The trade was Harper for Bukauskas and Stubbs I think. For now Houston does not need to add a bat. If anything they need to find a way to make room for Alvarez, Tucker, and Fisher, who are all kicking ass in AAA right now. Adding Rendon while sending out White and Kemp would result in even less available ABs for Alvarez. Current hypothetical: Astros get: SP Marcus Stroman Blue Jays get: RHP JB Bukauskas OF Derek Fisher RHP Bryan Abreu 1B Tyler White
Only for a manager that spells Alvarez "Gurriel". I do agree Astros don't need another bat. Astros don't truly need anything. I am definitely for adding a TOR SP, a special bat, and/or another lockdown reliever.
If you’re bringing in Rendon to play 1B, the only “everyday” ABs available would be at DH, just like now. And given you’d want to rest Rendon even less than Gurriel, there would be less ABs to go around for another player (Alvarez).
@Nook think the Astros will pull a trade early before the deadline or do you think they will wait until the last week? I hope they go for a SP early before the Yankees or some other AL team does.
I think right now the Astros feel zero pressure to make a move so it will entirely depend on the market. I do think the Astros still will go hard after starting pitching under team control with an elite rental as a fall back.
Thanks! Last question from me... was having a conversation with a buddy tonight while watching the game. Obviously this team is rolling offensively with no Altuve and to be fair a weak DH when White plays. If they bring in Alaverz and he struggles, can you see them doubling down and trading for DH that can also play first or second? Clearly this is just wishful thinking on my part but I would love to see another bat if they can't do it internally.
Under the right circumstances and at the right cost, sure. With the Astros a lot of it comes down to prospect costs.
Hear me out. The Astros should replace Stassi with Brian Mccain in a trade. He only makes 2 million per season, can be the secondary catcher, and already knows the staff. As a bonus he has a .300 BA. I mean he only signed a 1 year 2 million deal. Braves have a winning record though which could be a problem.
Mccann signed with the Braves because he wants to retire with the Braves. Atlanta should be in the playoff mix the entire season. He has an OPS well over .800 and only makes 2 million so there is absolutely no reason to trade him. At this point in the season the Astros are under no pressure to make any moves. Sure, it would be exciting to see what Alvarez can do or have a better offensive option than Stassi, but the team is rolling. Barring injury, Stassi will continue to be on the roster.
Agreed. Stassi's putrid offense isn't even close to costing the Astros games. The offensive upside of any replacement has to be weighed against the loss of Stassi's framing and familiarity with the staff. He's the freaking backup catcher. Why bother?
After reading about Chirinos’ concussion concerns, it certainly could end up being the case that Houston needs a catcher. There’s not a lot out there. My first call would be to the White Sox to ask about James McCann. Familiar with Verlander, having a great year offensively, shouldn’t cost much in prospects. Otherwise the next best option might be somebody like Lucroy. Other than Posey (who I don’t see waiving his no-trade), all the good catchers are on winning teams. An outside the box option would be to trade for a top catching prospect who is ready for the majors. The Dodgers have 2 excellent catching prospects, so I wonder what it would take to get Ruiz or Smith from them.
He did smash the f*** out of that ball last night that went just foul...and well out of the stadium. Yeah, McCann isn’t leaving Atlanta and they’re not selling. Stassi is good defensively and the rest of the offense will pick him up when he starts. Absolutely no reason, injuries aside, to move him at this point. A SP is the only move I can see them making at this point...and that mostly depends on how Martin does. I’d throw last nights game out. 2nd start against the Sox in Fenway would get to anyone.
Agree even though I'd have concerns with/without concussion concern. Catching is tough. Stassi has not been played all aspects of the game well enough to cut it if need be.
I wonder if part of roster management strategy is to always assume you’ll need a 3rd catcher in the playoffs, and so no matter what, a team should assess their 3rd catcher in July and determine if they would feel comfortable with him on the playoff roster, and if not, trade for a catcher even if they don’t currently need one on the 25 man roster.
Sorry, just saw this now. Springer in CF Branltley in RF Alvarez in LF. Rendon 1B Altuve 2B Correa SS Bregman 3B Chirinos C Reddick, Gurriel, Diaz, and Marisnick are the non-C subs. One of them plays everyday at DH or to allow a starter to play at DH. Two or more play when Hinch wants to give a starter(s) rest. All adding Rendon would do is affect Gurriel and Reddick's ABs unless Alvarez isn't better than those two. If Alvarez can't get ABs over Reddick and Gurriel, that is on Alvarez.
