Seems like the sort of contract Crane would like, short term and mid tier. This makes it even more important to reach an extension agreement with Framber.
Free agents are able to choose where they go. Every Asian FA of note has gone to California, Seattle, or New York. The truth is, location matters and it's a big reason the Astros don't spend more than a middling amount ( in comparison to other teams) scouting Asia. Putting those resources into the Carribean makes much more sense. The Angels were able to offer him sooner than anyone else, because their budget wasn't tied up trying to get Soto.
That is very true. 10 years ago we would be among them. The Astros are strapped for money and without trading Framber, there would be no money for Bregman or another $20M+ type bat if they had done this. It never made sense unless Framber was traded and there are no reports of that happening. The Astros did not think Kikuchi was better than Framber or Brown for starting in the playoffs. It's very possible, they think he would be no better than the #3 starter and possibly not even make the playoff rotation ( if 2 of Blanco, Arrighetti, Garcia, and McCullers are healthy and outpitch him) $20M+ is steep for that, especially a team with limited budget within CBT and other holes to fill.
If I were a free agent, and this is my last big money contract/year opportunity... of course I'd rather live in LA and get the highest dollar amount (taxes not withstanding). Kikuchi has already pitched in mostly meaningless games throughout his career. maybe a playoff start would have exposed him to some of the uniqueness that most top line pitchers never get a chance to truly go through, but Houston will still have to either overpay for somebody to live here... or catch a player at the point of the career where they simply want to win or accumulate counting stats (JV).
I'm good with it. $20+ mil for a pitcher that played over his abilities last season. Astros don't need to throw money at a "what if". If we can rebuild him, then more will come.
Sucks we couldn't keep him, but he'll go back to being a pitcher who'll be traded at the deadline again.
This move by the Angels reminds me of those who jumped in on GameStop when it was at approaching it's peak thinking there's more to this... Classic overpay by them on a player that won't even be able to pitch in the playoffs.
I like Yusei and would have like that the Astros sign him; but obviously not at 3 years 63 million, that is the type a deal teams sorely needing pitching must pay. However it will be interesting to see if Yusei has any counter moves as opposing teams adjust to the Astros coaching that led him to his most successful pitching stint in his career? Yeusi isn’t a spring chicken, he’s been around and he’s chugged around most of his career to a tone of mediocre. The Astros do have a history of fixing floundering talents. A guy that was similar was Charlie Morton (highly talented but consistently mediocre), but he stayed on top of his game up through recently after the Astros fixed him. I will find it interesting to see how Yusei handles next season without the coaching that propelled him to his greatest success.
It would be really funny if the Astros put 8 ERs on him over 3 innings in his first start against them because they know him so well.
I hated rental trades when you had to trade for the guy like he was going to be here for a while. Maybe Loperfido or Wagner make the deal favor the Blue Jays in the long run. I don't really care too much about after 2026. The Astros blew a good chance this year, and I think what the Astros sent out was worth it for that chance.
That trade really hurts right now. He pitched great for us, but given he never got the chance to pitch in the postseason.
I am still dismayed how we get up Freddy Garcia, John Halama, and Carlos Guillen for similar results.
Well... Framber Valdez Hunter Brown Ronel Blanco Spencer Arrighetti Luis Garcia Justin Verlander (incentive deal) With a mix of Mccullers or Javier by miracle..... Pretty solid rotation.... could use maybe a Jake Odorizzi / Wade Miley move for depth in case of injuries...
Imagine being named Steve and pitching in another country only for just your name to be played in a song every strikeout you got. Thats gotta be weird right?
