They are trying to win next season. If they have a terrible start to the season and are out of it come the trade deadline I would move them.
not while we are contending. Would rather lose them during free agency and get a draft pick from our qualifying offer.
Brown petitioned for a 4th option year. No idea if it was granted. However, Brown said the Astros will petition MLB for a fourth option season on Whitley (via Rome). That’s available in the case of players who have exhausted their options before logging five full professional seasons — defined as 90+ days on a minor league or MLB active roster. That’s a rare occurrence but sometimes applies to players who have missed extended time with injuries and/or suspension.
I feel like there's a play to be made where you sign Yamamoto and trade away Framber which ultimately is sort of like buying prospects in a way. If you trade Framber now you can get the equivalent of what we sent for Cole back in the day from some team. Now, none of them set the world on fire, maybe Musgrove? I'd take my chances with a couple of top 100 prospects and a few more middle grade prospects over letting us go to free agency with him and getting a comp pick which is probably the equivalent of say a Korey Lee type....who gets to the majors in 2030.
Belt had a .900 ops against righties last year and spotrac has him getting 3 million in salary. I would jump right on that and give him a third of the starts at 1B to rest Abreu.
It’s a shame Belt isn’t capable of playing LF. His bat would be an excellent replacement for Brantley. I am wondering what Brantley is gonna do. If he plays I assume he’d be willing to take a slight discount to stay in familiar territory and keep winning. But Cleveland can both pretty much offer the same thing. But a $8M/1yr deal for him would be pretty solid to form the deepest lineup in baseball.
Japhet the Hutt is in a league of his own in terms of human mass. Vogelbach would need some awesome technique.
The Astros must sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto this off-season https://climbingtalshill.com/posts/...n-s-shopping-list-this-offseason-01hfw3ywvn7d
Unfortunately Jim Crane has duped the masses into believing MLB has an actual salary cap. It's like saying we have a salary cap and can't buy a house over $40,000 because that is the amount of the exemption before you must pay taxes. There is no limit on what he can spend. The only limit is his desire to pocket profit. That's it. There is no other limit.
From what I saw, it looked like they are going to roll with Luis Urias at 3B now. IMO they’re using the strikeout excuse to be cheap and save a few dollars.
That sounds nice and all but Jim Crane has a 12 person board of directors and a bunch of minority owners he has to get approval from. He isn't spending just his money, and like most investors and stock holders they want to make money. They are very happy with the increase in value of the Houston Astros since it was purchased under Crane, but they aren't about to go in the red to make you feel better. Especially after getting hammered from COVID. Not to mention there are serious issues regarding regional sports networks falling apart. That fat check they were getting is no longer guaranteed as they now own the network along with the Rockets. Think about it... Bally's just told the Rangers we ain't paying for 2024. The World Series winning team doesn't create enough revenue for the networks to stay afloat under their previous deals. Honestly, I'm surprised Crane has allowed payroll to balloon to where it sits right now.
They went into this off season really wanting to add a difference maker - preferably a pitcher. Crane was willing to pay for the right player, the right fit and right cost. Nothing has changed in the last month from what I have been told. They needed somethings to line up to make it happen. Not sure if it is more likely now or not. There are a lot of guys on the trade/FA market but there are also a lot of teams, some even targeting two pitchers this off season. So we will just have to wait and see what happens. What I do know is that the Astros have been very aggressive talking to the White Sox, Rays and Indians. The Dodgers have according to people with the Astros, also been really pursuing deals with the White Sox and Rays. Only new information I have heard is that the Astros and Cubs have spoken to Toronto about Bo Bichette and the Astros have asked about Alex Manoah as well. Astros, Cubs, San Diego, Milwaukee and White Sox all have been very active.
If the Astros can swing a deal for Bichette. Pena (who could replace Franco), one of Urquidy/Garcia/France and some quality prospects should be enough to land Glasnow.
From what I have been told - getting approval to increase payroll isn’t an issue because he would get approval. The issue is that Crane doesn’t want to increase salary over a long number of seasons. That approval is harder to get and Crane doesn’t want to do that. So that means signings like Abreu, Verlander, Brantley. Preferably 1-2 year deals and at most 3 year deals for guys outside the organization. Trades are usually for guys making pennies or on short term deals.
Pretty much. Which is why landing a Yamamoto that is rumored to want north of 200 million and a ton of years just isn't happening. Also why I thought they should mainly focus on the bullpen in free agency because you can get elite relievers on 2-3 year deals.
I do not think most people really understand Cranes' position. He is not the owner as in the sole proprietor, he has a group of co-owners similar to a board of directors to answer to. Not that a desire to profit from an investment is a bad thing. I seek to profit from every investment I make and would be suspicious of the motives of anyone who did otherwise. We live in a capitalist society wherein each man has the autonomy to spend or not to spend as he sees fit and it is nobody else's damn business.
Yes. That is correct. Each decision is a cost/benefit analysis. If you can sign a top free agent and it translates into another run of ALCS and WS appearances then it was the right cost/benefit decision. More playoff appearances enhances the worth of the product. Crane is the head of the “Board” and as such probably wields the most power. He doesn’t have to have every partner agree just a majority. What the Crane’s and the Board’s risk tolerance is another consideration.
