The playoff success and world series MVP do elevated him. The Astros don't have that prolonged/rich of a history as compared to other historic teams, and if you're not going to want to pay for past success (i.e. - extend players past their prime, or overpay to keep players), you might as well throw all cumulative stats like WAR out the window and start looking at what players did during their careers here. Berkman was the first Astro hitter to hit consistently in the playoffs, and Springer took it up a notch from there. Out of all the 4 stars, many of who missed time/games during this era, he ended up being the one who was most indispensable in terms of team's performance without him vs. with him. He will always be associated with the golden era of Astros baseball (until they come up with another run of 100+ wins and LCS/World Series appearances consecutively), and is squarely up there with Altuve as the key to that success. But alas he had about 2 years less earning potential simply due to where the Astros rebuild was when he was drafted... and I agree he will not live up to this contract. In a perfect world, they work something out prior to 2017 that would have kept him here till 2023-ish paying him very well, but even then he wasn't really interested in any extension talk (I don't buy that it was all the scandal that turned him away... more likely was how they handled his initial promotion/minor league tenure that they never got over).
I don't know what will happen with Correa. Lots of big market teams will probably have their SS, and he's also the most hated player in baseball outside of Houston. I would be pleasantly surprised if the Astros signed Ozuna. Adding Ozuna and having Alvarez back in the lineup makes up for losing Springer and Brantley.
Astro George: Cheater! Banish those cheaters from the sport! Disgrace to the game! Blue Jay George: Great signing! Great player! Major coup for the Jays!
Springer is among my favorite Astros of all time. While I totally expected this, it sucks. He was the first glimmer of hope to me after a whole stretch of really bad seasons, and just a really likable guy. So much fun to watch. It feels like the end of an era that we built for over a really long extended period of time. I have to say, fair or not, I expected more out of the fruits of "tanking" than we ultimately got. I hope to be at MMP to give Springer a standing ovation his first time back in town.
Sign me up for Marcell Ozuna. I know he's limited defensively, but stick him in LF and let the bat play. This guy is going to consistently put up 30 HR and 90+ runs batted in for the next few years if he's in a lineup with Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Tucker, Correa and Gurriel. If you could get him for around 4 years $80 million I think that would be a steal.
Marcell Ozuna is an interesting player. His production has been all over the map over the years. He has recently had issues with his wife as well. At this point he is only a left fielder and some teams believe he is set to be a DH very soon. I don't know what the length and type of contract he will end up getting as he has sort of slipped through the cracks. What I can say about him is that he has the potential to more than make up the bat of Springer. The Astros would still need a centerfielder. I suppose depending on payroll they could try rolling with Straw and see what happens. Other wise they would need someone like Kevin Pillar to play center. So hypothetically Ozuna would replace Springer's bat and Pillar would replace Reddick's bat........ Pillar could possibly be as good in the field as Springer, but Ozuna is a defensive down grade from Reddick. The Astros would almost certainly move Ozuna to left field. If Yordan Alvarez comes back healthy, the offense could be a lot better in 2021. So the Astros could put out a line up of: Altuve Bregman Tucker Ozuna Alvarez Correa Gurriel Maldonado Pillar/Straw Personally still not a fan of the bottom third of the order, but the top 6-7 are on par with anyone assuming Altuve isn't toast. Then there are obviously some possible issues in the rotation but losing Verlander to TJ was going to hurt no matter what. Valdez Greinke Urquidy McCullers Javier The pen really would look good with a closer, but I don't think that is going to happen. There are enough good arms in the pen for the possibility that the Astros have a good pen.
If James Click is unwilling to sign elite players on his team to nine-figure contracts in one of the top-10 markets in MLB, he was absolutely the wrong hire for the Houston Astros. He isn’t running a franchise with a $40-$50 million budget. There is no reason a team in the Houston market shouldn’t have a top-10 payroll in MLB every season. The goal shouldn’t be to turn the Astros into the Tampa Bay Rays, but be a version of the Rays that can not only develop elite talent, but also pay to keep it within the organization long term due to the team’s market size.
As for Springer: While I’m greatly disappointed that he won’t play his entire career in Houston, I’m grateful that he helped deliver a World Series for the Astros in my lifetime. I’ll never forget the way he atoned for his defensive blunder in game 5 of the 2017 World Series by hitting one over the train tracks on the first pitch of his next at bat. His energy and balls to the wall play style will be missed. (All that said, it does upset me that the Golden Age of Astros’ baseball is being broken up in a sport without a salary cap)
I am sad just lost our 2 most productive bats from last year (regular season). Hopefully Bregman bounces back and Altuve can keep up the playoff performance...
He said free agents. Luhnow never did. For OFs, if Astros don't do it this year, they will probably be set there for 4 years. If Tucker pans out, he may be a $100M extension candidate. Bregman and Altuve are locked up. C and 1B rarely get more than $100M. Realmuto one of the few will not be an Astro. I doubt Click will signa pitcher to a $100M contract due to injury risk. If Correa signs an extension, I really doubt Click will sign a free agent for 9 figures for at least 4 years. If things go as planned, I hope Click spends the money on Astros instead of mercenaries.
Heck have the Astros ever done that? Isn't Lee still the biggest FA contract they've given at 100 mil?
Fair enough. I don’t expect the Astros to spend wildly on other team’s free agents, unless they have a glaring need and a low payroll at the time. I also completely agree about not giving free-agent pitchers large contracts due to the injury risk. What I do expect is that Crane and Click make their best effort to keep elite talent in the organization long term by offering them reasonable contracts. I understand not wanting to give six years to a 31-year-old Springer, but signing a 26-year-old elite shortstop like Carlos Correa should be a top priority as long as Correa is willing to stay.