I expect the Astros to sign a couple bullpen pieces and perhaps a corner outfielder. However, I wouldn't expect any big signings. Maybe in a year or two if they are in contention and have the csn situation sorted out.
Merely replacing Bedard and Harrell with two guys who can have an even record is good for 17 more wins
I hate to be the devil's advocate, but typically you don't see a huge improvement from players year-to-year. In baseball, what you see in the first couple of years is usually what you get, allowing for a standard age/experience curve. I'm not seeing a lot of standout players, even though the roster is still young and has "potential". Nearly everyone on the team is hovering at around replacement-level performance. If you keep the roster intact next season, you will get largely the same performance. Everyone taking off 0.2 runs from their ERA still makes your pitching among the worst in the majors. Everyone adding .050 to their batting average? Same thing. Castro is the only position player who could make an impact on a rebuilding team, and he plays literally the worst position when it comes to maintaining long-term performance. While you're spending another 2-3 years figuring out who is worth playing, he himself has a decent chance of degenerating into replacement-level performance. I don't want to be all party-pooper central here, but looking from the outside I expected a lot more turnover on the roster this season. Maybe this year was spent shoring up the minors, but if you don't see a lot of players getting shipped up and down the next year, I would start asking serious questions about how the front office intends to compete with clubs who already have major-league talent and can still produce Mike Trouts, Sonny Grays, and Martin Perezs every year. (OK, Trout is a bit of a stretch, but the A's literally do bring up a new starting pitcher every year.)
While their poor record has contributed to the invisibility, player(s) recognition is a big part of it also. Once we have a guy making headlines (in a positive way) by hitting lots of home runs, pitching shut-outs or making newsworthy plays regularly, this will go a long way. We need a Bagwell, Biggio, Oswalt type player badly. One that audiences want to see. If we can get close to .500 and have someone like Springer or Appel catch peoples notice, perhaps we can get back on peoples radar.
Well, we are 21st in runs scored now, so any little improvement at all and we aren't bottom 10. Also, since the all-star break, we are 13th in runs scored. Not saying we are going to have a great offense, but I certainly do not think it will be bottom 10. Hitting hasn't been great this year but that isn't where the biggest problem lies. We have easily the worst era in baseball this year, even since the ASB when some of the changes have been for the better, we still have a 4.73 era tied with Philly for last. I could see a middle of the pack offense next year, and decent rotation. Key is whether they will care enough to spend a little on the pen
No doubt we need a few guys people want to see. Heck, Cosart's first start was a very nice crowd. I know a lot of free tickets were given out for that game, but the crowd was genuinely excited to see Cosart that night, was a good atmosphere
I think the most pleasant surprise, aside from Castro emerging as an offensive threat, is Robbie Grossman. That dude has raked since he got called up the second time. First half of the season. .198 BA, .310 OBP, .243 SLG - .553 OPS Second half of the season .322 BA, .351 OBP, .466 SLG - .816 OPS There's probably some good luck in those second half numbers. It'll be interesting if he can approach a .750 OPS next season. That'd be golden.
