Thing is I don't think they've got the money to re-sign Bregs at 25 mil, trade for Lowe 25 mil and trade for Robert 15 mil.
I'm against trading for Robert and his .657 OPS even if he was free. I don't want a quitter. But I think they could save $14m if they moved Pressly in one of those deals. There will certainly be some salary going out in a couple of hypothetical big dollar trades.
It would require multiple trades and will never happen, but a guy can dream can't he. I have been working on it as a fun exercise but it's too long and convoluted to post here. Basically trade Framber to a team like the Mets. Get 3 young players. example Baty, Acuna, and a SP prospect like Blade Tidwell. Trade Pena. Giants could send back guys like Doval, Luis Matos, and a young SP like Mason Black. Rays could send back Lowe and others. In these deals the Astros need a young starting SS ( Acuna?) and at least 1 (preferably 2) young SP. Trade Pressly and Meyers or McCormick, maybe both. Trade Caratini if needed/wanted. These would just be salary relief/lottery ticket type trades. Trade for Robert even if it takes a big overpay. If Baty is in the Framber deal, then he gets used. The Astros now have more attractive young players to be used in this deal. You are looking at adding $55-$60M in salary, but have traded away approx. $40M-$50M Like I said, it will never happen. But it would totally extend the window at least 3-4 years.
You and I don't agree about Robert. I think he is a rare talent and the White Sox culture creates much ( not all) of his issues. He is talented enough and the White Sox messed up enough that, to me, it's worth the gamble. But for the sake of argument, let's say that Robert gets traded somewhere else. Who would you like to see as the Astros starting CF?
I think "rare talent" is wasted without the right mentality. I don't think he's got his head screwed on right and I think maybe he checks out again if we have another slow start, or he doesn't like a teammate, or it's a Monday, whatever. This is a boring answer but I think we run McCormick out there in center at the beginning of the year if he's 100%. If he's not, give Leon an extended run - he sucked over 21 AB last season but it was 21 AB. He had a great year at AAA and is 26. If neither of those pan out, Jacob Melton is already at AAA and is our best prospect. We have plenty of options without spending big on a crybaby like Robert.
Reasonable answer. I have been hoping Leon could break through for years and would love to see it. I'm simply out of patience. He has nothing left to prove in AAA and think he has more upside than Chas and much more than Meyers. Unfortunately he also has a much lower floor than both. By my observations and what I read last year ( can't remember where) the Astros have all but given up on him in CF and expect him to play a corner, likely RF with his big arm. I would rather see him in CF than Jake or Chas. At least that would show the Astros trying to find something rather than settling. As for Melton, I just think he needs more time and Dana Brown's comments suggest he will start in AAA no matter how his spring goes. If he can't get the K's down he will just be another Derek Fisher.
I don't think Leon has the range that Meyers or McCormick has. I can see where they'd prefer him in a corner spot. But he's played a lot in center, and I think we could make up for the range by playing a good defensive players in the other OF spots (and Tucker is very good). I would like him better as a prospect if his strikeout rate wasn't so abysmal but that may be unfixable. He's got to hit it hard and have good BABIP to succeed with that strategy. Melton (23%) doesn't strike out as much Leon (28%) or Fisher (25% in the minors, 35% majors). I am optimistic that he can keep it to a Singleton sort of range. But he definitely needs seasoning still before he's ready. His minor league numbers don't jump off the page but the team is moving him up aggressively.
I don't have numbers to confirm this but my understanding is that Leon has great range, maybe close to Meyers and better than Chas. What holds him back is his poor reads, routes, and reactions which limit the effectiveness of that range. And by range, I mean how far he can run in a given time once he starts.
Lol the MLB is a joke with this unlimited money spending and this lame ass deferring money. The Dodgers have more money than anyone and it's just unfair.
I don't think that Heyman is right about a signing bonus not counting for the CBT. Otherwise a team could just skirt the CBT by converting the majority of a player's salary into a bonus. What is true is that deferred money reduces the CBT number. Ohtani's contract only counts like $46m per against the Dodgers instead of $70m because the deferral discounts the value of the money in present-day terms.
Would take agreement with the players union and the teams to get rid of it…. This may be something that both sides are on the same page. The union could take a stand against it as not all their players can automatically defer money…. But the most highest paid players likely can and ultimately if it keeps total contract values high, they’ll continue to allow it. Teams look somewhat foolish when they’re still paying for players long after they’re retired (Bobby Bonilla day)… but their revenues are covering all this anyways (and we’ve already illustrated how team revenue streams continue to go up over the years).
I can think of worse options than Ty France as your primary 1st baseman-(standing pat is one of those worse options)
the Dodgers finally have something to show for signing the best guys every off season... but I just dont get it. I thought they had a pretty good farm system too. as others have said, it's this type of bs, rich getting richer, that really is a huge miss with baseball. but, honestly, it didnt have a great track record until this past year. hopefully they continue to fail in the playoffs, as years past, and we can continue to laugh.
if nothing changes that 8 is going to be a hard stop.... same could be said: theyve made the ALCS once out of the last 2 seasons... lets not bathe in the sands of nostalgia. 2025 - Astros make the ALCS? 2026? 2027??
Brown wasn't good the last few seasons what? They got lucky with Arrighetti & Blanco (and how you even going to discredit that first outing of his with your "in the last 6 months" comment? fairly confident its taken MULTIPLE pitchers to do that kind of damage in recent history)... considering Javier did the TJS & Garcia/McCullers in ramp up mode after TJS last year, I'd be SHOCKED if we have a 100% completely healthy 6-man rotation who you can depend on any time you trot them out to the mound. Valdez is cooked as is Pressly... they know it, the org knows it, the fans know it, the talking heads know it, the media knows it, yet the FO doesn't?? Come correct if you're going to snide a "so 6 months ago" with no clout comment.
