Not going to lie. Kind of glad that the Astros didn't bring him back. Now watch him be healthy and have a bounce back season. Or better yet, he does and Crane forces Brown to acquire him at the deadline lol. On a side note, were the Astros one of the teams that was interested? Do they go after someone else now or they didn't have plans on bringing Verlander back. They are set for starters??
I wanted Verlander back because I think he still has another decent season left in him. I didn't want him back at 15 million dollars. Best of luck.
Sure - but there's no question he's the closer. For the vast majority of the last several decades, the Astros haven't ever had much question about who's the closer on their team. Many of the teams mentioned, even if they are elite, have closers-by-committee.
You know Pres- we don’t think you are all that good anymore. Can’t imagine pitching you in any leverage situations. You slot to be our guy that goes and pitches 4 innings in a 10 run game and then sits for a week before doing it again. Or maybe pitches 3 days in a row in the 5th inning. it’s valuable to have an expendable arm to get the good part of the staff through the meat grinder of the regular season. As a 36 year old vet we know you know the deal. Thanks for signing up to do this for us. Much happier to have you in this role than some young up and coming probably never gonna happen guy like Forest Whitley. He’s gonna pitch the 7th for us we think this year. you cool with all this Ryan? If not I suppose we could trade you.
this was quite a steal for Dana for Kessinger. Linskey had a 38.3% strikeout rate if he cuts down on the walks he’s gonna be elite. He’s also 6’7 so he’s got some of the Randy J fear factor.
As we get to about 6 weeks from the end of free agency for all intents and purposes, here’s some guys I hope Houston is keeping tabs on: C: Yasmani Grandal; Grandal for <$7M/1yr would be an upgrade over Caratini for the same price. IF: Alex Bregman, Jorge Polanco, Ty France, Justin Turner, Donovan Solano, Luis Urias, Luis Guillorme; Bregman’s situation is well known. Polanco, France, and Turner would have to be stuffed in LF but are a good fit offensively if the cost is <$8M/1yr. Solano, Urias, and Guillorme are fringey guys that interest me as potential Dubon replacements, 13th position players, or minor league depth. OF: Mark Canha, Jesse Winker, David Peralta, Jason Heyward, Alex Verdugo, Ben Gamel, Gavin Sheets; Canha, Winker, Heyward, and Verdugo are guys who fit nicely in the 7 hole to deepen/balance the lineup and a good value on any 7 figure deal. Peralta, Gamel, and Sheets are fits as lefty bats to compete with Trammell, Hummel, and the prospects of Houston isn’t able to scrounge up any better options; they’d need to take a few million on a 1 year deal or even a minor league contract with opt outs. SP: Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Max Scherzer, Andrew Heaney, Lance Lynn, Jakob Junis, Cal Quantrill, Anthony DeSclafani; Flaherty, Pivetta, and Scherzer are playoff caliber starters who could be worth gambling on if their market collapses far enough. They’d make it so they Houston could easily trade one of their other SP for OF help. Heaney and Lynn are upside candidates that I like for 7 figures. Junis, Quantrill, and DeSclafani are upside candidates I would toss a few million to in order to further deepen the rotation if Garcia isn’t progressing. RP: Caleb Ferguson, Jose LeClerc, Andrew Chafin, Ryne Stanek, Scott Barlow, Luke Jackson, Hector Neris, Kendall Graveman, Phil Maton, James Karinchak, Matt Moore; any of these guys can work the 7th and makes Pressly expendable.
I think you are remembering and older version of Grandal. I'm taking Caratini every time based on their recent history, frankly I don't even think they are close when you factor in defense.
He rebounded last season and was a league average bat and solid defender. Put up 1.4 fwar in half a season worth of playing time. Hes not who he was in his 20s but he’s still a quality catcher. It’s not a super strong opinion of mine, but it might be away to essentially buy a 3rd tier prospect (sign Grandal and trade Caratini).
