Plan A: Sign Bregman. Infield is set w/ Paredes, Altuve, Bregman, and Pena. Dubon backs up the middle + Dezenzo at corners. Get a star for 1 of the OF spots ( player X) whether that's Robert, Mullins, Lowe, Santander, Teoscar, etc. Get 1 platoon type LH OF (player Y) like Canha, Winker, Kepler, Heywatd, etc. Use some combination of Chas, Meyers, Dezenzo, Player Y, Whitcomb, Dubon, Trammell, and Leon in the other 2 OF spots, using matchups effectively, until Melton is ready and/or the trade deadline brings in help. Plan B: Let Dezenzo platoon with Singleton at 1b. He also plays OF regularly. Bring in 2 star level OF like Robert, B.Lowe, Santander, Teoscar, Mullins, etc. and leave 1 position open for Dezenzo, Whitcomb, Leon, or someone to develop into a young 2+ WAR player who can secure a position cheaply for 4-6 more years. Chas gets a chance too but is not ideal as he will no longer have long term control or be cheap if he has a rebound season. I think Dezenzo could be Chas 2.0 and should play at least 50% this year either way. I do like Kepler
Zach Dezenzo appears ready to be a big leaguer and likely an average to above average regular - against right handed pitching. He had an OPS north of .800 last year against righties, he hit for power and his strikeouts were relatively low. The problem is that he was absolutely overmatched against lefties, who struck him out 60% of the time. He played well in Winter League, he worked on drawing walks, limiting strikeouts and showed that he can play the corner outfield spots well. I think if he ever gets locked in at 1st, he would become a good fielder there as well. Dezenzo will get - and deserves lots of opportunities to prove that he is a long term big leaguer and hopefully a good starter - because he isn't a free agent for many years and is locked in financially at a low cost. The Astros need more of those guys. I am 99% sure the Dezenzo time at 3rd is gone. The Astros have moved him to LF/RF/1st, Brown (who is smarter than Espada) said that he isn't a 3rd baseman and the Astros top 2 prospects are both above average defensively at 3rd.
Can I like this more than once? The only thing I woukd add is that It woukd be awesome if Matthews stuck at SS because otherwise the future of this position is a black hole. Pena is fine but not great and now he's in arbitration. He has a ton of trade value. It woukd becawesomevto have an MLB ready SS to take over for him. That's why I was thinking LuisAngel Acuna would be a good fit in a Framber Trade with the Mets. 2025 is fine if Jeremy still starts everyday, but by 2026 I would really like to see an obvious replacement start impressing us in the organization.
Astros are looking at adding another above average bat at a minimum, another bat after that - and also want a leverage reliever and possibly another starter. The bat is almost guaranteed to be someone that plays either 1st or OF. A lot of fans are upset about Arenado discussions - I have mixed feelings personally. Arenado was bad for 150 game stretch between 2023 and 2024. He was better in the second half, but didn't set the world on fire even then. The glove is elite, he still can do somethings - his contract is only 3 years and the Cards would take on Astros contracts or pay down his contract. At 20 million a year for three years, he is probably an okay calculated risk but the concerns are justified. Christian Walker is waiting on the fallout of the Bregman free agency to see if he can squeeze another year out of the Yankees, who so far have refused to budge. If the Yankees get Bregman, the Astros are likely in a better position to sign him. Walker quietly had a great first half with the bat, but a bad second half. He was playing hurt which could explain it. I personally think that a Walker/Paredes addition at 1st and 3rd more than off sets the loss of Bregman and puts the Astros in a pretty good spot because both Walker and Paredes stretch the line up and are solid to very good
3B Paredes 2B Altuve DH Alvarez TBD Walker, Arenado, Polanco, etc. C Diaz OF McCormick Dezenzo SS Pena TBD The Astros still have a lot of work to do this offseason. Their lineup as it stands is very shallow and nowhere near good enough to be a legit contender.
They have to add another above average bat in some way shape or form...really two of them. If they don't want to hand out a long term contract and lose a draft pick, they need to do it through trade. When you consider that most thought the offense needed a bat last year ....then you lose Bregman and Tucker. Paredes is basically filling the role of the extra bat you needed last year. Now you have to replace Bregman and Tucker. Maybe Dezenzo fills the gap to some extent left by Bregman well you still need the Tuvker replacement to get the offense where it was thought to be needed.
