We all knew it was coming sooner or later. He is going to have to play from the bench for years or retire early. A bench bat who can play a little LF and a little 2nd base and DH once in a while is what he will be by the end of this season. Maybe next season if we are lucky. Hope for the best.
This is insane. Altuve’s numbers across the board last season were very closely in line with his career norms. So to make the claim that Altuve is cooked is to base it entirely off of his 30pa sample size to start this season (in which he has a 796 ops).
I like Rodgers a lot and expect him to improve at second base to the point of keeping the job till Matthews is 100% ready.
Not cooked but you can see it coming. I think his bat will hold up far longer than his ability to play defense. I stand by him being relegated to a bench bat role for at least 3 and maybe 4 of his last 5 years. I will cheer for him either way.
Rodgers had a home OPS of .888 at Coors field and an away split of .571. The fear was that he couldn't hit at sea level. His counter argument is that he had to adjust his hitting between Coors and sea level. Now, he can just focus on hitting at sea level, he should be more consistent. It's not guaranteed but if can make the adjustment, he has the ability to hit very well. It would not be surprising if his OPS is over .800. So lots of upside from him. Almost all-star level upside, so I was surprised that he was the last roster spot.
Maybe the Astros should have traded Framber and kept Tucker around. Hunter Brown looks like he could be a legit ace this season. 1.9xFIP, 27%K-BB through his first two starts.
It's a decent gamble and this effect has been known about for a while. I'm fine with giving him 100PA to see if he has anything considering the alternative is probably gonna be a JAG like Dubon soaking up more PAs. https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-other-coors-effect/
I think there was hope for Mathews from Spring but he really seems unlikely till next season in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what happens there at the end of the season.
Mostly agreed. The real question is Luhnow. Did MLB force Crane to fire him -- disguised as mere suspension... or did Jim pull a Jerry Jones? You seem to have inside insight. Regardless, I don't think Astros defense is above average overall. We can move Altuve back to 2B where he's subpar. Or, he can stay in LF where he's most likely subpar -- but LF is less defensive intensive. We have zero ideal OFs when arm strength is considered -- and that's not even considering how they hit. Infield, Rodgers might be good defensively, but his offense is suspect, plus he has no speed -- one career steal. If he's blessed enough to reach base, a DP isn't far behind the question. Post-Luhnow, the Astros biggest transaction failure -- and there's been many -- has been Jabreu. Not only did Jose cost money and on-field suckage, he costed prospects to supplement his suckage. Prospects that could help offset current deficiencies. Did MLB force Crane to fire Luhnow (and Hinch too for that matter) ?? Regardless, we need Cam to ball. I would take 110 OPS+ right now.
I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed, and I know I'm in the minority, but I don't want it. I will say, to me, 6 years is my absolute max for any pitcher, so I would not be too upset. Hunter has proven enough that I believe he is most likely a $20M AAV or better SP. But all pitchers are injury risks. Just like Urquidy, if he has a major injury right now, the Astros can cut bait and not have him count against the CBT for 3, 4, 5, or even 6 seasons. For SP specifically, the beauty of the pre- FA process (for teams not players) is that a team can cut or non tender an injured player and not be on hook for multiple years and $ millions I just think if a SP, no matter how good, requires a 9 figure deal, the team should be better off with pre-FA guys. develop lots of young pitching and cut bait before FA, lock up likely star position players early. Of course Chas has not started every game he has played, or even played the same position the entire game. And, yes, he has played a total of 6 innings in RF over the course of 3 different games. But he HAS played RF in 3 of the 7 games this season and that IS 69 games over the course of 162. And that playing time could have gone to Smith or Dezenzo. There is absolutely nothing inaccurate or deceitful in my post. BTW: I have no idea how these posts got combined.
I am not ready to write Jose off. His numbers were down last year. Not enough to panic, but clearly enough to pay attention. His chase rate, and whiff rate were career worst. His K%, ISO, HR%, and xwOBA were the worst since the season which shall not be named. He is at the age where most of those things rarely regress back to career norms. He has never been the type who can rely on physical power. He has never been a top exit velocity or hard hit rate type of hitter. He relies on fast twitch reaction, and hand-eye coordination. Those things can fade quickly. I am still glad they made him an Astro for life, but knew the contract would not age well. In another 1-2 years, he will need to be primarily a DH. Because of this, I hope they keep Yordan fluent in LF and play him more, not less, in coming seasons. If Cam Smith, or another player can step up and be a 150+ type star, it will lessen the reliance on Yordan and the risk will be worth it.
People should just stop trying to trade elite pitching or thinking we have too much pitching. Crane will never deviate from that and while he plays a lot of his stances close to the chest, he’s been more than vocal that pitching is the most important thing always. This is also why I wouldn’t be surprised at a possible Framber extension… and why I wasn’t surprised when he gave JV an impromptu extension and then re-signed him coming off TJ surgery to a team unfriendly deal. Crane will spend or value pitching always.
Actually, they absolutely need to trade any and all impending FAs who project to a contract beyond their self imposed limits. But they can't do this without quality players and depth to replace them unless they rebuild/retool. They need at least 3 playoff caliber starters and 7+ guys who can start without everyone biting their nails and closing their eyes. If this team has that by the deadline, trade him then. If McCullers and Javier were ( proven) healthy, I would have traded Framber in the offseason. Anyone who thinks there is ANY chance Framber is an Astro on opening say 2026 either doesn't pay attention, or is delusional.
How did that work out for us last season? JV sucked **** and Clifford is hitting well above average at 20 in AA.
What still annoys me with the Tucker trade is that they best on replacing him - a guy who easily puts up 4-5 WAR with an outside shot at more if he can stay healthy - with a guy with 20 PA to his name above A ball and who was not a top 10 or even top 25 prospect.
