Players contracts in baseball are unlike payroll in that they are commitments to pay out monies over time without regard to circumstances. Payroll is a controllable expense and can be adjusted on the fly by simply letting people go. Those contracts are the very definition of debt. That debt reduces the valuation of a franchise for purposes of sale and need to be resolved by the seller in order to facilitate a sale. There is no income from broadcasting rights guaranteed to the Astros and none is forthcoming. They have lost their primary source of income. Player contracts are the largest obligations. Paying those obligations without the income is impossible to continue. This is not rocket science and the Astros are not alone in this situation. Most other teams are facing the same dilemmas and trading your obligations away to one of them is a pipe dream.
As for people asking about the possibility of Crane selling. Well, I know a couple years ago that a Texas businessman named Robert Smith wanted to buy a piece of the team but it never went anywhere. So anything is possible, but I have not heard anything recently about it. I actually think Crane would be more likely to sign a couple free agents if he were selling the team but we will have to wait and see. Crane is 70 and has said that he would like to get more involved in charities - so who knows.
I'm guessing if there's smoke that Crane's son isn't interested in/capable of running an MLB franchise. If Crane is ready to check out I would rather have a new owner than be stuck with another Tommy Boy situation.
Framber Valdez hypotheticals: Astros send Framber to the Reds for IF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, SP Nick Lodolo, C Matheu Nelson, and IF Tyler Callahan Astros send Framber and Justin Dirden to Yankees for IF George Lombard Jr., OF Austin Wells, SP Drew Thorpe, OF Spencer Jones and SP Justin Lange Astros send Framber to the Giants for OF Mike Yazstrzemski, SP Carson Whisenhunt, P Tristan Beck, P Reggie Crawford, and cash Astros send Framber to the Cubs for 3B Christopher Morel, OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, and SP Cade Horton Astros send Framber to the Orioles for OF Coby Mayo, 2B Connor Norby, SS Carter Young, P Carter Baumler, and 3B Max Wagner
I'm concerned about the regional TV money situation...but that seems to be a concern for virtually the entire league. Regional TV money is a big piece of the revenue pie for an MLB franchise, and it's going to be a problem if that number is substantially lower than expected.
Crane's son already has passed on having any interest on the baseball side. Daddy tried to get him involved, wanting him to really understand the scouting, the game and the culture - but he didn't take to it well, and was put on the business side. Crane is poor by comparison to other owners. He has tried buying out investors, but he still owns less than 50% of the team, and while the value has quadrupled, if he were to pass away, the team would likely have to be sold. So it would make sense to a degree for Crane to get everything in order before then.
Very unlikely. They project for roughly the same overall value. Carpenter has added value as a bench player with his ability to play 3B in a pinch and also has more experience than Singleton. But Singleton has a far higher ceiling as a hitter.
The problem is they don't know what the revenue will be. Before the RSN just wrote a fat check to the Astros. The Astros were getting 73 million a year. Now the Astros and Rockets have to run the network, sell the ads, cut the deals with cable providers, etc. Remember... the Astros already failed at this with the CSN Houston debacle in 2012, and that was when there were WAY MORE cable subscribers. Losing that 73 million is almost 20% of their revenues that will no longer be guaranteed, and will for sure be significantly less going forward. As far as trading Framber..... if the Astros do that they might as well trade Bregman, Tucker, and Verlander in my opinion.
Go sign Austin Dean from the Korean League. He was 5th in OPS over there and can play 1st and left. I just don't see how you go a whole year with two guys on the team that can only play first base and DH. Dean is also from the Houston area.
Yep, I completely agree. My understanding is that for most teams this RSN fees run about 20-25% of their total revenues. Seems like a huge game-changer for the next collective bargaining agreement...at least that's what I'd be saying if I was an owner.
Hard to say? Carpenter was extremely good for the Yankees a few years ago, and was a very good player 5 or so years ago - but he has largely been bad over the last 4-5 years. I personally think that there is a good chance that once most teams have spent their money, someone better than Carpenter and Singleton will be out there. Gurriel, Mike Ford, Aaron Hicks.... etc
Dana Brown pretty much stated they aren't going over threshold unless there is a deal that makes sense to them. Crane has the autonomy to go over if needed. That Ben guy likes to throw things out there. He has a contact with an agent and that is it. He had no additional information... As far as selling the team, Crane could sell it now if he wanted to. He is working with the city to build out the area around the stadium. He isn't going to do that until this is done. I will say this, there is a local buyer already that wants to purchase the team.
Love that guy, but he is worth less than half a billion. Impressive for sure, but nowhere close to getting into MLB unfortunately
