Assuming Dana played a part in signing Imai, what’s the chances he doesn’t survive past this season if we miss the playoffs because of Burrows and Imai? I was thinking last night you’ve got to think he’s going to do whatever it takes to fix the rotation. Potentially betting your job on Javier, Blanco, and Wesneski probably isn’t where you want to be in life.
The stuff is very good - good enough to deal with him wanting to go every 6th day and only giving you 4-5 innings....... if the results were there. The problem is right now the results are not consistently good enough.
Well - I know for a fact that the Tatsuya signing was something Crane wanted and heavily pushed. I would imagine that Brown likely supported it because the alternative was the money not being spent. These signings are often the idea of Crane and from what I have heard it is a "take it or leave it" scenario. If the money isn't spent on Tatsuya or Hader or Correa - it isn't spent on someone else. Burrows was a Brown and pitching coach decision - they gambled on him having one great pitch that they could work with. It obviously has not worked out well. They didn't pay a lot for him - but they still were hoping for a #3-4 type starter and ended up with a stubborn AAA level starter. The obvious inclination would be that someone in Brown's position (and Espada) would do everything possible to make the playoffs this season and hopefully set up a team to make them next year. However, Crane is not a typical owner and I don't know how he will handle having a GM he likes and trusts (Brown) who saves the farm system from short sighted trades but misses the playoffs twice. Brown ALWAYS wants starting pitching. That has been his #1 target every single deadline (regardless of what he says). My guess is that unless Skubal is surprisingly cheap as a rental, that if he targets pitching it will be someone under control this season and next. I do know that Brown is embarrassed that he has not been able to find in the system or in trade a corner outfielder that is average or above. So it is possible that they offer more than they would for one. 2-3 weeks ago I posted that Blubaugh was a name I heard a lot as someone the Astros are willing to trade for a good player, and that teams wanted. Pecko was also someone that teams asked about and the Astros at that point were listening but saying "no".
I'll 1000% eat crow (which i do alot on here lol) i thought Imai would at the least be a decent #2 or #3 guy. I had no real evidence to have suggested that outside my love for Japan. still hoping that pipeline will grow.
Just spit balling here but, have him start. Once he gets into trouble send a reliever out to hopefully get him out of a jam. and then you bring in Christian Javier to start the next inning. Javier is generally not going any more than 4 or 5 innings anyway.
It shows why it is always risky to add someone that hasn't played big league baseball to a big-league team and be confident of success. The stuff is there - he has looked electric at times and can overwhelm even very good big league hitters. The problem is that he is having a hard time adapting and adjusting. I cannot really get upset at him for that, it isn't an effort issue - and the fact that the stuff is there, gives me hope that he can eventually pitch closer to his ability in the big leagues. Even if he starts improving - he is going to run up pitch counts, and he isn't the greatest endurance pitcher-- so he is likely going to be a 4-6 inning starting pitcher. He is lucky he is pitching in 2026, because if he keeps his era low, he can remain in a big league rotation and be a #3 starter. Guys like Jacob Degroom are fixtures at low innings pitched.
Christian Javier is a weird guy. He is a process guy over a results guy. He is going to make the pitch that they say to make and he isn't concerned about the results. That is why they call him The Reptile. He isn't going to beat himself up, he isn't going to praise himself either. The problem is that the last few times I have seen him - he has basically been a BP pitcher. He makes the pitches, but the movement and velocity are down and guys are no longer being fooled. I have very little expectations of getting quality results from him at this point. He pitched hurt for a long time and even with extensive rehab and conditioning, he just isn't the same..... at the first sign of fatigue/discomfort he should have shut it down and did not..... some of that falls on the Astros too for pushing to increase his load.... some guys just are not build like that and don't have the arm for it. Take 5 innings of 0-2 run ball and deal with the fact he will only give you 140 innings a year....... better than 175 poor innings or being hurt for years.
Well he will almost certainly accept his player option and be in the rotation again in 2027. Let's hope a full offseason with a year of big league experience helps him adapt further. The part about him commenting how every ballpark has a different type of mound was interesting. Had not heard that one before.
I think cracking the Japan market was important. I hope we help him adjust and he comes back next year.
Javier had a brief outing so you really can't put much of anything in that. However in his last game his 4 seam velo was at 93.9 and his whiff rate was 33%. Earlier in the season he was at 92.8 and 17%. Again it was one game, and a a short one, but those 2 numbers are significantly closer to the ones he needs to succeed. Maybe the Astros think he can only hit those targets as a full time reliever now.
There are a lot of differences between the big leagues and Japanese leagues. We just remember all of the success stories, especially recently and assume that any issues will be worked out or are not that big. I can tell you that the language barrier, cultural barrier, differences in stadium and work out routines, difference in rotations and expectations all are hard to overcome. Typically those issues improve with time, and we forget he has been here for only half a season. Still, some players never make the adjustment even when the talent is there.... Irabu is the classic example, Dice K is another. It isn't unique to Japanese players, there have been some Cubans that have struggled to adapt or never do. Sometimes talent and ability isn't enough. I am fairly optimistic that he will improve with more familiarity.., but it is also possible he pursues a buyout and returns to Japan or stays in the Houston and never adjusts.
I just hope that they manage him very carefully. Maybe he can piggyback with Tatsuya or he can just pitch every 7-8 days.
I expect nothing tangible out of Javier. A few innings here and there and most likely a 4.5+ era with some good days and really bad days mixed in. Doesn't help this club by any means get to the post season.
The issue with Arrighetti is that his close pitches are almost always just off the plate. If he could command his pitches to be right on that edges he's get more swing and misses and k calls.
Serious question. How do managers tackle the pitch count for each pitcher as not all pitches are created equal. I would think a hard throwing strike out pitcher would have a different value on overall pitch count compared to someone who throws a ton of curves. The stress on the elbow is different for each. Others may be soft throwers that hit the edges which may allow them to have less stress on their arms and perhaps could go 120. Why is this never discussed during games? It seems to always be 100 pitches is the max now regardless.
Griffin just made Altuve look like a rook. 2-0 count and threw 3 straight strikes (2 right on the edges) for a no swing k.
