberts, Jiminez and Moncada? What I can tell you with 100% certainty is that the Astros expressed interest in Robert and Cease, and the White Sox have listened and some hypotheticals have been thrown out - and it has been more than one conversation. I still think it is unlikely - but stranger things have happened before.
Robert and Cease in a package? Say bye to Chas McCormick, Luis Garcia, Gilbert and two other prospects... maybe more. Chas and Luis are locked in till 2026 so that's pretty huge. What would the cost be for that package Nook?
Jeremy Pena and Drew Gilbert are very marketable players, on top of being potential star players. If the White Sox were to trade Cease and Robert in a package, they would likely be hard pressed to find another team offering 2 players with that combination of talent, marketability, and MLB-readiness. Add in Jake Meyers who carries a very high floor, and a pitcher (whether Garcia, Urquidy, Brown, France, or Arrighetti), and I start having a hard time seeing another team offering a clearly superior package of MLB-ready talent. The hard part is not seeing Houston give up Pena or Gilbert or seeing it as fair; the hard part is seeing Chicago pull the trigger on something that would very likely enrage their fan base (even further) in the short term. “On paper”, Pena is as valuable as Robert (after factoring in Robert’s contract), and Meyers is as valuable as Cease. So the value is there, just a matter of if Chicago is really intent on capturing it and enduring the backlash.
And the Angels will laugh all the way to division. Contention in 2024+ because Texas mortgaged the future. Depending on who from current Texas roster must be included, though, they could be nearly unstoppable. My predictions 1) not traded 2) Orioles 3) D'Backs
Needless maneuvers is exactly what they are. The Astros have difference makers who can single-handedly determine the outcome of any game. There is no need to tear down a team that is a winner to pick up two players that leave us weaker after spending the cost of acquiring them. What we "need" is a temporary patch to the rotation that can pitch out of the pen in the play-offs and a bat that can be a fourth out fielder that has no dramatic splits based on handedness. I question the validity of those as more than niceties. So I am weighing in on giving up key core players, and arguing that it is not worth the cost. I think that is a legitimate position and well worth consideration. I do not believe there is a bat available at any cost that moves the needle more than Alvarez and adding him back is the biggest difference making move that could be made. All we have to do is relax for a few days and that one will be done. The same can be said of our pitching staff. It will be full if we are just a little patient and it will cost us nothing.
For Ohtani, my money will always be on the Dodgers and Yankees to “win” those types of situations. But it certainly wouldn’t shock me to see him end up with the Rangers.
It would be funny if Brown/Houston made a gigantic trade this week to force the Rangers to destroy themselves getting Ohtani just to keep pace.
As an Astros fan I would be enraged to see Pena and Gilbert given up for Cease and Robert. The difference in value is more than just on paper. To add insult to injury you suggest that we would have to add in Jake Meyers and a starting pitcher to make this happen. Insulting indeed.
The Astros are 4.5 games behind the Rangers and only 1.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. The Astros are actually behind the Blue Jays right now. The Astros cannot even consistently play well against poor teams right now. Every year is different - and 2023 isn't 2022. Robert is a centerfielder under multiple years of control and Cease has several years of control. Cease would be the Astros second best pitcher and Robert would be the best player on the Astros right now. So I don't know where you get temporary from or even patch. You make longer term fixes when you have an opportunity to improve your team in the present and future. The Astros don't have a 6 man staff. Right now the Astros have an ace........ an exhausted #2 pitcher and a bunch of rookies and a journeyman in their rotation. If the outfield can put up more wins than any other outfield - then something is off because we are on pace to win like 89 games. Abreu is under contract for two more years........ Bregman isn't even 30 and Altuve is only 33 years old.... A little nudge? No the Astros have a real need for another quality starter, a couple arms in the pen and a left handed bat. Will they get all of those pieces in trade? Unlikely - but trading someone like Jake Meyers for a couple quality relievers with multiple years of control is smart...... so are a number of other deals being discussed.
Two big issues I would have including Pena in a deal, even if the deal was for Robert/Cease, who are studs 1. We have no replacement for Pena anywhere in the system. We have very little talent that is close to ready now on the farm, and none of it is as an every day SS. I know some will say Dubon, but here is the truth on Dubon. Compared to expectations, he has been awesome. Way better than we expected. He is sitll a guy sporting a .687 OPS though and a terrible .301 on base (dude should not be leading off but that's another story) 2. Pena has performed best when the brightest lights have shined. The current crop of Astros has made us forget a history of having studs who did not perform well on the biggest stage. Personally I am a believer that some rise in those situations, and some simply don't (I'm sure plenty of people don't believe this). We have a guy here who already has an ALCS MVP and a World Series MVP trophy I suppose if you are close you could try to get them to sell ultra low on Anderson and include him. Dude has been terrible this year but has talent obviously, and only owed 14 mill next year on a club option. I just personally wouldn't include him in a deal unless I had another deal in place to bring in a quality SS
Never say never, but we'd need to get a SS. Though I suppose in a CWS hypothetical we could take back Anderson. I certainly don't like the idea of Dubon as the every day SS.
Trade or signing? If trade, didn't a report come out the other day that said Angels won't trade him to the Dodgers and Dodgers also said they never believed they were going to beable to trade for him? What about the Giants?
I like Meyers a lot. But let's just hold the phone on "he's as valuable as Cease" talk. Cease is essentially equal to Framber. Is Meyers equal to Framber?
Both trade and signing. The smart money is on a team trading for Ohtani partially because they believe it will give them an advantage in signing him. I believe the Giants are a major factor in signing him but not as much trading for him.
I simply do not agree. Our bat and our starting pitching will be addressed by nothing more than waiting a few days for Altuve Alvarez and Urquidy. If I was prioritizing the changes we need to make I would have to say that manager is at the top of my list. I believe that the players are no longer motivated by his antics. Poor utilization of assets has left our pitching staff worn down and demoralized. These are issues Dusty has carried with him throughout his interminable career.
