That surprises me. Not just because Crane has been very willing to increase payroll pretty much every year, but also because Click just does not strike me as the “hard sell” type of GM, especially in his first year. And even if he was going to push Crane to approve something, it doesn’t make sense he’d squander goodwill trying to secure Yuli.
Crane told his GM he could take on payroll at the deadline for a real difference maker... there just wasn’t a deal to be made. In the past Crane has been fun shy of long term commitments but not shorter ones for high salaries.
I understand these guys are professionals and they want to make as much $ as possible and some would like more fame playing in an NY or LA media market but a real argument I would make for them is that no place will give show them the same love that they have here. Any other place they go to especially in LA or NY they will be dogged by the cheating scandal. They will always be looked at suspiciously. While the Houston fan base might get upset at play but they will never turn on them or feel they are tainted. This doesn't apply to Brantley but certainly to Springer and Correa.
Another thought... Assuming we can get Springer resigned, I’d be ok passing on Brantley if it allows us to get an upgrade at catcher. Love Maldonado as a backup and late inning defensive replacement, but we need a bit more hitting at the back end of our lineup. I like James McCann as an option. Stuck behind Grandal in CWS and an all-star. Great bat, good behind the plate. Something like a 3 year $30 million contract should get it done. RF Springer 2B Altuve 3B Bregman DH Alvarez SS Correa LF Tucker C McCann 1B Gurriel CF ?
The only way the Astros invest any significant money in their offense is if somehow Springer and Brantley are both gone. It's a virtual guarantee they will replace the other with a cheap/flawed option and retain Maldonado as starter. They'll use the money on a proven bullpen arm and a decent starter to stabilize the rotation. I don't think Crane will suddenly get cheap, but coming off Covid I sure as hell wouldn't expect him too add much if any salary.
One interesting thing is Houstons small arbitration class. Only Correa, Diaz, McCullers, Devenski, and Osuna are eligible, and Devenski and Osuna are very likely to be non-tendered. Amazingly, only Diaz and Josh James are expected to be arbitration eligible next offseason, and at this point James would also be a non-tender candidate. For a team as good as they are, having only 2 meaningful long term salary commitments (Altuve and Bregman) sets them up to have a ton of flexibility moving forward.
I don’t see an investment in someone like McCann as being purely offense, as he plays the most specialized position in the lineup. Having both him and Maldonado takes care of both the offense and defense. If we gave Springer a $9 million That, and with Verlander and Grienke (about $70 million total) expiring next year, there’s a lot of directions we could go. My hope is ownership is willing to maintain their investment this year with an eye towards saving the following year. Ignoring any insurance on Verlanders contract, we have the following potentially falling off our books: Springer - $21 million Brantley - $16 million Reddick - $13 million Osuna - $10 million Smith - $4 million Peacock - $4 million Devenski - $2 million That’s $70 million to spend this year, and about $70 million to spend next year, assuming we maintain our current spending level. Here’s an idea: $30 million a year to Springer $10 million a year to McCann $15 million split between 2 relievers $15 million to a #2-level starter RF/CF Springer 2B Altuve 3B Bregman DH Alvarez SS Correa LF Tucker C McCann 1B Gurriel CF/RF Straw/Open Bench - Diaz, Maldonado, Toro, Open Starting Pitchers Grienke #2 level pitcher Valdez Urquidy McCullers Bullpen Javier Parades Presley #1 Signing #2 Signing Scrubb Taylor Raley I can also see a reasonable argument for forgoing signing a starter, making Javier a full time starter, and either saving the funds for another player, for the deadline, or try to bring back Brantley. lots of directions we could go.
We'll need to take some flyers on some pitchers that Strohm thinks maybe he can turnaround Sign Homer Bailey to a 1 year $1M deal, maybe even Aaron Sanchez depending on his rehab. There are quite a few veteran pitchers that might be signable on a 1 year prove it deal for little money
The Astros really have no excuse not to do everything in their power to try and keep Springer, Brantley and Correa. They don’t have competent replacements at the minor league level, and the development of cheap pitching this season (Urquidy, Javier and Valdez) means they don’t have to go out and immediately spend big money on starting pitching in free agency. Also, in the 2022 season, the Astros have only $37 million in current payroll obligations if they don’t exercise the club option on Gurriel’s contract. The only players arbitration eligible would be Aledmys Diaz (his final season), Framber Valdez (his first), and Josh James (his first, and he’s a trade/non-tender candidate).
I don’t think they’ll have $70M to spend. I think the number will be closer to $40M. Otherwise I agree with your approach. Bulk of available funds have to go to resigning or replacing Springer. Remainder should go to shoring up pitching. Sign Springer for $130M/5yrs plus incentives and maybe an opt out. Sign or trade for a SP. I’d be willing to trade Whitley to get a guy like Marquez. Otherwise there are endless options on the trade and free agent market and this is where Click will have to prove his worth. They don’t have a ton of money and don’t have a good farm, so he needs to work some magic. After those 2 are done, use whatever other resources remain to shore up the bullpen and find potential upgrades at catcher and in the outfield. CF Springer ($130M/5yrs with opt out after 1 year) 3B Bregman 2B Altuve DH Alvarez SS Correa RF Tucker 1B Gurriel LF Jorge Soler (acquired from KC for Toro and McCormick) C Maldonado Bench: Diaz, Straw, Alex Avila ($5M/1yr), Jones Rotation: Greinke, McCullers, Jon Gray (acquired from COL for Abreu and Bielak), Valdez, Urquidy Bullpen: Pruitt, Javier, James, Smith, Taylor, Paredes, Brandon Workman ($12M/2yrs), Pressly
Man if the Astros can pull some sort of magic trick and keep the core of Springer, Altuve, Correa, Brantley, Bregman and now Tucker and Alverez(let's see how his knees recover) that would be special.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/latest-on-the-catching-market-realmuto-sanchez.html This article suggests Realmuto will get between $100M/4yr and $130M/6yr. I would LOVE him on the Astros for that price. And would definitely prefer Realmuto at those prices over Springer for the same amounts. Imagine they sign Realmuto and let Springer walk, then add a cheaper CF like Pillar and another complementary player via trade to play LF (like Soler from my earlier example). That lineup would be in play for the best ever: 3B Bregman 2B Altuve C Realmuto DH Alvarez SS Correa RF Tucker 1B Gurriel LF Soler CF Pillar
I don't quite get the love affair some posters on CF have with Realmuto. The guy is a great hitter for a catcher, which I get is an anomaly in MLB today. But you'd rather have a guy who's never topped 25 HRs or 83 RBI in a season and has a career .783 OPS over Springer, an excellent defensive CF whose career OPS easily tops .850 and who has 18 postseason home runs in only 60 career postseason games? That just seems crazy to me. I'd rather have Maldonado and his subpar hitting (but killer arm) paired with Springer in the lineup than Realmuto and a replacement CF.
To add to this ... I know it is intangible, but I think continuity with Springer matters a lot for team chemistry and energy (assuming he wants to be here). We have seen this year, painfully, that the Astros' mental state matters a lot for their performance. Also somewhat intangible ... it is clear our pitchers like the way Maldonado calls the game. Lance gave him a lot of credit, and even last night it was Martin who stood up for Grienke, and Zach clearly appreciated the confidence it gave Dusty. I'd love Realmuto, but Springer wants to be here and we can afford him, I'd prefer to keep riding with Maldy and a AAAA backup.