Even after his bat no longer outweighs the risk of his poor defensive abilities he will continue playing somewhere 125+ games per year until his contract ends. And they will probably even bring him back after that if he hasn't reached 3000 hits but has a chance. We must face it that until then the Astros will play with 8 players + him. The other 8 need to continue getting that much better as he declines.
I agree with all of this except the Dezenzo part. He can’t be our starting LF. Astros need to go get a real hitter for the OF
The Astros have 40 players to consider every day and they generate another 1/2 dozen or so every season. Altuve has virtually no chance at 3000 hits any longer unless the team is willing to ignore their obligation to put the best team they can on the field every day.
This is why I wanted Dubie dealt. Dubie would have been paid a premium as a utility IF because of his ability to play a good defensive OF. But paying that premium makes no sense and, in fact, is counterproductive for the Astros roster. We have Cole and Melton who can provide the same defensive value in the OF. Hell, Smith might be an option. So the defense provided by Dubie in the OF is a wash. Beyond that, those OF ABs need to be given to the young outfielders. From the perspective of production for 2026, are they really gonna do that much worse than Dubie at the plate? They certainly have more upside for 2026 alone. Looking beyond 2026, we need to know if they can play at the MLB level, and giving Dubie those OF ABs hurts that cause. That leaves only Dubie’s IF value. You can’t pay a premium for Dubie’s IF glove when Allen gives you nearly the same thing, and you are desperately trying to free up money for SP needs. I would have been furious if we kept Dubie. I originally thought that perhaps we should keep Urias, but prefer dumping him for Allen and salary flexibility.
I was not referring to Dezenzo bring the starting LF. I was just talking about reducing Altuve in the LF rotation to give Dezenzo some playing time. I would expect that between whomever from Altuve, Yordan, Cole, Melton, Trammell, and Sanchez make the team, they take enough starts that Dezenzo would have less than 50 especially as a right handed hitter. But I think they like him and want to see if he can ge a legitimate MLBer.
I think the Altuve in LF experiment might be over. He really didn’t play there much at all down the stretch. None of the players you mentioned are starting caliber imo. I really hope we get a bat for the OF. Sanchez is the most proven but I did not like what I saw from him at all last year, even though he had a couple of big games and a big catch or two. Mostly he looked bad at the plate and in the OF. Plus he’s dog poop vs LHP
Allen DID have two really good seasons in AAA in ‘23 and ‘24. So, I’m just throwing that out there. He’s been horrendous in the majors.
Obvious money move. Allen at least has a nearly elite mlb skill with his glove, and he's 4 years younger than Dubon. It's probably a bad trade, but he's not an entirely useless player.
As long as they spend the money to upgrade the roster everything will be fine. I could see Dezenzo backing up 1st/3rd/corner OF spots and Allen backing up the SS/2B positions. Of course this could all change if Dana trades for Donovan.
I disagree about the players mentioned. The entire point I'm trying to make in that section of my post is that we don't know. The most likely result is that they won't ever be starters, it is absolutely possible. And nobody will know if they don't play. I don't expect it, but Zach Dezenzo becoming J D. Martinez or Teoscar Hernandez would not completely shock me. Maybe 80% shock.
Can’t be worried about that (JD) happening again. Plus I said he shouldn’t be our starter heading into the season. I didn’t say he couldn’t prove himself as a reserve first.
Yeah, I don't like it but I understand it. They absolutely cannot go over the tax threshold again next year.
