I think he's as great a worker as anybody. Has the best attitude and seems like he'd be one of the best players to manage or have as a teammate. None of his injuries are due to him being out of shape or doing things irresponsibly (ahem, Correa), or playing other sports/high risk activities and lying about it (ahem, Alou, Berkman, Kent). His body just doesn't seem to agree with the grind as much as others. The majority of his injuries are either due to chronic genetic issues or the most basic tasks (i.e. - swinging a bat). I'd love him to get to 150+ games of regular ab's. Its just a trend that doesn't magically seem to happen or get better over time.
Nook have the Astros had any conversations with Neris or has that ship sailed and they're looking at other options? Looks like they're roughly at 244 mil after ARB signings so they'll be over the 237 mil luxury tax. Why not just bring Neris back (and Brantley)?
The Astros overspent badly last off-season resulting in an off season this year where their big moves are for a bench catcher and a fifth inning reliever with no money reserved for additions at the break. Overspending is relative.
But they're also going to get back two key members of their starting rotation... and hopefully won't have half-a season worth of injuries from their two best hitters as a result of non-contact/non-running injuries. The Astros roster for 2024 has largely been set... regardless of the Montero/Abreu signings of last off season . The fact that they were able to get JV back, given their rotation questions, was a big addition. Also, I'm not turning on them as was suggested by the previous poster. Most fan bases understand logical spending.
There is certainly some truth to this - but I will say that the knee issues started when he tore his knees in Cuba and never had them surgically addressed. Lets see what happens.... I am certainly worried about it.
@Snake Diggit I feel like you’re pretty good at these hypotheticals. That’s why I tagged you. The Blue Jays struck out on Soto and Ohtani. I think it’s pretty clear that they’d love a LHH power bat in the middle of their order. Let’s say the Astros either make a “final” offer to Tucker or decide they’ll let him walk after the 25’ season… what kind of package could Toronto offer that could potentially “extend” the window while also allowing the Astros to compete for championships in the short term? Also, with reports of Toronto at least “listening” on Bichette- is there a package that includes Pena and Tucker going to the Jays that would make sense for both teams? To me- it just seems that the Blue Jays are the type of team that could/would try to make a splash move after missing out on Ohtani. The Giants also fit that mold to some degree.
No - they have talked to him and at this point he wants a lot of money. However, I haven't heard that the door is completely closed. There are about 10 relievers out there that are of value. The Astros have discussed with a number of them, and will see who gets big offers and who does not. Those that are not getting the large offers may circle back to the Astros.
I wouldn't go as far as to say "badly", but they got nothing out of Montero and Abreu was bad for 2/3rds of the season. Montero makes about 11 million a year. That really isn't a lot of money. Abreu makes 19.5 million and was playing hurt and a dud until late in the season. He came ready to play in the post season though and the Astros don't almost get back to the World Series without him. With that money completely removed, the Astros would be able to offer 30 million a year for two years to a couple of players. Most of the really good free agents don't want two season contracts... the Astros would need to fill 1st and a leverage reliever spot if they had the money from not signing Abreu and Montero. As for 1st base.... Abreu had an .800 OPS his last 325 at bats and hit 17 homers with 70 RBI in his last 85 games. Som while there is some concern about his performance next year, there is also legitimate reason to be optimistic - especially when you consider that his BABIP the last 2-3 months of the season was only .235.... and yet his had an OPS well over .800 .... so he ran into some bad luck. At the end of the day - Abreu can still crush the ball when his back is good, and he doesn't when his back hurts.
