Is this just what you're speculating? Or do you have inside sources? Greinke despite his age I would be completely on board with extending him. I think he will continue pitch well past 40 and at a high level, a la Greg Maddux and even Jamie Moyer. Brantley I also would like to keep, assuming he'll get healthy again soon and return to form. OF is a big question mark, and also, him at LF and he would keep Tucker out of LF and in RF, where I've always believed he's better suited. Also, he's a legacy player, I love those. Josh Bell I'm not as fond of as a fielder, and despite his high hard hit % his peripherals (xWOBA, xBA, xSLG, etc.) are pretty bad. And he's slow. Jesus Aguilar is a name I would like. Good peripherals and has control left. Looks to be rebounding from a bad year. Or we could go the route of getting someone who's young and controllable, and trying to turn them around (i.e: Jake Bauers, Daniel Vogelbach).
Like COVID, the Astros have a high success rate in nursing homes. It's clear where there priorities lie once they realize young talent does not care about anything other than coasts.
Just based on the small sample of Keuchel and Cole, the Astros do not resign players once they reach free agency, which does not bode well for Springer. But the pandemic has made the free agent market and teams’ payroll capacities extremely hard to predict. It would not shock me if Houston brought back all 3 of Brantley, Gurriel, and Springer; it would also not surprise me if none of them came back. Bell as a target is only mildly surprising because I think one of Jones or Toro will be able to take over 1B next season and be an above average hitter. If I were to venture a guess I would say they’d acquire one decent outfielder via trade (somebody like Soler) then sign another this offseason (whether that’s a big ticket guy like Springer or a 3rd tier guy like Kevin Pillar or somebody in between). I would be surprised if Greinke signed an extension but he is hard to peg. Sometimes it seems like he doesn’t even enjoy the game, and there’s never been any indication that he likes Houston any more than anywhere else he’s been. If he was open, a 2-3 year extension to 2023 or 2024 would be great; I think he could remain at least an effective pitcher thru that time, although banking on him for 4-5 fWAR thru those years would be foolish to me, so ~$20M/yr is about as high as Id go. 2021 roster: C: Maldonado, Stubbs IF: Jones, Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Toro, Diaz OF: Tucker, Pillar*, Soler*, Alvarez, Straw SP: Verlander, Greinke, Javier, Valdez, Urquidy, McCullers RP: Bielak, Smith, Devenski, James, Paredes, Taylor, Pressly 2024 roster: C: Lee*, Stubbs IF: Jones, Altuve, Correa*, Bregman, Toro, Pena* OF: Tucker, Leon*, Barber*, Alvarez, Straw SP: Greinke*, Javier, Whitley*, Urquidy, Valdez RP: Bielak, Brown*, Ivey*, Torres*, Solis*, James, Paredes, Taylor
When is that? He seems to enjoy the game to me. He most likely will want to go to an NL team assuming they get rid of the DH as the part he enjoys the most is hitting.
Agree with most of this, but at this point Whitleys floor is ground 0, there is a chance this guy never has a bit of Mlb success
Couple of intreasting names Nick Castellanos and Miguel Andujar. Wouldn't mind either one. Andujar is ha ing a bad year. Still like Josh Bell and Rosenthal.
Cincy is one of those teams with expanded playoffs and a shortened season who probably still thinks they can make a run and get in... and unless they lose a bunch over the next week and a half won’t become sellers. But i like the idea of castellanos. A Mitch Moreland sounds pretty intriguing. Nico Goodrum is a guy who intrigues me. Can play a variety of positions. Almost like a Marwin type player. Bat hasn’t been great but could provide depth at a few different spots and definitely has potential to be a solid hitter. With Pittsburgh at 4-16 they’re a disaster... I bet they’d listen to about any phone call they get for anyone with value
I know Marquez is getting lit up by the Astros right now but I would like the Astros to make a move for him. I feel like if he gets away from Coors field he can be one of the best pitchers in baseball.
I would worry about his price. Last year there was interest in him aswell. But the Rockies said they were contenders and kept him. They seem to think there always contenders. He would be a great add if it were something like Whitley straight up.
I'm still trying to trade for the Reds pitching. Nooks guy, I can't remember his name Castillo? That guy is a future stud.
HOU gets: 1B Mitch Moreland BOS gets: RHP Bryan Abreu, Brandon Bailey, Josh James Now, I could imagine the Red Sox not wanting to deal with us, considering playoff history and the controversies (though they're anything but clean themselves). However, they have done plenty of business with their 3 non-Yankees division rivals. And are also in need of pitching. Moreland is having a hell of a year, and also has a cheap option for next year. Also he's BFFs with Oswalt, who I'm sure would be pumped to have his favorite player join his favorite team. We have so many arms it helps the triage problem. I'd call and try and make an offer revolving around something like this. I'd also want to try and trade for Tony Watson from SF as another veteran pen arm. Not sure what he'd cost but probably not that much.
That’s a massive overpay for Moreland. Moreland has very little surplus value; he signed this offseason for $3M/1yr. He’s off to a hot/lucky start but there’s nothing about his performance that should significantly change what he is: an aging 1B with an average bat. James and Abreu have elite stuff and while both have had their struggles either one by himself is likely to be far more valuable than Moreland. Bailey is a fringe prospect and is the exact kind of lotto arm Boston should expect him return for Moreland, nothing more.
I really don’t have as good of a feel on what prospects are worth this year, without MiLB going on. Guess James and Abreu still have more value, that would be a base for a hypothetical trade for, say, a Plesac (doubt he’s available though). Bailey + Armenteros is my offer for Moreland. Still a solid bat with a cheap 2021 option, potential Yordan insurance.
Reds are 2 games out of the Wild Card. They have traded prospects to acquire guys like Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer. They also gave Castellanos a sizeable contract in free agency. Unless they go on a massive losing streak in the next 10 days I don't see them being sellers.... and it didn't hurt their cause when the Astros just pounded the Rockies 4 games in a row which is one of the Wild Card teams the Reds are battling with.
The only teams I see as definitive sellers right now are the Red Sox, Tigers, Royals, Mariners, Angels, Pirates, and Giants.
Forgot about Jay Bruce. He's on the struggling Phillies, and as a Beaumont native has openly expressed interest in joining the Astros in the past. Despite starting to climb up in age he's still productive, and is on the last year of his contract and probably wants to go ring chasing since he's yet to win one. Another cheap option.
