Wow that's more money than I thought they had available. They should easily have 65 mil available after trading Pressly/Caratini and leting Urquidy/Meyers/Chas walk in arb if they cant trade them should easily give Dana 65 mil to spend this offseason. That's enough to add 3 bats.
I understand what you are saying, but there are 2 major problems with this. 1) based on projected AND historical production vs projected arbitration salaries, every one of those players will be able to be traded. Now, maybe the trade doesn't bring back as much value as you expect (issue w/trying to trade Meyers and others previously) but that doesn't mean anything if the alternative is to non-tender those not traded. 2) You still have to fill a 26 ( and 40) man roster. You have no idea how those young guys will produce. At least you know these players are very likely to be positive producers. Look at Pedro Leon who was a AAA All Star but was an abject failure in his first taste of MLB. Jon Singleton looked like Lou Gehrig in AAA before bring brought up in 2023. The difference between having Meyers on the team or Melton/Hamilton/Cole is projected to be $1.6M. I don't think the risk of a prospect failing is worth $1.6M to use on roster building. Generally if you plan on a prospect being a starter in the future, it's better to give them playing time in the minors than sitting on the bench in MLB. I would rather Meyers sit the bench than a guy like Melton who could use a full season of PAs in AAA, if the difference is $1.6M. And the very real likelihood is that Meyers is better in 2024.
We have seen teams win with players like Meyers - the Astros had one like that - Marisnick. Ideally, he is a 4th outfielder on a deep team. As for value around the league - I don't think he actually has very much, but I do believe that he will find a job for at least the next handful of years. He is elite at tracking down balls and he is deserving of being viewed as a top 5-8 defensive CF in baseball. However - I think what hurts him is that he doesn't have very good situational awareness and he doesn't really do the little things well. He isn't a great base runner or thief - he isn't all that wonderful at bunting or moving runners over -- couple that with his arm, and there are limiting factors. He can get hot and be sneaky good for periods with his bat - but also has periods of being ice cold. I am perfectly fine with him in CF if the Astros are really deep in the line up - but we aren't right now and that makes his issues more obvious. Jake plays and works hard - and he covers a lot of ground.... but he is a tease, kind of like Marisnick or Siri.
Free agent acquisitions at that rate even if they are recent former MVPs don't always pan out such as... Cody Bellinger and ...Jose Abreu.
Keep in mind that's if Crane is willing to go deep into the 2nd level of CBT, approaching the 3rd level.
A few thoughts on the naming stuff: 1. Daikin has a massive manufacturing presence in the area. Like incredibly massive. I think it’s one of the top 5 manufacturing facilities in the entire country in terms of size. 2. Coca-Cola had MM leave their SugarLand location a couple years back…moved back to ATL. That local presence is pretty much gone now for MM. 3. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if Coca-Cola asked out early…and definitely wouldn’t surprise me that Daikin would be the one to go all in on this given what I know of that company, personally. They’re being incredibly aggressive in the Houston market (not in a bad way) and are going to be a major corporate player here for a long time.
Correct. If it means more cash for us to spend with, I’m good. Daikin isn’t an awful embarrassing name. Ok by me. MadMax approved!
If true, I can only imagine this leads to a Daikin-led overhaul of the AC system at Minute Maid Park and soon, perhaps this offseason. City of Houston already has an agreement in place with HCHSA for major renovations at all 3 professional sports facilities in town. I don’t think would be a case of Coca Cola stepping away for financial reasons as they could’ve chosen to have the reminder of the naming rights bought out in transition with a new naming rights partner. There’s also the fact that the Astros lease at the ballpark was already extended to 2050 so eventually a new naming rights partner would be needed after 2032 (if Minute Maid and the Astros keep the current agreement in place). One other key piece that plays into all of this. The Astros ballpark is also hosting the World Baseball Classic in 2026 and everyone knows how much Japan loves their baseball too. While Team Japan (Pot C) won’t be coming to Houston (Pot B), I can imagine Daikin (whose NA HQ is in Waller, Corporate HQ in Osaka, JP) might relish the advertising opportunity from this event, especially in Japan.
Think about the value of the team when ****ing Drayton bottomed it out after changing our iconic brand to his red and black bullshit corporate distribution colors….and what it will be after this and the new ballpark village gets up and running. A ballpark village in a downtown area is amazing. I don’t care what you call it, but sprinkle my ashes there one day!!!
Current CBT payroll $230M Must stay under 3rd level = $281M 1) resign Bregman 6yrs/$168M+$7player option w/ $2M buyout. Alex gets $170M guarantee AAV $25M. = $255M 2) Resign Kikuchi 3/$45M. Spotrac has his market at 1/$14.9M but that feels low = $270M 3) Trade Ryan Pressly to Orioles for Cedric Mullins who is rapidly getting blocked and too expensive for a platoon bat. He can't hit LHP but excellent vs RHP. Prospects included to balance value if needed. Astros save $5.6M based on arbitration estimates. = $264.6M 4) Trade McCormick, Caratini, Dubin, Blubaugh, and Ullola to TB for Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe. Adjust prospects accordingly if my values are off. Astros add $10.8M. = $275.4M $5.6M under 3rd CBT level to use at Trade deadline. Altuve 2b Alvarez dh Tucker rf Yandy Diaz 1b Bregman 3b Lowe lf Yainer Diaz c Mullins/Meyers cf Pena ss Bench- Salazar, Singleton, Dubon Rotation- Framber, Brown, Kikuchi, Blanco, Arrighetti, Garcia, Gusto, France, Gordon (McCullers, Javier) Bullpen- Hader, Abreu, Murfee, Scott, Ort, Whitley, King, Martinez, Contreras, Hernandez (Sousa, Ortega)
