Sucks, but it was a smart move to trade him, however I thought they could have gotten atleast 2 top 100, a position player and SP. Honestly I thought they should have shopped bregman last offseason, but happy they atleast got something back. Still need to make moves for the OF, can’t have Chas and Meyers out there everyday the next couple of years
Any trade of Tucker or Framber (or both) was going to weaken 2025. Short of Santander, Bregman, or some other unknown surprise acquisition of an all-star caliber player, this team will not have anywhere close the odds they had going into 2024.
Of course our odds will take a dip, but odds are not what ends up winning in October. As long as we give ourselves a chance to punch a ticket to October, that’s what matters. Astros are still in line to be competitive and in the playoff picture. We still have a top-end bullpen, above average rotation and solid lineup. Are they best in baseball? No, but the Astros are trying to zig where others are zagging, and I don’t hate them for it (especially since we’ve been the odds on favorite for ~a decade). It’ll be interesting to see how Blanco and Spencer do next year, and if we can get anything out or Luis Garcia and LMJ. Can Hunter continue his path towards a bona fide ace? There is a lot of reason for optimism, even if we have to deal with the negative realities of the market and free agency (e.g., losing Tucker and possibly Bregman). It’s a testament to the organization that we are still able to be competitive, year after year, after losing these types of players. I wouldn’t mind adding a few FA options. They don’t have to be the headliner names, the goal is finding good deals. I think Austin Hays could be a steal. I also don’t hate the idea of letting our farm fight for ABs, albeit I’m not in love with starting both Meyers and Chas. We’ll see. There’s a lot of time left in the offseason, and it’s okay if we’re not odds on favored to win the AL.
Maybe. Arenado did have an alarming drop in underlying batted ball metrics last season, which at age 33 is a big red flag. But even despite that decline, he was a league average bat, and in 2023 his statcast data was in line with his prime. It’s a risk for sure. I don’t really have a strong opinion on whether Arenado or Paredes should be the 3B or 1B, they’re both plenty good at either position.
Also does Arenado even have 1B experience? Why not put Paredes at 1B who has some experience and keep Arenado and his glove at 3B? What's better, trade for Arenado who still lots of money owed or Goldschmidt on free agent signing to a lesser amount? Both declining
The truth is regardless of who starts in the OF opening day, it's going to be fluid unless/until someone takes off. I still think they will add at least 1 more proven OFer, even if it's just a guy like Gamel. I expect it to be a bigger guy like Lowe, though. But if there are no more additions until the trade deadline, I could see Chas, Jake, Dubie, Shay, Zach, Pedro, Cooper, and Melton each with 25+ starts. That looks awful, and probably is, but my point is that they aren't handing any if these positions out and will mix and match, playing platoon splits and riding a hot hand. By September, the starting OF will probably have at least 2 guys who, as it stands now, do not project to make opening day. I can very much see Whitcomb or Dezenzo starting in LF. Or Brandon Lowe. I can very much see Pedro Leon or ( to a lesser extent) Cam Smith starting in RF. Or Lane Thomas. I can easily see Jacob Melton starting in CF. Or Cody Bellinger. I don't take any list of starters Brown gave us yesterday as any kind if gospel and there is a ton of off season left.
I feel like we were having this same conversation about Jose Abreu's HR rate after they signed him before the 2023 season.
Arenado seems like a Bagwell decision. The guy has 3 straight years of declining production and has a horrible contract. Go get Santander and Kepler.
I was thinking this as well. Got lucky on 1 trade. But apparently Chandler Rome is now saying Astros emerged as serious contender for Arenado. Is Rome using Schwab as his source lol. Or just another lucky guess. Or maybe he has a source.
Not sure how much zagging they're doing... this is right out of the mid-low market team playbook in terms of trading a future FA to be 1 year before. Pitching has promise, but also has question marks (and future question marks that people don't anticipate, yet still happen every year). Yordan's health is a question mark. Altuve's continued regression also a question mark (slow gradual decline, or will there be a cliff jump). Things that can flip it all = Brice Matthews fast-track ascension turning into something more (as well as whatever Cam Smith's track is).... but those are 2028 contention questions, not next year.
