The fretting exists because the game is not played on a spreadsheet where you can just allocate games however you please. The human element exists. Baseball players, more than any other sport, rely heavily on routine. Not knowing what position you’re going to play on regular basis and given random days off messes with a player’s rhythm and can also create chemistry issues in a clubhouse.
Of course its speculation.- it hasn't happened yet. As to addressing the comnent that I am flip-flopping: I have been very consistent about what I WANT and what I EXPECT which are completely different You are just combining them into a single mindset which is very inaccurate. I still think making Yordan the regular starting LF is what's best for this team- apparently won't happen as long as Joe is the manager. If Yordan plays primarily at DH the best option is trading Walker or Paredes for a LH outfielder who projects for over 110 wRC+/OPS+ Otherwise the outfield will project to be 3 starters, none of whom are projected to be impact hitters.
That is why Dubon will be missed. He could just jump into any position and play well. He just was overused.
No, he could not jump into any position and play well. Your statement is contradictory. Espada is such a bad manager that he had to be saved from using Dubon. Trade accomplished that. 'Play well' is quite optimistic based on what Dubon provided. But not his fault that Espada was such an ignorant homer...and a cringe worthy rah rah guy (see: Cam Smith spring training fiasco from a year ago) that would make any objective person ask "why is this uncharismatic, Michael Scott cringe worthy manager managing a freaking major league baseball team?!?!?!"
Need and want are two different things. Astros want to have players on their team that can flat out play. But they need to have more leadership outside of their current vets to win this year. I don't thi Urias is still available and decent against lefties. Just say'n
I know yall are fond of Christian Vasquez because he helped win us a WS but he's been completely washed up since then. Twins fans were ready to move on from him after his season there.
Not really. Their 8 best hitters all project to be above average against RHP with Meyers and Smith projecting right at average. Basically if they platoon Smith and Sanchez their lineup has pretty similar projections against both RHP (wRC+ 115) and LHP (wRC+ 120) (assuming they play all their best hitters). I will note that in looking at the projections, Jesse Winker (or Alec Burleson or Brendan Donovan or Wilyer Abreu or Lars Nootbar) as a functional platoon with Christian Walker would improve the lineup against RHP and make them almost identical in projections.
He was a gold glove level at several positions that hit close to .250. That is playing well. Not starter level, but a pretty good backup for almost every position except catcher and first base.
Hold on. You would rather pay Mauricio Dubon $6.1MM for 2026 … instead of giving those ABs to develop our top prospects Mathews, Smith, or Cole and find out if they can be part of the future? We have an “infield logjam” so Dubie would play minimally in the infield. Do you really want Dubie to take the OF ABs when Cole and Smith can already provide the same defensive value, and the only question is whether they should be given a shot at producing more than Dubie offensively? Sorry, but that would be one of the worst decisions that management could make. Dana Brown would have and should have been fired if he brought Dubie back.
I agree with the thought that bringing Dubie back hinders the development of the young players, unless Joe does a 180 and sits jim on the bench. That said, he does have value, especially if you do not want Correa playing SS which may be the case after Carlos' comments yesterday. This team has no more than 10 proven MLB position players and fewer than 3 more who project to be better than replacement value so, in a vacuum, the roster is better with him than without him. I would actually go the other direction and say you can't trade Dubon unless Carlos is the backup SS. But getting a middle school version of him back in the trade is what should have Dana in the doghouse, not the choice to trade him.
Apparentely, we have a lot of backups, led by Paredes: Paredes backup DH, 1B, 2B, 3B Allen backup SS Sanchez/Cam/Dezenzo RF Cole/Sanchez/Matthews LF/CF Matthews will also help backup 2B Salazar helps backup C 8 players for 6 slots (LF and 5 BN)
Everyday Lineup against LHP (~50 games): SS Pena DH Paredes LF Alvarez 3B Correa 2B Altuve C Diaz 1B Walker RF Smith CF Meyers Everyday Lineup against RHP (~100 games): 2B Altuve 1B Paredes DH Alvarez 3B Correa LF Sanchez C Diaz SS Pena CF Meyers RF Smith From there, Paredes can move to 2B (20g) 3B (30g), and DH (10g) (with Walker playing 1B) whenever Altuve, Pena, Correa, or Alvarez are due a day off (which would all come against RHP). Really, all that is to say that Walker should be the primary player whose role is reduced by the logjam.
If Walker starts ST cold, I could see a shift happening. This is not what Espada was picturing yesterday, however.
