Dubon was the only arb eligible player the Astros didn’t agree with. He filed at $3.5M, Houston filed at $3M. I think Houston will win that case, but it’s close enough that they should probably settle before it gets that far.
I love it, US against the MLB World is exactly where I'd want to be. Discount us and watch the "Heart of a Champion" overcome the naysayers.
Nolan Ryan had a mid 3 ERA and struck out a batter per inning at age 46 or 47 Father Time has a tremendous record, but Nolan got him
I would like all 3 of these players to return but feel like they all will should give a hometown discount for it to not hurt the team and remain atop the AL. Altuve- I would say this one is 99.9%. I see no scenario with Altuve in another uniform. He is the face of the golden era of Astros baseball. He will be 35 in his 1st year but historically all star 2B stay above average beyond late 30s. I think a 6yr/$120 deal would be fair to both parties. FTR: other HOF worthy 2B wRC+ in ages 35-38+ Biggio= 116/91/100/107/106/85/70 Morgan= 110/119/119/142/120/105 Kent= 120/121/133/123/127/98 Carew= 121/123/128/106/101 Whitaker= 138/134/121/126 Verlander- I fully expect Verlander's option to vest and him to win 25-30 games the next 2 seasons. That gives him 282-287 wins thru his age 42 season. He is on record as wanting to pitch until he's 45 but this is mostly about him getting 300 wins and doing it in an Astros uniform. I don't think he will sign a straight 1 year deal. He wants the security of 2 years to have the chance at 300. The amount will be completely based on how well he does and his health in 2024 and 2025 but a 2 yr deal sounds good for both sides. Pressly- this is a tougher one because RP generally don't make much money and can lose it very quickly. He will also be 37. I would offer him a 2 yr deal w/ a club option that becomes vested or a player option based on IP and a physical after 2028 season.
Agreed. If you wish to remain in contention they should be offered no more than 2-3 year contracts as a result. A couple of guaranteed years and a mutual option for a third offered at the end of this season sounds about right unless they suffer a dramatic collapse this season. If someone wants to offer them more all you can do is wish them well and move on for the good of the team.
Nolan was awesome longer than most, but in the end he blew out his elbow and was done. FYI: Clemens and Randy Johnson were also good into mid 40s so I am only mildly concerned about Verlander.
I agree to that for Verlander and Pressly but Altuve should sign a 5-6 year "final" deal. It would allow him to finish career as an Astro and likely get to 3000 hits (136 per year if 6 yr deal) and a longer deal could be lower AAV.
After I posted that I looked it up. Pitched competitively at age 46, just incredible His age 44 season has to be the best ever for that age. ERA of 2.91, 203 K's in 173 innings, just amazing Nolan's curveball is my favorite pitch ever to watch batters flail at Roger was incredible at age 42 and 43 but a major regression at age 44 Randy's last dominant season was at age 40. He was competitive for 5 more years but ERA's mainly between 4 and 5 and less than a K per inning Randy's 11 starts with us in 98 have to be the most dominant stretch by a starter in Astros history (might need to look at Mike Scott but...). Dude went 10-1, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings @ Philly. The other 10 starts were ALL at least 7 innings and all 2 runs or less. 7 of the 10 he had double digit K's. Dominant I agree with you on JV, one of the last of an era of guys who went deep into games and wanted the ball every 5th day. He will be 41 this year so there is definitely precedent for him to be dominant again. But as Snake says, the number of years he will be dominant without a doubt are nearing the end
Altuve will not be able to field 2nd base for another 3 years and quite possibly less. You can only carry so many DH's. The Astros have every chance to remain competitive but it will require some ruthless personnel decisions. Abreu has been our best bullpen arm for over a year. Not using him to close out games borders on incompetence. Presley will be a set up man well before his contract has run it's course. Verlander slipped a little last season and I think his chances are about 50/50 to hold course or slip even further this season. With every start his odds of injury go up and guaranteeing more than 1 year is a huge risk.
Exactly, the problem that caused the problem. If Crane was going to let Click go he should've had another GM ready to go, even if it was an interim promotion to Petula or somebody.
I'm still bitter about that God awful at bat by Dubon in the 8th inning of game 6. Just show that at bat on a loop during the arbitration hearing.
We simply don't agree, which is ok. To me Altuve remaining a lifelong Astro is crucial, and him getting 3000 hits as an Astro is very close. He WILL be on this team for the next 5-6 years at least. Bank on that. By signing him to a longer contract instead of 2-3 short ones it saves money towards the CBT. As for his fielding I understand and agree with you, but I see ZERO chance he is not on the team so it must just be dealt with. As for Verlander, he will probably be the last pitcher ever to get to 300 wins. If he can manage that, it is a huge benefit for it to come in an Astros uniform. Furthermore, it may swing the tide on whether he goes into the HOF with a Tigers hat or Astros hat. Again, these are big benefits to the fans and to the organization. Because Verlander does not want to get stuck without a contract and chance at 300, he will want a 2+ yr deal. My hope is that he has a great season winning 14-17 games, vests his option and then wins 14-17 more next year. That puts him 9-15 away and may be willing to sign a 1 and 1 deal but with the added peace of mind that he hasn't regressed much. It's important to note that we are not talking about bad contracts for bad players here. These players still project to be above average even if they are no longer stars. Maybe they can't carry teams anymore but they pull their weight. A team will need other stars to compete, but they aren't dragging the team backwards. And these player's character and history along with similar MLB players show that the risk is as minimal as it can be. As for Pressly, he has great control and does not rely on a blazing fastball. He has multiple plus pitches and has proven to be about as consistent as RP get. Whether he is the closer or not, this team is better with him on it. Look at the deals being given out to injury risk, performance risk, and wild RP and tell me it's not a good idea to resign Pressly to a 3 yr deal at a reasonable AAV. The bottom line is that winning is #1, but teams need faces, storylines, and historical significance as well if you look at the big picture and want a lasting legacy. None of these 3 players are likely to compete for MVP or Cy Young awards during these extensions, but they also will contribute positively towards winning while fulfilling those other needs. It will just be up to Brown and Espada to make sure there ARE MVP and Cy Young contenders playing with them.
The right side of infield will be tricky in the next two years. Altuve is not great going to his left and Abreu going to his right is rarely pretty. Our infield defense won't be much improved over last year. I've always hoped Altuve's speed could translate into RF/CF if we don't resign Tucker (I could just be blinded by Biggio too). He won't be a DH with Yordan on the team, not in any meaningful way. We are going to need some creative minds working the baseball side of this out in the next few years - given the contracts we have and may enter.
This dude is trolling the **** out of the Astros on twitter. Really? An unwritten rule to the league that the Astros are ignoring. Come the **** on. It’s just more orange team is bad ****.
Questionable source for sure but I have embraced the hated role. If Bregman OKs this, sign him up. He may be a deviant but that woman cost him millions.
