Going to be honest, if we lose Breggy I’d rather sign Gleyber Torres to play 3rd base than Polanco or give up assets for the corpse of Arenado at the plate. Torres is 28 and has hit 24 or more homers in 4 of his 6 full seasons.
As my father-in-law always said "wish in one hand and **** in the other and see which one fills up first"
I still think it’s possible Arenado goes to Houston. It would not surprise me if he just wants to wait until Bregman signs, not only to see which position he’d be playing in Houston but also to see if another team that he’d rather play for becomes an option. He also might’ve been just trying to leverage something out of it (an assignment bonus or an extra player option or something).
Defensively limited? Isn't Walker a GG first baseman? I would trade a 2nd and a 5th rd pick every year for a 30 JR, G/GG level player. You guys and your prospect fetishes.
I just don't like this Arenado thing at all, I do not want to trade for and pay this washed player, add to it he nixed a trade now it's extra FU. I hate that the Astros are still trying. This is giving me Tejada trade vibes. I don't like it.
You mean the following 2nd round picks weren't worth it? 2015 - Thomas Eschelman 2016 - Ronnie Dawson 2017 - Joe Perez 2018 - Jayson Schroeder 2019 - Grae Kessinger 2020 - Alex Santos
It’s not just the pick. It’s also that the player is going to be simply overpaid to begin with. Walker is not worth $70M plus the draft pick and international bonus penalties. But also, it’s about keeping in line with the plan. You don’t trade a guy like Tucker to add a prospect then toss another good prospect in the trash to add a lesser player in Walker. Unless the value is there. If they end up getting Walker for something like $50M/3yrs, fine.
How much does Goldschmidt want? Bring him home to Htown to finish his career? 1 yr $15M? Is he a HOFer? 7× AS, mvp, #'s are pretty close. He will turn 38 at the end of the season. Take a chance we get '23 Goldy, .806 ops higher than '24 Breggy. He really fell off a cliff last year .716 ops not much better than Big Jon. Maybe he rekindles some of the magic of his '22 mvp season. It would be an interesting storyline.
I doubt the Astros will sign anyone that requires them to give up draft picks and international money, especially since they're trying to gear up their farm.
I think he could be had for something like $14M/1yr plus maybe some incentives and/or 2nd year player option. Theres probably only 6-8 teams with an opening at 1B, and not all of them are contenders and not all of them have money. There’s at least 5 free agents expecting an everyday 1B job, and there’s a couple guys who could be traded to fill holes. So my guess is that at least one of Walker, Alonso, Goldschmidt, Santana, or Bell are gonna end up signing for very cheap.
Gives me Eddie Mathews vibes. Brought him in. He hit his 500th HR. Flip him for a RP that was an Astro for 6 years (2 of them quite good) Seriously though, I think if Bregman moves on, Goldschmidt would be a good addition as long as the OF is still addressed. I realize all this revolves around Alex, but the fact that they have not been connected to any OF is a bit concerning.
Quit bringing in 38 year old 1B. Stop it. Just stop. Goldy is done. Arenado too. The Cards have a good track record of knowing when their guys are cooked. Honestly I’d rather roll with Big Jon at 1B, and I don’t even like him.
I will basically never have an issue with anybody the front office signs for <$30M. Those deals aren’t significant, even if several of them go bad. But committing $30M-$50M to an aging player is risky, and committing >$50M to a player 34 or older is foolish. But getting Arenado for $45M/3yrs would have been a good deal provided they weren’t giving up any of their top 7-8 prospects.
This is where I’m at too. Baseball is just one of those sports where mileage adds up faster than others. You could maybe squeak out some value for an older player in the NBA but not baseball. Other than the immortal elites that are in the HOF, how many 38 year old baseball players actually were worth it???
The Astros are content paying mid level star players 15-20 million a year. But they do draw the line when players are seeking those 200, 300, 400 and 500 million dollar contracts. I applaud the Astros for showing restraint, especially because they do not have a YES network fundings hundreds of millions of dollars to the bottom line. The worst feeling is going through the motions season after season until an albatross contract finally comes off the books. Crane is right, it’s a business, and you got to treat it like a business. For if it is not run accordingly, it deteriorates into dire straits. Crane and his people already feel the hurt from the Abreu fiasco - but at least it was limited in scope. Decade plus long deals are disastrous when they go wrong, and in business you have to plan for, “what can go wrong will likely go wrong!” Guy will get hurt, they will regress, the bottom simply falls out eventually; and fans will rage at the management and ownership for having been so stupid as to sign the deal on the first place. Few fans will ever say it’s okay, the owner tried. I don’t know if Cranes way/style is going to produce the type of winning as the past 9-10 years, but it’s a sound and proven way to run a business. In going after Nolan, they were looking to get a quality player who bridges the gap between Cam Smith time and now, and they don’t have to devote 30-35 million to 3B for the next 6-7 years. But Nolan turned them down, hence what can go wrong might eventually go wrong!
