I’m dumb. What does space out mean? Cancer causing substances? Again, I’m dumb, what kind of stuff is that?
Amazing how effective that was...it's almost like they could've just done the same thing when it came to signs and technology...but they threw a grenade at one franchise instead.
Locked on Astros aid Dana is looking at a Meyers plus a prospect for Cole Ragans. Ragans got jurt last yr, but he's got great stuff. Trade for Ragans and either Ryan or Senga and I'll be happy with this offseason. They really need to add a LHB though too.
They are only getting one more starting pitcher. They can only have a maximum of 6 starting pitchers. If you keep 5 then a starter can be a long man in the bullpen, but that is tricky to work if you have a 6 man rotation. Brown is in the rotation. Javier and McCullers are expensive, have no trade value and no options. They are expecting to bring in one more starter. Ryan Weiss was just signed to be a starter so will get a spot, at least long enough to prevent them from bringing in someone else in the offseason. 7 bullpen spots: Hader, Abreu, Sousa, King, Okert, Pearson. That leaves 1 rotation and 1 bullpen spot for: Arrighetti, Alexander, Blubaugh, Gordon, France, Ullola, Murray, VanWey. Plus De Los Santos and Ort do not have options so they make the team or get DFA'd. Multiple pitchers need to be traded or waived to bring in more than one starter. This is one reason I could see Arrighetti, Alexander, Ullola, Blubaugh, Murray, Ort or lower level bullpen guys get traded.
Was just looking at last offseason to see when things happened: Nov 2024: signed Okert Dec 2024: Tucker trade (13th), signed Walker (23rd), signed Miguel Castro Jan: signed Zach Short, signed Blake Weiman, traded Grae Kessinger, Pressly trade (28th) Feb: signed Gamel, signed Guillorme, signed Rodgers So they’ve done more so far this offseason than they had by this time last year. I’d say there’s a 90% chance Houston makes a significant trade next week.
Passan: Teams in the mix for Suarez believe he's the next big-time starter off the board. Though the 30-year-old won't fetch a Dylan Cease-level deal, he long has been a target for Houston, which balks at deals beyond six years, and Baltimore, which is seeking a top-end rotation piece. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...intel-rumors-updates-buster-olney-jeff-passan
Please ****ing no. Suarez has a QO, stop signing those guys and destroying the organization. If we can get Ragans for Meyers and a prospect, **** yeah, sign me up.
If Houston trades Meyers and Sanchez they can afford Suarez. They wouldn’t have money to add a bat or backup C, but they could trade prospects for those pieces if needed. Suarez is the youngest free agent SP available who projects as a solid playoff caliber SP. Suarez has a QO which means Houston would lose 2 draft picks for signing him (#28 overall and the comp pick after the 4th round they’ll get when Framber Valdez signs elsewhere). The Astros would need to get a steal for me to support them signing a QO recipient.
The Astros love to build unbalanced rosters. Getting Suarez instead of addressing the lack off another lefty handed power bat, can't ever count on Alvarez being healthy for a full season, is just utter stupidity.
Sure, but there a **** ton of pitchers available without a QO attached that can give you innings. Anyone thinking the Astros are a starting pitcher away from winning another title is just r****ded.
Out of all the potential options, I'd target Sandy Alcantara. Workhorse, with a great arm (although comes with risk because he had TJS approximately 2 years ago). Probably a reasonable acquisition cost too.
Small detail and I may be wrong but I think they lose their #28 and 4th round pick (their 5th pick) which would be about 14 picks earlier than the comp pick for Framber. Unless the PPI pick is exempt which I heard but can't confirm. If that's the case they lose 2nd rd and comp pick which would be ideal ( other than not signing a FA with a QO attached) I don't think they have the money. They still need a catcher too. I don't see them having over $20M for a SP. And this has been reported that SP needs to come from a trade not a FA
I personally think the Astros needed to add 2 good SP. But I can see why someone (including Houston’s front office) might think they only need one. It is really difficult to predict what Javier, McCullers, Arrighetti, Weiss, and the other young arms will produce. Javier (2022) and McCullers (2021) were playoff caliber SP before their injuries derailed their careers. Neither guy is at the age where they should be declining (especially considering the low mileage on their arms due to time off rehabbing). So it’s possible those 2 guys can be legitimate #3 and #4 SP. I personally don’t buy that, but I can see why Dana Brown might. Arrighetti was a legitimate #4 SP in 2024 and showed flashes of dominance and strikeout stuff that indicated he might be even better than that. He’s only entering his age 26 season. Assuming there are no lingering effects of his injury, it’s reasonable to expect him to be a viable member of the rotation, especially if all you’re going to count on him for is #5 production. Weiss was dominant in 178 ip in the KBO this year. There are plenty of guys who did that and were then more than effective #3 or #4 SP in MLB. If nothing else, there’s strong evidence he can handle a workload of 150+ innings, even if he’s just good enough to stick in the back of the rotation. After those 4 high risk/upside arms plus Hunter Brown, you get into the optionable arms. Houston currently projects to have the best and deepest AAA rotation they’ve had in several years. Blubaugh, Ullola, Gordon, Alexander, France, and Pecko make for 6 arms who should be able to contribute in the majors. Pecko, Blubaugh, and Ullola have upside to be playoff caliber SP. Beyond that, there are other depth arms in AAA (Dombroski, Fleury, Lambert, Mancini, Kouba) and a very high upside group of arms in AA who could be ready in the second half of 2026 (Brito, Hicks, Tredwell, Mayer, Nezuh). It’s also probably worth a reminder that there are 2 SP rehabbing from TJS in Blanco and Wesneski who could return in 2026. Fwiw (not much), Brown, Blubaugh, Alexander, France, and Gordon all had winning records last season (while McCullers, Javier, and Arrighetti were a combined 4-12). All that adds up to a lot of uncertainty, but I do think the odds are in favor of Houston being able to run out competitive SP every game regardless of what other moves they make. And when considering the Astros’ limitations (financial and prospects) I can see why they might talk themselves into the idea of just adding a #2 SP and piecing together the 3-5 spots until somebody emerges or until the July trade deadline. It’s not what I would do if I were GM, but I can see the logic and it won’t shock me if it works out well. The short story is that if Javier and McCullers just earn their paychecks, the Astros rotation will be badass.
