I am fine not giving Graveman 3 years. FWIW 2021 Graveman was pretty much what Baez has been for most of his career in terms of k/bb, Graveman was just a lot better/luckier in allowing HR. If Baez comes back and is 75% as good as he was in 2019 then his whole contract will be worthwhile. And if wasting $12.5M on a busted RP is the worst move Click ever makes then he will be in great shape. There are tons of RP available that will be excellent values, it’s just really hard to predict which ones (especially for us fans).
Looks to me like they don't have that much room to add relievers unless they trade a starter away. Pressly Stanek Maton Montero Baez Taylor/James/Scrubb/ Bielak/etc.. Javier Urquidy/Odorizzi
I was surprised the Astros had any interest to begin with when it came to Montero but Miller believes in him and Gelles had floated his name in the past. Apparently he is a reclamation project, but I am surprised he is still there. The other name I have repeatedly heard the Astros have liked in the past is the former Yankee pitcher, Pineda. I asked about the Rule V and the attitude was they can’t protect everyone but everyone that keeps them up at night is protected… this front office and organization seems to have their own opinions and not care what conventional wisdom is.
While I didn’t like the Baez move at the time and will continue to criticize Click for it… he did add Stanek and others that did well.
I agree. Cutting bait with James or Montero would only be worthwhile if Houston added an established elite reliever. Adding a reclamation or under the radar guy doesn’t seem to make much sense with all the guys of that profile they have in-house. But I expect them to make at least 1 significant trade which will likely make room in the bullpen (or swap out a fringey guy for an elite guy).
Try and get Chris Stratton from PIT. He fits the Astros model and has similar “stuff” and peripherals as Maton does.
We just need a hammer set up man like Graveman was overall… plus we both know they want to move on from a couple those guys…. But with financial issues being a concern (paying Verlander 5-6 million more than they expected), it would make sense to trade for a set up man at the deadline again if needed.
The ascension of Maton cannot be overlooked. He’s got set-up man stuff that is effective against lefties as well as righties, and started getting ultra-consistent in the pressure packed environment of the post-season. That all bodes well. As far as Baez goes, I know some want to believe in him simply because he was a Click signing… but his injury literally made him a shell of his former self in the few innings he pitched this year. I’m more confident in James or Montero being a contributor vs. Baez pitching and maxing out at 91-92 mph.
Yea, that's what I was thinking. My brother was with Jim Crane at the Houston Open last weekend but didn't get to talk with him that much. Jared wasn't there because he wasn't feeling well. My brother did business with him several years ago and they became friends. Haven't had a chance to catch up with them lately on the Astros stuff. Click's comments were funny. "We feel good about the rotation but will be looking in the bullpen." A few days later they signed Verlander. I agree on the trade at the deadline. I'm not seeing the match for a setup hammer in free agency. I doubt the Astros are giving up their 2nd round pick and international money to pay Iglesias 50 plus million for 4 years. Mychael Givens, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, McHugh, Melancon, Ottavino, Diekman... not sold on relying on them in the 8th inning over what we have.
A Stanek-Maton-Press 7-8-9 is not exactly the end of the world. I’ll welcome any good reliever but that’s not a terrible backend.
I agree with what you’re saying about the tweet. Rob Doc is actually a pretty smart dude though. I say that because of the Twitter moron comment.
Trading Jose Siri or Joe Perez on July 30 for an expiring set up guy having a great year is probably better than giving 8 million a year over 3 years to a guy like Graveman. Maton/Stanek/Pressly will be fine to start the year. One thing that I think our FO expected to happen, and did not happen, last year, is for a previously unheralded guy in our system to break out and contribute in a big way to the pen. Paredes, Abreu, etc. could have been that guy, but none of the internal options really showed much, so Click had to go out and get Maton, Graveman and Garcia. There are still plenty of guys who can break out in our system and make paying 8 million a year for a set up guy look silly. Abreu, Paredes, Dubin, Solomon, James...if just one of those guys can flash, that makes our bullpen pretty darn solid.
