Lunhow sitting back idly waiting for his time. Will say it again, he values his prospects way too highly. Was burned in the Milwaukee and Atlanta deals and refuses to let it happen again. Do not expect much movement on the Astros end unless teams severely lower their asking prices for prospects. And word is Harper is most likely headed to Chicago.
They may believe Tyler White is going to be good enough at DH. Brantley has to be higher on the front office list than Cruz and he is still listening to offers. Brantley gets the professional lefty they need to add to offset some of Marwin's AB in left field. Diaz eats the right handed AB's from Marwin in the infield. But who know maybe Marwin stay with his little buddy once it's all said and done.
If they miss out on both Brantley and Cruz, that's going to be super disappointing. There is no good reason for us to lose out on BOTH of them, so my hope is that they are in advanced talks with Brantley.
But Cruz has nothing to do with prospects or other teams' asking price......he's a free agent. This is simply dollars and cents, and how much of it the Astros want to spend.
What does being in or out on a free agent, in this case, Nelson Cruz, have any connection to our prospects, and how Luhnow values them? There is no correlation, perhaps you replied to a wrong post? Adding a free agent costs only money, not prospects. From a pure offensive perspective, I take Nellie and his damn near guaranteed 30 HRs. But I believe it is apparent that our front office values versatility, so perhaps a more professional hitter with less power, like Brantley (who could play LF, and experiment with him at 1B if necessary), have more appeal to the Astros? Or perhaps Luhnow loves his prospects so much, we won't sign anybody, ever.
That is a shame if Brantley is above Cruz on the "wish list". This line-up os full of 12-20 home run/60-70 RBI hitters. We need a big bopper. Nelly is perfect for this team.
2018 wRC+, Nelson Cruz: 134 2018 wRC+, Tyler White: 144 On a per PA basis, Tyler White was a better hitter than Cruz last season. I’m ok saving that $10-20M for a bigger fish (Harper, Brantley, Pollock) or a good SP.
Springer, Bregman, and Correa are all capable of 30+ HR over full healthy seasons. The lineup just needs productive hitters who can extend innings, regardless of their profile.
I agree with this. Only issue is that Cruz has been a much better hitter than Brantley lately regardless of profile and Cruz's defense can't get worse.
I am aware free agents do not cost prospects. Was adding an aside that the trade talks they are having are not going far because we are not backing off of certain, most, prospects for deals.