I can’t imagine a Bichette-Tucker trade making any sense. I think Bregman would make a more sensible target for Toronto. But I do understand if they wanted a middle of the order lefthanded bat. If Houston really likes Spencer Horwitz and wants to try to revive Manoah, I could see this trade maybe making sense: Astros get: SP Ricky Tiedemann (Torontos best prospect, FG #18 overall) OF Spencer Horwitz (projected wRC+ 116) SP Alex Manoah (4.1 fwar in 2022) IF Tucker Toman (Toronto #12 prospect) SP CJ Van Eyk (Toronto #14 prospect) Blue Jays get: OF Kyle Tucker SP Jose Urquidy That gives Houston a major package that includes 5 potential long term core pieces, including someone who can man Tuckers spot in the outfield (although Horwitz would play LF with McCormick shifting to RF) and a potential playoff caliber SP. This trade also essentially undoes the sign-stealing penalty and would put Houston’s farm back in “average” territory. I might ask for Kasevich instead of Toman or Van Eyk. This trade also clears about $10M in payroll which could be used to sign somebody like Pham or Pederson or Brantley to provide further insurance in the OF and deepen the lineup when McCormick plays CF. I kind of doubt Toronto would do this deal given how highly rated Tiedemann is but it’s what I think might make sense for both sides if Toronto is dead set on acquiring an elite lefthanded bat. And Urquidy is a meaningful piece; he’s a playoff-tested solid controllable 4th or 5th SP who doesn’t cost much money. Resulting roster: 2B Altuve 3B Bregman DH Alvarez 1B Abreu C Diaz LF Horwitz RF McCormick SS Pena CF Meyers Bench: Michael Brantley ($8M/1yr), Dubon, Caratini, Kessinger SP: Verlander, Valdez, Manoah, Javier, Brown RP: Pressly, Abreu, Matt Moore ($12M/2yr), Montero, Graveman, Whitley/McCullers, Sousa/Garcia, France Updated Top 10 prospects: 1. Tiedemann 2. Matthews 3. Melton 4. Baez 5. Toman 6. Dezenzo 7. Corona 8. Arrighetti 9. Van Eyk 10. Tredwell
Right now this team is right up against the CBT. So much will be determined by arbitration results. The average of Cots, Spotrac, and mlbtraderumors.com arbitration estimates are: Tucker $12.6M Framber $12.5M Urquidy $3.6M Chas $3 1M Dubon $3.1M Garcia $2.0M B.Abreu 1.75M $38.65M total. $170.657470 in guaranteed contracts $6.160 in pre-arb salaries (@ min, could be more) $1.666667 in bonus pool $2.250 in minor leaguers on 40 man $17.0 in benefits. Adds up to $236.38413 About $600K under CBT That's my math. But first now it's just an estimate. I sure would welcome an extension for Altuve that replaces his 2024 deal and is about $20M AAV to give some relief here.
Jeez... that's even worse than him having bad luck or just being born with poor cartilage issues. Just hope all the Astros obliques are going through some nice off-season conditioning this year.
I actually think this is one of your better trade ideas. Diaz better be the real deal though. Replacing Tucker’s offensive production is not going to be easy.
Yeah at this point I just think a trade of Bregman or Tucker is incredibly unlikely because it is almost certain to make Houston worse in 2024 which clearly goes against where this front office’s head is at. Unless they had some crazy plan to sign Bellinger to replace Tucker or Chapman to replace Bregman, which while potentially a great way to essentially use money to improve the farm, doesn’t seem like something they are thinking about.
Yet the Astros home grown WAR outpaces the Dodgers by a considerable margin. The most ironic thing about the Ohtani signing is the Dodgers taking on another TJ guy when almost their entire rotation projected rotation ended up having the surgery last year.
The Dodgers have also traded away more prospects over the last several years than the Astros... and still have depth in their system for more trades. If you're a contending team, you need your prospects to supplement the major league roster... not simply just for promotion... but the Astros are also quite good at this sorta thing as well, despite a depleted farm system very much impacted by not having early picks for 2 straight years for the sign stealing (a sizable impact no matter what the twitter warriors feel). The original point was that the Dodgers aren't just simply trying to "buy" a title. They have vast resources but they also do the basic things that all teams (even the poorest) must do well to field a year-in/year-out contender.
I have lost any faith in Tucker resigning, especially after the teams public surrender regarding Bregman. I am not yet there regarding Framber but very close. I think this team should go all in for a championship in 2024 and then look at 2025. Tucker should be traded if any of the top 15 prospect OF show promise in 2024 or the trade includes an OF who can replace him at 2.5 WAR or better ( plus 1-2 more good pieces) If Lance and Garcia finish the season healthy, and Javier and/or Brown have good seasons, I would consider trading Framber. JV, Javier, McCullers, Brown, Garcia and any combination of France, Urquidy, Arrighetti, Gordon, or other SP prospects now in AA or AAA could make a competitive rotation. Yordan, Diaz, Altuve, J.Abreu, and Chas makes the foundation of a solid offense if the team can develop or trade for a couple more good bats this team can be competitive without Tucker, Framber, or Bregman. Hell, maybe saving money on Tucker and Framber will allow the team to make a better offer to Alex since 3B is a huge question mark moving forward.
Maybe more per year, but I think the contract length offer will nix any kind of mutual agreement. Bregman turns 30 in March, what length contract do you think Crane will offer? 4 years is my guess. What length of contract do you thing Bregs is looking for? 6+ is my guess. 8 maybe. This is the problem. If the above holds true, and we trade Tucker. we certainly need to get a 3B in return. A good one.
The type of surgeries that Yordan had on both knees are usually genetic in nature. I had the same issue/same surgery that Yordan had on my knees. The biggest concern is stability in the knee itself. This is why Yordan needs to be DH 95% of the time so that it limits his wear and tear on his body. Not that Nook needs any validation from me, but Altuve had the same surgery on his right knee after the 2018. These surgeries take anywhere from 9 months to a year to heal correctly. Yordan had it done on both knees at the same time. He came back faster whereas Altuve struggled in the 2019 until after he took a break down in triple A. If Yordan can play 140 games in 2024, I have a great feeling Houston will do very well. If Pena can get his swing back, this team should be a top 5 team in offense. Jose Abreu should be much better in 2024. The biggest wildcard will be Chas and Meyers...
