I’ll never understand the hate Lance gets. People legit think he’s out there making coffee instead of rehabbing and working hard lol.
No hate here. Just know that he can't be depended on and plan accordingly. Best case scenario is he makes it back and can be a leverage piece out of the bullpen in the playoffs. Most likely LMJ is wasted money.
I disagree about that being best case. It's a huge long shot but best case is he is a productive member of the rotation in 2025 and 2026 and pitches to his all star talent level. That would be found money. Found money that you actually worked for and lost before finding it, but found money none the less. We all know that can't be expected but it could still happen. And Whitley will pitch lights out in the 7th and 8th of many of his starts to help him get those wins.
To me it just wasn't a great look to be setting up a coffee shop when he's barely played the last 2 years. Now whether he's actually a barista instead of being an Astros pitcher that can help the team, I guess not lol.
I’m not sure I see it that way. I don’t know at this point it will ever be “found”. I unfortunately don’t see how he ever lives up to his contract. Which is unfortunate both for him and the Astros. His better days are most likely all behind him and for the Astros, that’s money that could have been allocated to another starter. Wishful thinking keeps hoping he returns in some form of a contributing role. The frustration is more so the amount of money his contract is with so far no real contribution since it was inked.
For me, "living up to the contract" is not even on the radar. It's about any chance at all that he contributes anything positive to this team in the next 2+ years.
I do not see them trading him. 1) he has "limited no trade protection" in his current contract which limits who he can be traded to but I don't have specifics. 2) he has very limited trade value which coupled with the hope that he can he healthy and a legitimate TOR makes trading him very hard. 3) he is a very important, liked, and respected member of the organization and it would be a shifty thing to do from a P R. standpoint. 4) he wants to be here and will do whatever he reasonably can to stop a trade. 5) in mid- May of next year he will hit the 10 and 5 mark and have full no trade protection. I would be shocked if he is traded.
Anthony Rendon has more trade value... and no one would trade for him at this point. Imagine being the GM that trades for Stephen Strasburg TODAY.
I dont care what they get back in trade. Give me an A ball guy that has the ability to maybe develop into a MLB player in 4-5 years. This is about dumping his contract and opening up money to make moves to improve the team. 3-4. I respect this, but every move should be made with the idea of how can the team be made better. There are no sacred cows. Ask yourself if you think Luhnow would trade him? 5. Even more reason to move him this off-season, You dont want to be stuck with an injury-prone 10-5 guy that's making a lot of money.
Why would any team out there (smart or dumb) pick up his contract? even healthy players don’t warrant that. The Astros would have to “pay” to get rid of him (and essentially pay for whatever prospects they wanted).
If he comes back and is successful in the bullpen, there may be a team that thinks they can turn LMJ into a successful TOR guy again.
If he does prove to be healthy and effective the Astros can't afford to trade away potential TOR pitching talent. Imagine the fallout if Lance has an All star caliber season in another uniform next year? Especially if they are scrambling to fill the rotation due to injuries? Imagine Lance pitching AGAINST the Astros in the postseason? And if he doesn't there is no market for him.
If you dont believe he can stay healthy (Which history says he wont) then you trade him and spend LMJ/JV/Bregs money to re-sign Tucker and sign/trade for a TOR type pitcher. I would like for Brown to bring back Charlie F'n Morton as an example.
I understand your thought process here I just disagree that there is any scenario where what you get back outweighs the risk/reward benefit to keeping him. If he's likely to stay healthy the team is better off with him. If he's not likely to stay healthy the team is not getting anything for him. Other teams aren't stupid. They have doctors and have watched his career history. You aren't going to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, and if by some miracle you do then all teams start getting wary of dealing with you.