If it was opening day today, something like this would be the lineup: 2B Altuve DH Alvarez 3B Paredes C Diaz RF McCormick LF Dezenzo SS Pena 1B Dubon/Singleton CF Meyers If they feel OK about Paredes playing 3B this year defensively, Christian Walker would be a great add IMO. Without another bat, this lineup is really weak and dependent on Chas returning to form AND Dezenzo breaking out. I think asking for both is a bit much.
Paredes will probably outhit Bregman by himself. Walker will not offset the loss of Tucker but between not having Abreu in there and McCormick being expected to bounce back, the offense should be as good as 2024, although I would contend that is not good enough.
The way I look at it: Paredes replaces Bregman. Dezenzo is an upgrade from Abreu, Loperfido, and Cabbage, and takes pa away from Singleton relative to 2024. McCormick bounces back and takes pa away from Dubon and Meyers relative to 2024. So they’re left trying to replace Tucker’s 340 pa of 180 wRC+ along with Gamel’s and Heyward’s solid production over small samples (130 total pa). Tall ask for Walker or Arenado or really anybody available outside of maybe Santander, who I think will carry a lot of risk.
I agree the Astros still need to add at least 2 bats However, one thing that has not been talked about is how good the starting pitching could be. A full season of Brown after Breggy straightened him out. A full season of Arrighetti with the rookie year behind him. Blanco having the experience of a full season as a starter to draw on. Garcia almost certainly recovered from TJS Framber as consistent and dependable as ever. Gusto, Gordon, and Blubaugh looking like MLB starters in AAA. Another chance Lance may contribute. Astros have identified Wesneski as the next project. I am excited for one of the best seasons from an Astro rotation in some time, and I still think they should trade Framber.
I don't know what they will do - the Astros are trying to be opportunists, and that requires flexible plans... but I expect them to add a bat through free agency, and then a second one through trade. I agree with you that Paredes offensively cancels out Bregman. That leaves a need for another impact hitter and then another quality hitter. Walker and Goldschmidt fit the profile of hitter if the Astros get someone on a shorter deal like they hope. Otherwise, Santanader and Teoscar Hernandez hit the need in the outfield and as a top tier back - but on a longer contract. From a free agent perspect - some of the secondary bats on the market they could target as that second bat is Turner, possibly Canha, Verdugo, Kepler, France, Polanco, Duval, Winker. From a supply and demand perspective it seems like they will try to sign Walker or Goldschmidt and then look to guys like Verdugo, Kepler, Winker and Duval to see if they can get one on a good deal. They would mean they would have replaced Tucker and Bregman AND also added another bat - with the idea that one of their younger bats will emerge as well.
People are underrating the Astros elite ball club on Arenado. Guy is competitive freak, he cares, MMP suits him on the pull swing, and the cards will eat some salary, plus 3 years is perfect for our transition to Cam at 3b. People talk about postseason...... its 8 games man, nobody cares. I dont need to talk about the defense, he still winning games on that alone. He fits perfect on his atitude and leadership alone if you losing Breg, the only thing that needs to be seen is his no trade teams list, but that is on him, our interest has nothing to do with. I just dont share the negative opinion on his possible adition. Outside of Bregman signing for reasonable money and years, Paredes 1b Arenado 3B, its the best alternative, it puts elite defense average hitting on 3b, and great hitting average defense on 1b IMO Cant lie tho, Arenado defense is still sexy af and im bias on that
I personally would try to sign Walker to play first..... see if I could get Verdugo cheap to plug in at the corner and then sign one of the leverage relievers on the market. The team would not be complete - but the Astros would have added three starters to the line up, all with upside and at least two of them with a recent history of hitting well. Verdugo had a bad year in NY, but is capable of playing well and also is a solid fielder. Altuve Verdugo Alvarez Diaz Walker Paredes Pena Meyers McCormick Ideally Chas bounces back and the Astros are not looking for another bat at the deadline, but it is possible. With Walker and Verdugo, the defense is a push with last year. The pitching depth is again going to need to carry the team a lot of times.
Let Bregman go, trade for Luis arraez, sign pederson or another outfielder with pop. Altuve 2b Alvarez dh Arraez 1b Paredes 3b Diaz c Pederson lf Pena ss Chas rf Meyers cf
@Nook is there any optimism about signing Bregman? Are you hearing anything, or getting any opinions from sources? I still think he should be worth more in years and AAV to the Astros than anyone else.
Not an Arraez guy. He just doesn't have anything except a contact bat. Below average power. Below average speed. Below average defense.
