I pushed this narrative earlier today too but he actually had a 2.39 career ERA in the playoffs coming into today over 5 starts.
We can take this discussion a lot of ways. Diaz is a better offensive and defensive catcher and it isn’t close. However, it isn’t Dusty Baker this is making Verlander, Valdez, Javier and Pressly all want Maldonado behind the plate. Those guys all know that Maldonado hurts their chances to win offensively- yet they all privately insist to some degree on having Maldonado catch them.
It’s not just his era in a handful of playoff starts over the last decade. Was he putting guys on base? Who did he face? What were his pitch counts? What was his record? Who was the pitcher on the other side? He had gone 26 innings in 5 starts and had 34 base runners in those 26 innings. He was struggling in a lot of those match ups. He now has 42 base runners in 30 innings in the post season. He can limit damage in small sample sizes but not for long.
Willi Castro from the Twins in the locker room was saying the shadows were hard. You would think he would know how to handle the conditions at his home field.
Wait Bregman has 1 more year before being a free agent and Chapman is a free agent this Winter. Would they go after Chapman and trade Bregman? Or would they keep Bregman and both of them would rotate 3B/DH and then let him leave? Although that's a lot of money. Maybe thinking sign Chapman for free. Trade Bregman and gain some assets. Honestly both will command big money. Might as well stick with what you know. How much better is Chapman's defense?
Nobody will trade anyone who improves the Astros or farm system for the privilege of paying Bregman $30M. It doesn't work that way. The Astros either accept organizational depth type prospects, pay down his contract, or take a bad contract back. That's how it works Trading Bregman is an absolutely terrible idea.
Correct, today was a one off for him and a very impressive display of hitting by the Astros, with Abreu single handedly ruining his outing. If he gets out of the first, who knows if he settles down. Thank you Mr. Abreu.
The disrespect for Bregman on here is goddamm nauseating. His peak years are about to happen. The worst thing he ever did was have that MVP season in 2019 (Screw Trout). Y'all got spoiled. This is the same dude who is obliterating the RBI record in the PLAYOFFS for all third baseman. That's the dude y'all are all too happy to ship off? Jesus.
The short answer is I don’t think it will happen. However I heard they had discussed possibly targeting Chapman in free agency if the money is reasonable. They then could move Bregman for prospects or a player they need. I get the reasoning- if they get Chapman on a multi year deal at a great price, they wrap up 3rd base and then can move Bregman’s money for 2024 and get prospects. I don’t see it happening- Astros made the playoffs and didn’t fall on their faces. Chapman is elite defensively but his bat is too inconsistent.
I responded to Nooks post saying whispers of Chapman replacing him. I also said might as well stick with what we know aka keep Bregman. And knock on wood, he's been healthy the last couple of years so health is no longer an issue
I don’t think Bregman is going anywhere - but the Astros would get more than organizational depth if they decided to move him. There are teams that would gladly pay him 30 million for the commitment of one season and give up MLB talent at another position or a solid prospect return. The ability to plug and play someone as valuable as Bregman at 3rd base would be of a lot of value to contending teams with a window but don’t want to commit to a long term contract.
I knew we weren't going to get lit up by a pitcher with the nickname "Pickles" 35th bday is tomorrow fellas. LFG
