We need defense and someone who isn't an automatic out... I'm looking for a reasonable ob% of .350... we want guys on when the top of the order comes up....
Yeah... a .350 obp for a CF is wishful thinking at this point. With Brantley primarily in LF we really need a CF who can cover some ground out there and provide some pop at the bottom of the lineup. JBJ seems unlikely now but he’s still my first choice. After that, Pillar and Marisnick. Still the possibility of some type of trade. Hard to imagine rolling into the season with Straw as the starting CF.... unless they think there’s at least a 40% chance that Leon is ready sometime this year
That would be fantasy land. Here are the Center fielders that had a .350 or better OBP last year. Acuna, Nimmo, Yastrzemski, Trout, Hicks, Bradley Jr, Kyle Lewis, Ian Happ, George Springer, and Trent Grisham. Here are the Center fielders that had a .350 or better OBP in 2019... Trout, Ketel Marte, Springer, and Acuna The only one available is Bradley Jr and that wouldn't be a trade....
I've been on the record hoping for Pillar because he can replace the offense we lost from Reddick quite easily. That means if Alvarez can replace the production from Springer, Pillar could replace the offense from Reddick, and Castro is an upgrade over Garneau you have at least maintained the level of offensive production from last year. Hopefully, with Altuve, Correa, Bregman, and Gurriel improving from bad years last season we are actually better. However, it doesn't bother me that much if Straw gets a chance for a couple reasons. 1. I hope Leon gets more of a chance to make it to the big leagues sometime this season. 2. Maybe Straw can be an effective 9 hole hitter. If he can get on base with his speed when we turn the lineup over it could be fun to watch. He's never had a lot of playing time in the majors. In his last AAA season he had a .391 OBP. His career OBP in the minors is .394. 3. As of now we do not have expanded playoffs for 2021. That means a number of CFers could be available at the deadline that the Astros can't afford for a full season, but for 2 months they can get them and stay under the luxury tax. I don't see the Marlins competing in the NL East without expanded playoffs so Starling Marte might be available. Lorenzo Cain might be available as the Brewers have done nothing to improve. His AAV is 16 million but for the last 2 months it could be about 6-7 million and maybe the Brewers eat some of the money. Maybe the Giants wake up and realize they can't compete with the two headed monster of the Dodgers and Padres in their division and would be willing to move Yastrzemski. Same goes for the Dbacks and Ketel Marte.
Have trouble believing we pay what it takes for yaz... also, he is older so not much of a building block long term...
I understand your point but I'm not saying a sure thing, I'm saying that could be that, which includes some guys in the minors who may have a .400 ob% in aaa but slug .350 with limited upside... think young Marisnick but instead of pop it's on base...
I view that as extremely unlikely considering there was no minor league season last year so current evaluations on minor leaguers are difficult and not current, and you literally just described Myles Straw.... 394 OBP in the minors and a .379 SLG. He has 224 major league plate appearances and if he hit like he did in 2019 in MLB the Astros woul probably be fine with that until Leon is ready. He's got 4 years of team control (only one less than Alvarez and Tucker) and would be a free agent at age 34 so wouldn't ever need to even think about extending him. Zero problem with giving up a big prospect package for that value. If you can have a legit starting outfielder for 4 years and MIGHT have to pay him 20-30 million through arbitration if continues to produce I see that as a very valuable asset.
I know what you're saying about Straw and i don't disagree he could be an answer but we should hedge our bets and get more options and make them compete... The cost on Yaz will be too high... the likely scenario is 2 or 3 of our best prospects for him to hit 7th in our lineup... even that might not be enough. If he's available a lot of teams will make bids rather than pay someone like Springer 100+ million... We don't need allstar level talent... we need a guy for 1-2 years who can cover range and not be a hole in the lineup...
What would it take to get Victor robles? Have they seen enough of him to be willing to trade him yet?
Maybe they think McCormick is their competition. He started 21 games in CF in 2019 and he's on the 40 man roster which is full right now. Adding anyone else to the 40 man would require a roster move until spring training starts when Verlander and James can go on the 60 day injured list. Until then, either someone has to get cut or traded to add someone else to the roster. I don't think getting Yaz is likely, but I would give up our top 2 prospects in Whitley and Pena for him plus some lower ranked guys.
The 2020 International Signing Period being delayed to this January followed by the minor league season being delayed may have screwed the Astros. It took Gurriel, Jr. about 400 plate appearances (first 200 or so were horrible) in minors to be ready. He had more time in Cuba's National League than Leon, but most of it wasn't good. His best years weren't much more than the time Leon had, but Leon was much better.
If they are that high on Leon and confident he will be ready by Jul/Aug after ~400 pa, maybe their plan is to give Straw/McCormick the first half of the season just to get by, knowing that if all 3 bust they can then trade for a CF.
