You said that right! Starting pitching is a fragile as a carton of eggs, handle with lots of care!!!! Even then, you open the carton, and a few eggs are CRACKED...
Nationals are only 4 games out in their division and in 2nd place. They have a brutal schedule until the All-Star break, but right now they aren't sellers.
If Click is serious about winning a WS, he needs to atleast strengthen the bullpen. Still don't like the Castro signing Those coattails were easy to ride. Now it will be up to Click to strengthen the team at the deadline. Luhnow did this, hopefully Click follows suit.
Trade the farm for Degrom lol. Pedro Leon and Correa for trout, then find a 3b and move bregs to short. bullpen help, please any of that would be great. Obviously the bottom one is what we will actually do hopefully
Earlier in the season I was a big anti-straw guy. But man, he’s been playing really well lately. I’ll eat crow on that note. He’s been a much better situational hitter and his defense has been much improved. I tell you what…. I sure am glad we didn’t sign Jackie Bradley Jr.
From the 23rd but I saw this in an article. Morosi: I look at Houston as an aggressive buyer, too. The Astros may need to add a bat, given the uncertainty surrounding third baseman Alex Bregman's recent left quad strain, and they have an older roster. Their window won't be open forever. Feinsand: I agree on the Astros. The AL West is there for the taking, and given the uncertainty around shortstop Carlos Correa’s future there, as well as right-handers Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke’s returns, this could be their last best chance. Meyers: Who will Houston target? Morosi: Adam Frazier, like everyone else. Feinsand: That could be our standard answer for every contender! Morosi: In all seriousness, Frazier could address the Astros' need for a left-handed bat. Houston's always been pretty right-handed, with the exception of outfielder Michael Brantley. Feinsand: Center field is a spot I would imagine the Astros could try to improve. Myles Straw has been good, but they can certainly get better there. Morosi: By the way, note that the Astros started playing better exactly when Brantley came back from the IL. He's such a great player. Feinsand: Very underrated. The AL would look quite different if Brantley had signed with Toronto last winter, as it looked like he was going to. Meyers: Who might be a center fielder for Houston to target? And would the Yankees be looking at the same guys, considering Aaron Hicks’ injury? And what about the Marlins' Starling Marte? Feinsand: Ketel Marte is the dream for all of these teams, but another Marte -- Starling -- is the one far more likely to be traded. He makes more money and is headed for free agency. He will be a popular name during the next month. I'm surprised that they didn't mention relief pitchers unless they just forgot that they could use help.
Lol, at the constant "window closing" nonsense. We lost Springer, Keuchel, Verlander and Cole, and we're still rolling.
If Astros made a lot of trades last year and then this year for short term value only, the window would likely be closing soon. I think Click is trying to balance current needs with the possibility that the division is still the Astros for the taking the next 4 years or so. The Astros have some depth on the farm along with a few good guys they will likely need. Not many good prospects to spare unless Astros get some control out of it. For rentals, hoping it is a buyers market to help keep trade prices affordable.
This deadline is shaping up to be pretty simple for the Astros imho. They need 1 really good reliever (2 if the market suits them or if they don’t like how their injured pitchers look) and they have no money and a stable of 2nd tier pitching prospects (the exact kind of prospects usually included in trades for relievers). Even though virtually every buyer will be looking for relief help, many of those teams have other needs they will have to prioritize, and the sellers market looks to have a good number of guys available who will suit Houston’s need. With how Straw, Toro, McCormick, and the AAA hitters have played, there simply isn’t a need to make a move for a position player, even if they’re worried about Bregman or don’t think Diaz will come back soon.
We've been having the "go for it now, this is our window" discussion with people all the way back to 2017. You don't want to be a miser hoarding prospects, but every single trade could come back to bite you in the ass. If you approach trades with a "this is our window" mentality every year, it most certainly will become a self fulfilling prophecy. The entire latin section of our rotation would have been given away for a middle reliever a few years ago if it were up to a lot of people. Good GMs can make the call on now vs later.
Huh? 3 of the top 6 hitters are lefties: Brantley, Yordan and Tucker. Beyond that, Toro and Robel are both switch hitters and Castro is another lefty. They could run out a lineup with 6 lefties if they wanted
Yep, but I would add it was at least 2015, and before then it was stop kicking the can. It looks to me like Click is trying to balance the two by getting guys like Brantley, Gurriel, Castro, and Odorizzi to fill holes on short contracts so they don't have many holes they have to trade prospects to fill. I don't know if this will be a buyers or a sellers market. My concern is that the buyers won't want to take on money, and a lack of starters available will lead to a sellers market for rental relievers.
I think Astros need to offer Correa 8 years 240 million at All Star break and see if he takes. The way he’s playing a doubt it but it’s worth a shot.
