I just don't think the market is unified enough and demand is high enough for corner OFs that lying about need is warranted or productive. Considering the likely limited budget the Astros FO has for adding players (i.e., Crane has likely set a soft budget around the luxury tax) and needs elsewhere, OF probably is not as big a priority to Brown as it is to a lot of fans. If the Astros get an OF, it will likely be someone like Brantley or someone shockingly great that Crane, not Brown, pushed for that likely breaks the soft cap imposed on Brown.
At this point I would almost rather have Altuve DH and Alvarez in LF with Dubon covering 2B than have Alvarez at DH with Altuve in 2B and Meyers or Dubon in CF. That said, I still want to see a fully healthy Meyers play consistently everyday in CF for 200 pa before relegating him. He could easily be a 3.5fwar/yr player if he consistently plays good defense with his say 70th percentile offensive outcome.
Yes, I seems like Crane’s mo to the GM (both Click and Brown) is “here’s your budget, if I see someone I want then we will go over, but for guys you want you need to stay under the tax”.
About 450 innings or 50 games seems to be what the Astros have tried for Alvarez in the past when he was moslty healthy. There should be about 50 starting LHPs which should allow Meyers to be an easy choice in CF with Chas sliding over to LF. As long as the new manager doesn't play Alvarez in LF against LHPs so he can get Julks in as the DH like Dusty did, the Astros should be able to get platoon advantages more often which should lead to better production.
The fact that they dumped Goodrum in favor of Dickey for their PD group because they wanted a scout in charge is really irritating me.
I don’t expect Dirden will be a factor. He’s 500 pa deep into AAA and has been consistently awful over that time. He doesn’t have loud tools so he would have had to be a Tyler White type who produces at an unignorable level in the minors. Hes not doing that and there are tons of other higher ceiling guys beside/behind him. Hes not a total non-prospect but 2024 is very likely his last shot.
Throws 5 pitchers, 4 of them are probably good enough for the majors. I will be curious to see how his split finger does in the big leagues, he added it in Japan. He sits 93-96 and can touch 98 in short relief stints.
Concerning the possible pursuit of a starter - it fills several needs for the Astros. First it allows them to transition another pitcher or two to the bullpen. Also if they get an inning eater, it allows less stress on the bullpen usage and it also potentially allows them to limit the workload of the Astros starters, which have gone deep into the post season for years. Also, it allows them depth in case of injury. Last, the cost of a back in starter may be less than in prior seasons and may be a better use of resources. I also would not read too much into the outfield situation. They have a few outfielders that are close to ready in AAA, but that also doesn't rule out a trade, or getting a player that plays multiple positions.
Agree about Dirden. I have lots of faith in 5-6 guys as above average bench/platoon guys who could make the bench deep and much stronger than it is now in the next 1-2 years. Kessinger, Leon, Corona, Wagner, and Hamilton come to mind. There are very few in AAA or AA who I think have a chance to become regular starters. Melton, Dezenzo, Loperfido, and Barber are about it and if history is any guide, if 1 of those guys hit then it's great. If both Altuve and Bregman are extended/resigned (which I expect) it will be more and more important for young guys to contribute because salary will be through the roof.
I can imagine a playoff bullpen that has a healthy Pressly, Abreu, McCullers, Brown, Garcia, Montero, and Graveman would be pretty damned nasty, with Verlander, Framber, Javier, and a TBD free agent as the playoff starters, with Urquidy and France as starters in reserve. McCullers/Garcia/Brown project as elite elite elite in relief roles.
I think the consensus is that regular routine of a starter is more likely to keep him healthy than the unsure and randomness of relieving. Add the fact that he has top 50 SP stuff and the history (when healthy) to back that up and the organization is probably not ready to give up on him in the rotation yet.
Possible interest in a starter along with no mention of the pen says to me there may be internal starters filling out the pen. I never believed the outfield was a problem to begin with. The handedness issue is a straw man and we have plenty of outfielders on the forty man roster with even more prospects knocking on the door. The Astros areas of strength are in the outfield and pitching. They have lots of both. Weaker are catching and infield depth. They really need to move at least a couple of large contracts. There are a couple of bad ones in the pen and 1st base is one that should be moved before Abreu reverts to his worthless condition again. Clearing out Sugar Land is an opportunity this offseason. The roster there is overflowing with non prospects and legit players in Corpus are blocked by them.
I can certainly see the desire to fully exhaust any chance Lance can be a SP given how valuable they are; and that goes both ways, as it’s obvious Lance would much rather be starting. But it’s high time the Astros abandon anything personal or hopeful regarding McCullers and do whatever is needed in order to extract maximum value out of him. I would imagine that would be a limited workload as a reliever defined by predictability (I.e. Lance pitches 2 innings every Friday and Tuesday, or whatever makes sense).
He has almost no trade value. I can’t see any team giving up anything for him outside of maybe a team looking for AAA depth giving cash considerations.
