They don’t have to come anywhere close to their respective ceilings for this to be an overpay. If they hit their ceilings, then this is a Yordan-esque blunder that will be discussed for years to come.
Leon for Loperfido could've happened without a trade. Astros bullpen is in bigger shambles today (and tomorrow) vs yesterday. Astros are still paying Montero (plus he'll still pitch for Houston). All of those situations for a rental that has a 6+ ERA the past 2 months. Astros are worse *today* and the *future*.
If you give up a major league regular OF, a #2 starter and a solid utility guy for 2 months of a scrub rental (that’s probably what those guys realistic ceilings are) that’s like 30 or 40 WAsr for what, maybe 1/2 a WAR. Thats almost as bad as it gets.
I think I'd rather have kept the prospects and hoped that we can get by with Verlander and Garcia coming back eventually hopefully....
Lmaooooo holy sh*t. Loperfido is NOT a major league regular OF. Bloss is NOT a number two starter either. Christ. This is getting pathetic.
Everyone posting here is a racist! RVdipshit as he sobs gently while looking at his dusty and maldy bobbleheads.
Holy **** you are at war with reading comprehension. The premise was and the response was IF they all hit their ceiling. Your race baiting ass is on ignore.
It's an overpay - but that's the market. And I'm not sure a better SP has been traded. Kikuchi makes the 2024 Astros better. They needed arms for their rotation and could not afford to wait on guys to get healthy. And Kikuchi is making $10MM. Made $10MM last year. If he pitches well, it's conceivable they can easily retain him for a reasonable cost. His K #s are very promising; he's always had great stuff; the projections for him going forward are very positive. I think the extreme overreaction is to the prospects having considerable name value. But I haven't seen any credible sources contend we've traded top-flight, farm-wreaking talent.
I don't like the deal either, but I don't think the players given up are needle movers. If Kikuchi had an extra year on his deal, or the Jay's had added Richards to the deal, or traded Montero in the deal this would have been a good deal.
Loperfido is an avg MLB CF and there's value in that. We don't know what Bloss will become. A steep price for a rental. I wish Dana had signed Lorenzen this off season instead of Caratini and this wouldn't be an issue. Can't ever have enough pitching.
This year? Of course not. In the future? Who knows. It would be realistic to think that those 3 could combine for 30-40 war. We will get, max, 1 war and we will not want to start this dude in a playoff game unless the staff really unlocks something special in him. all those guys could bust and he could pitch like big unit in 98 and the process still would have sucked.
They have no idea how JV will be when he comes back and if he can stay healthy. Garcia no idea how he'll be coming off TJ. They desperately needed a SP who can give them innings which Kikuchi can do. Kikuchi looked good the first 6 weeks of the season but since the middle of May he's been extremely erratic. Since the middle of May he's failed to go 5 innings SIX times. He also struggles against right-handed hitters and is prone to giving up the long ball. Crawford boxes should be a concern. People calling this the worst trade in Astros history are clueless (hello Joe Morgan). It certainly was an overpay especially for a rental. My concern now is how much is he going to overpay for a bat??
I understand your point about them not being needle movers. The problem is it’s highly unlikely we got a needle mover back in return and if you are going to trade 18 years of club control for mlb ready guys you have to get a needle mover back in return.
I'm not sure what constitutes a needle mover... Kikuchi makes the 2024 Astros better because their rotation is running on fumes and they needed healthy arms that can pitch effectively every 5/6 days. To me, that undoubtedly moves the needle. But, obviously, he's not going to be in the Cy Young mix at season's end. But if he can make ~10 starts, build on a promising FIP and his K numbers... I don't think we'll be terribly upset.
Bloss' ceiling was #2/3 starter, floor #5. Loperfido ceiling was starting center fielder/first baseman, floor was versatile bench player. Wagner ceiling was bench infielder, floor was bench bat. All at or near MLB ready, none near their ceilings. Kikuchi' ceiling was #2/3 starter, floor #5. Passed his ceiling and on the way back down. Appears currently to be a #4 starter.
