Right. In all this discussion of potentially adding Robert/Cease and/or trading Brown/Pena, it goes without saying that that kind of move only makes sense if the Astros feel pretty confident that Brown isn’t going to develop into a true ace SP and Pena is not going to turn into full time 2022 playoff Pena. And they should only pay the steep price to add a guy like Cease if they feel pretty good that they can get him back into top form.
Nothing good will happen if this type of rumor gets leaked to the press. Now, I guess, either Espana is the Astros manager or he is lokking for his next job.
best case scenario Crane leaked it because he was planning to hire Espada and wants to give impression it was what Dana wanted (for relationship reasons or otherwise)
I doubt Crane, or anybody else who works there, really cares about what the fan interpretation of what these decisions are? If they want Espada to know who was pushing for him, they’ll just tell him that (not let him find out about it via the media). My guess is that the decision has been made by all parties involved, and it obviously has to be made official by the team (i.e. - Crane).
Given how few CF and SS are available, I wonder what the market for Dubon would be. If Houston really is intent on staying below the CBT threshold and if a team is willing to value him like a solid everyday CF or SS, and if Houston is high on Kessinger (and their reserve OF), then that might be a way to save a few bucks and get a good young pre-arb player.
I agree that Dubon is easily replaceable and about as valuable as he ever will be. Perfectly good guy to hold on to but trade him if a team is willing to value him as a starter
I imagine his value is comparable to what Joey Wendle’s was when TB traded him to Miami a couple of years ago. Miami sent OF Kameron Misner, their #11 prospect at the time who I would compare in value to somebody like Pedro Leon. That’s an interesting return but probably not enough to warrant trading Dubon.
“ The Astros are $4,223,968 under the CBT!!! Houston has 4.2M to spend on relievers and Diaz's backup if Jim Crane wants to stay under the Luxury Tax. ”
I'm pretty sure Verlanders salary paid by the Mets doesn't count towards our CBT, or at least that's what was reported. That would open up over 30 million.
