Lars has a sub .700 OPS his last 800 at bats and is a guy who always seems to be fighting some kind of injury Don't get me wrong, I'd take him on the team, but i'm not giving up Blu for him and certainly not Blu + Ullola
Im not super high on Cole but would't even give him only with his control straight up for Nootbaar. He is lousy defender and was promising bat still couple of years ago mostly because of walking some keeping OPS decent. Now he is mid as they come. This season stats are only 30AB, 2hr, 5rbi. Has seen lot of cardinals games with my Marmol hate watch and Nootbaar you pick up in like 5 rule draft, not pay for.
Nootbar had some kind of foot ailment that he had offseason surgery to correct and he's working his way back. I would trade Blubaugh for Nootbar because I believe Nootbar will make it back to where he was, maybe even better.
I might for just Blubaugh, but not giving up on Ullola yet. Of course, they may have a higher target in mind. Nootbar is mediocre.
Now's not the time to give up potential for a certified per-owned. We've bargain basement hunted the past few years and hasn't paid off and now need to straight up buy for exceptional talent or start to sell off what we have.
Astros get: OF Seiya Suzuki SP Shoto Imanaga RP Jacob Webb Cubs get: P Mike Burrows OF Zach Cole P Brandon McPherson Astros have to go over the tax and get 2 rental players and a RP with one more year, but ostensibly address all the holes in their roster. They could make a play to re-sign either of Suzuki or Imanaga. They don’t give up much, Burrows is still a controllable SP with upside, Cole is a very high risk/reward CF, and McPherson is an interesting near-ready pitching prospect. The Cubs get ready replacements for each player they send out so it could be construed as not really giving up on the team. Astros playoff roster: SS Pena DH Alvarez 3B Paredes RF Suzuki 1B Walker CF Smith 2B Altuve LF Wade C Vazquez Bench: Shewmake, Diaz, Matthews, Loperfido SP: Brown, Imanaga, Arrighetti, Lambert RP: Hader, Webb, King, Abreu, De Los Santos, Okert, Blubaugh, Teng, Javier
Playoffs? Playoffs??? I'd do that deal from the Astros perspective I have no idea if the Cubs would be even slightly interested.
Cubs are in similar situation to Astros in that they began the season with high hopes but have fallen off. They still have a winning record so would need to keep losing to become sellers but if they did they’d likely be looking to move their rentals with Suzuki and Imanaga at the top of the list. Suzuki would generate a lot of interest and has some good surplus value but Imanaga would need them to eat money if they want real prospects back. Happ and Conforto are also pending free agents and both could interest the Astros if they are buyers. The hypothetical I proposed would rely on the Cubs liking Burrows despite his performance (much like the Astros did when they acquired him).
If you swap in Ethan Pecko or Bryce Mayer for Burrows maybe it works better? Suzuki is a rental making $17M this year. He is not a surefire QO candidate and he’s not a great defender. Doesn’t offer baserunning value and strikes out quite a bit (<25%). But he hits for power and walks a lot and has consistently produced like a middle of the order hitter. He really doesn’t have that much surplus value but there also won’t be very many hitters of his caliber available. Getting a team’s #4 prospect (Pecko) or a controllable SP like Burrows is a good headliner for a guy like that, especially without the Cubs taking on any money. The market for good hitters can get crazy so maybe I’m wrong. Imanaga is a rental making $22M this year with a 4.44 era and a 4.72 FIP. He wasn’t very good last year either. But he’s been durable and has good k/bb numbers this season. There will be a handful of pitchers like him out there. I don’t know if he had much surplus value given his contract. I would consider Zach Cole in a 1-for-1 swap a great deal for Chicago if they aren’t eating money. Webb is a 32 year old RP with no closing experience whos mostly been a middle reliever. He doesn’t have impressive stuff. But he has 4 straight seasons of being a durable effective bullpen arm. He has a year of control left which is a $2.5M club option. A fringey prospect like Brandon McPherson is a typical return for a guy like that.
I am thinking staying under the CBT is priority #1 for Crane. I think exceeding it last year was a mistake and he is going to be sure that does not happen again. But I was wrong last year so maybe I'm wrong again.
I was looking at trading Paredes or Pena for a proven LH OF bat + more but the more I look the more I realize its not likely any trade can replace them in 2026 ( maybe 2027 but not now) so it would just be filling one hole to create another. If they decide to sell, its different but in order to fill a hole in 2026 it will require trading one of the few top prospects that nobody wants to move, or make a much smaller deal. What about Zach Cole and Joseph Sullivan to Colorado for Mickey Moniak? Moniak is a much more consistent and dependable strong side platoon LF that Cole, Loperfido, or Trammell. An upgrade this team needs. The Astros don't have a roster spot for Cole right now as he has fallen behind Loperfido, Trammell, and Matthews on the LF depth chart. Colorado gets 2 high ceiling, lower floor outfielders with 6 years of control each in exchange for 1 1/2 years of a good hitting OF limited by platoon splits and defense.
What do y'all think Matthews market value is. I would consider trading him with minor league pitching like Hicks to get a quality somewhat controllable OF bat.
I would not be unhappy if that happened but I think there are several you try to trade before him. He plays infield and outfield - is the perfect guy to give Altuve rest at 2B which should happen more and more the next few years He hits RH and the 3 other LF options are LH ( Loperfido, Trammell, and Yordan) + Wade hits lefty and will be back on the roster if his hamstring ever heals. Cole is also LH. I try to trade Cole, Dezenzo, Loperfido, Meyers, and Trammell first then move on to Brice only if its necessary.
