We have Espada because the Astros brass knows we aren't trying to win another ring right now. Losing games here and there because of poor managing of players isn't that detrimental for a team not expected to win it all anyway. The Astros are retooling, compared to plugging in pieces like years past, and once they know what they have then they'll bring in a new manager that will help with those in-game crucial decisions. I see two more years of Espada at least.
The talent just isn't there like it was in years past. I was surprised that Framber wasn't traded during the offseason, but some have said that Brown didn't get the best offers for Framber. Right now, this team looks lost at the plate most nights. Yes, the team is known for a slow start, but alot of things are going to have to go right or damn near perfect for the Astros to get back to the playoffs.
It pains me to say this, but.... That pitching staff is much worse than you think. And, beset with injuries. Yes, our scouts/coaches work wonders with projects, but how much/ long can you count on that? And, mediocrity is what's locked into our field positions.
There's no point pulling a rip cord early until you know a team ain't it. Winners aren't as easy to build as Astros fans have come to expect. Let the season play out. If the vets look toast and none of the young guys step up, then you can go ahead. Yordan, Abreu, Brown, Pena, there is more than enough tradeable talent to kickstart a rebuild at the deadline or in the winter.
Why would you trade young talent if you want to rebuild? Just for the sake of trading s!!t? Who of our vets have a no-trade clause? Framber, Walker, Paredes, Hader, etc...?
Because he's only here for 3 more seasons and would net a huge return. If we're gonna rebuild holding onto a guy who is gonna be hitting free agency when we're good again isn't logical. I don't forsee us needing a rebuild of that magnitude where we trade Brown, but if things really go south it would be foolish not to strongly consider it.
I guess you're talking about Yordan? 3 years? See if he wants to sign again, if not then you trade him an offseason or 2 from now, unless you actually want to try and win with the young talent we have coming up. You're trading Framber, Brown, Pena, Spencer, basically everyone over the age of 26...that'll be a fun "rebuild"
Luhnow era inherited Springer, Altuve and Keuchel. He gets credit for not trading them, I suppose, but its not like they netted them as prospects via trades. In fact the trades of their stars at the time (Oswalt, Berkman, Bourn) didn't really net much. One of their most impactful trades was a trade of a promising young club controlled pitcher (Cosart) for Moran/Marisnick which eventually helped get Cole (but nowhere on the radar for a rebuild plan). Those above 3, along with bottoming out to get Correa/LMJ and bottoming out again to get Appel (which became Bregman), Tucker.... and signing Yuli... is what basically was the core of the initial success. Rebuilds don't happen simply from trading stars/tanking. In the Astros case, they were fortunate on guys not projected to do much (Altuve/Keuchel) and developed them the right way, and they also saw first round draft picks not only make the majors but become stars (also rare).
There is always some aspect that can/will be forgotten or not considered. Luhnow impacted every one of those players in some way. They made Springer a leadoff hitter drastically changing his approach which can be argued as a major reason he became a successful MLBer. Altuve had been brought up "until they find a permanent 2b" according to reports and interviews, I have read/heard. Luhnow took him seriously. Keuchel was TERRIBLE until Luhnow brought the shift and data that convinced him to change how he pitched All I am saying is that it is always more complex that originally communicated. There is always another layer and when a team has 4 different GMs in a 12-13 year period, it is rare that any 1 is exclusively the reason for a player's success.
Springer still struck out a ton, regardless, but yes analytics said you could bat a guy like him leadoff and you wouldn't suffer. Altuve demolished the minors and forced his way up as a mid-season callup with legit expectations. He was far from a gimmick/placeholder. Keuchel was also great in the minors and had success well before Brent Strom (who really helped him hone in on his craft). Luhnow had a hand in keeping these guys, and I'm as big a Luhnow disciple as anybody, but he was not single-handedly turing these guys from chicken **** to chicken salad. The point is most, if not all, successful rebuilds have at least one if not more generational core pieces already there. Rarely do the sell-off trades create generational wealth for teams selling... hell, the Astros tried to up-start more than one rebuild with the JV trade and the Greinke trade... and those teams really didn't see fruition from those moves.
Sorry.... you're right. Appel was just a bust. Aiken not taking a deal (or them simply trying to get cute with the salary manipulation) were both very fortunate circumstances, not necessarily genius 4D chess moves. And that's completely fine. Luhnow's initial strength was making sure the entire draft was a priority (and hiring the right people to run it), as that was his bread/butter with the Cardinals. He grew into the MLB war-time GM role for sure. Still needed the midnight fortunate 2nd trade deadline deal for JV to fully solidify things. Same questions currently being asked about Elias in Baltimore. Will he make that one risky but cutthroat move to push the Orioles over the top. They're over-flowing with talent and yet still no guarantees ever.
I’m a broken record on this every time this topic comes up, but Luhnow was not an exceptional evaluator or developer of amateur talent. His real gift was selling Jim Crane on a total rebuild that allowed him to stockpile prospects such that the odds tipped in their favor. I will also give Luhnow credit for bringing in Hinch who was the right manager for the guys they had.
Agree and disagree. He literally oversaw the entire STL Cardinals minor leagues/draft process. Hard to do that well without having some skills evaluating amateurs. The fact that they had an Astros-like decade+ run of success (with multiple titles) was very much in part due to the foundation he established at the amateur levels. But yes, he didn't draft/develop Pujols, didn't trade for Wainwright, didn't draft Yadier, etc. He also hired Bo Porter to be his first manager. Yes, he recognized that mistake pretty quickly... but Hinch wasn't his first managerial hire. Depending on who you talk to, Crane was also adamant he would not be spending money to pay down debt early in his ownership... so even though Luhnow did orchestrate a rebuild largely based on tanking, there was never going to be real money spent on that team. Luhnow had expertise in how to construct the entire organizational operation... whether it was at the minor league level or the major league level. He perfected knowing what type of people to hire for what tasks... and blended a hybrid of business/consulting experience, analytics, and baseball minds that would be open to such aspects.
