[Official] Astros Off Season

And so it continues with the 2017-19 Astros identity ending up all over the map.

 

Honestly a very likely scenario. Especially being able to mentor Casey Mize and some of their young arms over there. I’d be extremely happy to see AJ land another managerial gig and the tigers seem like a perfect fit.

 

I hope AJ gets it real soon. What would that say about what actual baseball people think about us if Hinch were to get a job almost immediately after being reinstated, despite being tied to this oh-so-horrible cheating scandal that the media has perpetuated? Literally earlier today I saw some wanker at Yahoo call him "disgraced former manager" when the White Sox accidentally put his signature rather than LaRusa's.

 

I think we can get some good value on a bullpen arm or two.

We need to get Kevin Pillar if Springer leaves.

Is it just me or does Enoli Paredes remind anyone of Octavio Dotel?

 

I told my cousin this a couple months back about the Dotel comp. Pillar had an excellent year with the bat by his standards and plays an elite CF.

 

I wouldn't mind Pillar but also wouldn't mind Jackie Bradley Jr. Keith Law had his top 40 free agents and he was number 10. Here's what he had to say about him.

JBJ has always teased with the potential of his bat, but at some point he made the decision to sell out for more power — probably in his breakout 2016 season — and it has made him a worse overall hitter since. If you want a reason for optimism, though, in 2020 he flattened his swing and used the whole field better than he has in any other big-league season, going the other way at the highest rate of his career. That’s who he needs to be, because he doesn’t make the kind of high-quality contact that you usually see on true power hitters. He’s still an elite defender in center, and if he keeps putting the ball in play (he had a career-low strikeout rate in 2020) and worries less about putting it in the seats, he has All-Star, 4-win upside.

 

Why? He's the guy that's the true reason for the scandal. He couldn't control his dugout and gave into the wishes of Cora/Beltran etc....

 

Insurance should cover alot of JV's money.

 

Osuna put on out right waivers.

 

Coming around to the idea of Houston adding an infielder and moving Bregman to RF (with Tucker in LF). There’s a healthy crop of SS/3B available and adding an infielder on a multi-year deal would provide some insurance against Correa leaving after next season. Kim, Semien, Gregorius, LaStella, Lamb, and Simmons all might fit. Villar, Hernandez, and Profar would fit in the OF with benefit of being able to move in after Correa leaves. If Travis Shaw is non-tenderer he would also be a fit.

 

Brad Hand being sent to outright waivers with a $10,000,000 option not being picked up told me everything I needed to know about the market. He is someone that has been extremely successful and normally would have a lot of positive value. If no one makes a waiver claim, that will REALLY jolt the market.

Looking at the Yankees exercising their option on a reliever for a lot of money, I am not wondering if teams have agreed to spend money on their OWN free agents but not be aggressive in the market outside of the top handful of guys.

I am not privy to the Astros current budget, but I would not be adverse to the Astros making a claim on Hand to anchor their bullpen on a one year commitment.

 

Agree. Brittons option being picked up was the only counter to a mountain of evidence that teams have no money. If Hand doesn’t get claimed that will be a huge sign. I agree not knowing the team’s budget, Hand on a $10M/1yr deal seems like a great fit for Houston.

 

FanGraphs made their estimate for the Top 50 free agents today. Looks like $/projected WAR numbers are being cut in ~half over usual numbers except for Realmuto. While FanGraphs has lost a lot of its talented writers/editors (i.e., more opinion, less inside knowledge) such that individual contracts may have huge errors, I would guess they overall have a good feel for the cuts...if not still a little high. By their estimates, both JBJ and Profar could be signed for a yearly rate combined less than Brantley's QO.

 

looks like osuna's officially gone?

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...s-with-Roberto-Osuna-What-s-next-15686335.php

 

I would not be surprised at all if Realmuto, Springer, and Bauer were the only players who receive QO’s.

 

Yes, and this is where having Click really helps as he is used to helping construct a team under these types of conditions...... The Astros could add someone like Profar on multiple years to play CF if they believe that his bat will continue to improve...... regardless, you figure that Profar, JBJ, Pilar all are going to be on the market........ one of those guys is going to get minimal money.... and the Astros also offer the opportunity to be a starter.

 

Big advantage to contending teams. If these veteran players are having to decide between just a few million dollars, the chance to win a ring becomes a bigger incentive.

 

Wow.

 

If there ever was a time to buy a World Series.....