Somewhat is a no win situation. They don't sign him and everyone says they are either cheap or assholes. They do sign him and he gets hurt, everyone says they are stupid to sign a defective pitcher. Hasn't been a good month for the Astros....
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Source: The Astros’ final offer to Brady Aiken was $5 million.</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/490247227764637696">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/astros?src=hash">#astros</a> made multiple offers to aiken to try to bridge the gap. offered close to $5M. there was said to be no counteroffers.</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/statuses/490246655783223296">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Astros lost 111 games last year for absolutely nothing. Good database, though.</p>— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamKilgoreWP/statuses/490246898280722432">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Brady Aiken must be really, really, really, really confident he's healthy to turn down ~$5M. To get that again, he needs to be a top 3 pick.</p>— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/statuses/490247133539221504">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/astros?src=hash">#astros</a> offered about $5M to try to sign aiken. wind up signing neither aiken nor niix. <a href="https://twitter.com/jimcallisMLB">@jimcallisMLB</a> 1st</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/statuses/490247252494286849">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yes... but the fans end up paying a bigger price in the short term and now possibly the long-term. You have to factor in that this was a 51-111 team that "deserved" the #1 pick, and they won't have anything to show for that. Could have drafted Kolek... could have drafted Rodon... instead, they were confident enough in Aiken (which was totally glamoured up in the SI article... about how great the saber metrics + old scouts hybrid allows them to make these decisions).
We will have something to show for the 51-111 team, the #2 pick in the 2015 draft. To probably go along with #1 overall pick in the entire draft. To say we are rewarded with nothing from our 2013 season isn't accurate.
I don't think anybody would care if they had signed him and he gets injured.... 6.5 million (or even $5 million) is not a crippling amount that prevents them from making other moves elsewhere. Nobody is really complaining about DeShields' bonus money... or even Appel's bonus money. At least if you have him, he "could" turn out to be just fine... as he (and his doctors) obviously feel he is.
To say that they didn't get anything for a 51-111 season isn't true, they get the #2 pick next year in addition to their probable top 5 pick anyway. I am not happy that the Astros were unable to sign their #1 pick, but this "disaster" and "doom" and "gloom" narrative is being overblown.
You keep saying we won't have anything to show for that. Won't we have 2 top 5 picks next year or am I misunderstanding how this works? Having 2 top 5 picks in next year's draft is something.
That's not being rewarded... that's the consolation prize for failing to sign a #1 pick, and guarantees nothing next year either.
It isn't the money, it is wasting a #1 pick on someone they feel is more likely to be injured.... you better believe that had the Astros taken Aiken and next year or the year after he blew out his arm, many many people would be blaming the Astros and criticizing them. I suppose they could have just signed him and not mentioned the small UCL... but once there was a disagreement, it was bound to happen. I will say this, the Astros are never getting one under slot with Casey Close again.
Aiken's an absolute idiot if he really turned down 5 mill. There's a high high probability that the Astros have 2 of the top 3 picks next year. that leaves him a 1 pick window to get drafted to a slot that would (possibly) pay him 5 million.
I've been one of the most ardent supporters of this front office, but they lost me today. I'm tired of next year. $6 million is not worth missing out on a potential talent like Aiken. I don't care if his elbow is made of peanut butter. Not to even bring up Nix... The fact that our final offer is rumored to be $5 million, which is conveniently right about the highest we could go to get all three guys, makes me sick to my stomach.
