that was an interesting pairing of tweets, JR. I clicked into the second article curious to see why they signed the Mets GM and absolutely terrified to know what $2.5MM of incentives were included
Thoughts after doing a deep dive of all current MLB rosters: Fits for Ozuna and Brantley: White Sox, Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Brewers FA Predictions for all 3+ WAR players: Realmuto to Philly Springer to Toronto; I think Springer to Toronto would be best case for Houston, since it would likely take them out of the Brantley market. And since NYM aren't players for Brantley it would really soften demand for both Brantley and Ozuna. Bauer to LAA Cruz to Minnesota Turner to LAD Semien to Philly One of Semien, Simmons, or Gregorius will be a steal; as will one of Wong, La Stella, Profar, Schoop, or Hernandez. There just aren't that many contenders with middle infield needs. If Houston thinks one of those guys can play CF for a year then it would be a good move if their price is low. There are still 17 SP that project for 1+ fWAR; a few of them will be steals. Houston should sign one. I'm surprised Click seems content with the current rotation. The Angels are underrated. If they sign Bauer and Ohtani/Trout stay healthy they are contenders. The Rangers have one of the worst lineups in recent memory. I said yesterday that the Diamondbacks should rebuild but I may have been wrong. They do not have star players but they have a deep team with some upside. They may be in the WC mix. This is the most competitive the league has been in a long time. The Padres are my current favorite to win the WS. Other contenders: White Sox, Astros, Angels, Twins, Yankees, Blue Jays, Braves, Dodgers, Mets. I haven't factored farm systems into that, and I suspect the Rays would be added to the list after that. The NL Central is wide open. Every team except Pittsburgh is decent but none of them seem to have any money to spend. I suspect 2-3 of those teams will be heavy buyers at the deadline this season. Teams that need to rebuild/tank: Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Mariners, Rangers, Rockies, Marlins, Pirates, Giants. There's an argument that the Nats and Phillies should join that list. The Indians should trade Ramirez and Bieber but provided they got back MLB ready talent they'd still be competitive so it wouldn't really be tanking/rebuilding. Futures odds WS bets I would like: Jays or Angels at 40/1.
I took a bet on Astros at 30/1, seems like most places have them around 18/1 now. Is there any word on playoff formats? I really liked expanding to 8 teams but I may be in the minority. I’m sure Manfred wants to do it but maybe it’s something fully implemented, if at all, after the current CBA agreement ends.
I only liked the playoff expansion for the short season. Obviously, the Astros benefitted from it last year, but after a full 162, the right teams are in and no need to expand.
Damn. Rest In Peace. https://www.chron.com/sports/astros...entin-Jalomo-mustache-dead-COVID-15882580.php Jalomo is the second well-known Astros fan to pass away this month. On Jan. 8, Dave Rojas - founder of the "Big Hat Posse,"a group that wore huge orange foam hats to games - died due to complications from COVID-19 and colon cancer.
Not in love with Hand. His velo is dropping. Rosenthal will require an overpay since he is a Boras guy. Colome scares me as a closer. I'm hoping Paredes can be the guy long term. Considering the current payroll and the Correa arbitration hearing, the Astros might only have 26 million to spend and that is going right up to the tax at 210 million. I don't know if I want to blow 8 plus million for a closer when we still have 2 holes in the outfield and need a backup catcher as well.
Lots of people reporting Springer to Blue Jays are in agreement on a deal. Haven’t seen anything from Passan or Rosenthal yet.
Unofficial Houston north (Houston or Astros ties) Trent Thornton Cavan Biggio Derek Fisher Randal Grichuk (Rosenberg) Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Teoscar Hernandez Tyler White(NRI) Dave Hudgens George Springer?
We'll find out if Bo Bichette is a hypocrite https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/bo-bichette-astros-sign-stealing-mlb-1.5465578
Man, I’m legit sad. Not official yet, but looking pretty likely at this point. We all knew this was coming, but it’s so hard to think about him in another uniform. A true legend. Will never have any ill will toward him.
