I bet Dana could have gotten a Lorenzen type guy here for a reasonable amount of money. It's fools gold to depend on pitchers coming off of TJ. Anything you get from them should be considered a bonus. This isn't just the Stros either, look at the Dodgers and Buehler.
He probably could have found somebody, but if given a choice any SP worth his salt would choose a team with less expected stability in the rotation. A guy like Lorenzen would have been no better than the 5th option and likely not made the team in ST if everyone was healthy.
I totally disagree with this. Lorenzen was a 5th option when he signed with the Rangers late in camp.
The Rockets did it with Yao Ming, Insurance was paying his salary one year and they actually made more money the longer he sat out. DD
Nsis but anytime a guys goes 2 full seasons without appearing in a game it’s reasonable to wonder if he will ever come back. If Houston wants McCullers to start next season it should only be as part of a 6 man rotation or with an absolutely stacked AAA roster (that includes all of Arrighetti, Blubaugh, Gusto, and 2-3 other big league ready AAAA signees). Otherwise he should start next season as a RP.
Who ****ing cares? Obviously not the Guy who owns the Astros, he's already eaten more money than Lance is worth.
But he was a certain 5th option. When he was deciding where to go the Astros had 4 guys certain to he ahead of him and he would be competing with Urquidy, France, Arrighetti, and Blanco for the #5 spot And looking at getting pulled if/when McCullers or Garcia returned.
Then Lorenzen isn't enough, right? We need 5 more starters? 8 more? Should half the 40 man be starters? 8 healthy arms to start a season is pretty reasonable. That's not including Arrighetti as a 9th...
They weren't... Verlander Valdez Javier Brown Blanco No place for either TJ pitcher without another injury.
On the surface that list looks like a plethora of guys, but we're smarter than that, at Spring Training time it was... JV - aging, he is sure to miss starts - and boy has he Valdez - Ok Javier - Ok Brown - faded last season, it's great he turned things around mid season now, but as of Spring Training his production was unknown Urquidy - ALWAYS misses significant time every season. Blanco - wasn't initially slated to be a starter, he got put in almost by necessity, it has worked out tremendously. France - see Brown, plus the added consideration that he outperformed his expectations last season Bielak - a AAAA spot starter at best. Not a rotation piece. That's two starters at the beginning of the season that don't have any kind of uncertainty or "fleas." On top of that, you have to plan that there will be some further injuries or missed time, and that has happened ten fold. Sorry I just don't feel like the front office prepared correctly.
It usually takes 8-10 SP's to make it through a year. Some saw the need for SP before the season started. Dana gambled and lost, he thought one of LMJ or Garcia would make it back and Arrighetti would be another option.
Who were the 8 starters that were ready to pitch to start the season? They would have had 7 and then could have traded for an 8th at the deadline if needed. Also they could have gotten lucky, but with a 41 year old JV you knew he was going to breakdown.
But is that the choice he would make? All I know is that free agent means you get to choose your team and your situation. If I'm Lorenzen back in the offseason, I don't choose the Astros. I choose a team without 5+ established guys I will need to beat out. I go to a team that has several starters injured and need a #3 or #4 guy. Like the Rangers
When you start counting starting pitchers in the off season, it is a safe bet to add two to your count. There is always a couple of surprising pitchers coming up from the minors. This year it didn't work out because we lost five.
