By best hitter, I just meant the guy who posted the best numbers over the (short) season. Altuve, Correa and Bregman had down years. Will all three recover this year? I hope (and think) so. Will Alvarez stay healthy and produce like he did in 2019? I hope so! He was so amazing in his rookie year. Will Brantley stay healthy playing OF? Can Yuli be a productive hitter at 37, when he was bad at 36? I hope so, but I wouldn't count on it. I think he's lost bat speed. Still like his glove. I'm not trying to be a downer on the offense - I have hope for a productive year! I'm just pointing out that there are a LOT of question marks on that side. The ceiling is great, but I wouldn't characterize the sum total as "reliable". It requires a number of bounce back years to return to being a top unit.
Yes, you're right. I originally said just FA, but then realized Springer/Brantley were different since they were our FAs so I changed it to FA/Extending players which in turn makes it false because of the group you mentioned. I mean just FA though and by FA I mean the Springer types that require 100+ mil contracts.
So why would consider the pitching to be more reliable? The hitters have more of a record for being reliable.
Why would you compare their ages after Yordan had 3 years in the minors? Even Bregman took a couple of years to come up.
Houston really only needs 2 more players: A 2nd tier CF like Bradley, Benintendi, Profar, or Pederson A starting pitcher with some upside like Archer, Walker, Richards, or Rodon I don't know if they have the resources to do both of those things, but if they do I think this team will be on par with the 2017, 2018, and 2020 rosters. I am not a huge fan of relying on Stubbs as the backup catcher but if they are short on money that's where I'd scrimp. If something happens to Maldy adding a veteran catcher shouldn't be too hard.
Because I was responding to a comment that emphasized his age. Also, like I said, Yuli came from Cuba and played in the majors that first season. Now will it be done? Probably not, but it could happen especially given the strong state of the offense. The pitching on the other hand is fairly shaky and has no help coming from the minors.
I mean, I laid out why I think there are a lot of question marks on the hitting side. If you think there are question marks on the pitching side, I wouldn't call you wrong. McCullers' injury history, Greinke's age, the youth of the rest of those guys. I get it. I think I just like the way those guys pitched in the postseason and think we've really produced good quality in-house candidates. I think they have all the tools they need to be successful on the roster. On the other hand, I've seen enough of Straw and I think there's a crying need to fill that position with a guy like Bradley Jr. I'd much rather sign him than Brad Hand, whose velocity is rapidly declining. And none of the other relief pitchers remaining move the needle, for me.
Would be nice, but if money is tight I would rather get a good option in CF and another SP than a backup C and another RP. Adding a SP shifts Javier to the pen where I think he can be elite. And while I don’t think much of Stubbs he’s fine for 200 pa and if he flops or Maldy gets hurt they can spend some prospects to get an acceptable replacement during the season.
Signing Brantley was big because that's one FA with options that wasn't swayed by the scandal and re-signed. Hopefully other FAs will see that and follow suit.
I'm guessing Castro failed to get more money from somewhere else and went ahead and took our offer. A pretty meh move. He's a competent MLB catcher so we don't have to worry about Garneau level absolute zero from him, but that's about the best complement I can pay him.
I really like the Castro signing assuming it’s $5M or less. I kind of wish it were a 2 year deal but whatev. Castro is an everyday capable catcher who can hit for power and take a walk. Plus he hits from the other side as Maldy. Good signing.
He's not great but he's probably at least a league average player over a full season and can be platooned. Hopefully the final OF spot will be sorted out soon enough.
now they are reporting it is a two year deal. Agree, solid move - not everything has to be spectacular. Just plugging holes.
Chandler Rome says it is a 2 year deal and Kaplan says 1 year. We will have to wait to see the truth I guess considering the recent reporter nonsense with Brantley
If it really is 2 years $7 million then that’s a really solid deal IMO. Like someone else said earlier, just plugging holes.
