I like the way Crane has run the team and hope he continues to run it the way he's run it in the past, because it's lead to a dynasty.
Altuve is still one of the best second baseman in baseball right now even at his age. So the contract is reasonable. Add to the fact, he's a Houston sports legend that only Hakeem can touch, you pay him whatever to keep him the uniform especially considering he made so little at the start of his career.
The Tigers and Blue Jays are the 2 teams (along with imho the Nats) who should be in on Bregman the most, as they are the teams he will improve the most. Both teams are fringe contenders with weak 3B.
Not if Bregman moves on. Polonco's out of the picture, so without Bregman, there's no need for him to move from 2B. And he hasn't really agreed to move for anyone other than Bregman.
From a negotiation perspective, Bregman is simply playing the game. So is Crane. It's always a game of chicken and it sometimes results in a crash and burn. And we get to pretend we make a difference discussing it when we don't. So let's just have fun and not take our takes so seriously.
Correction. Altuve is still one of the best hitters in baseball who happen to play second base. He is one of the worst second basemen in baseball.
The third base position has been filled. Why would anyone expect the Astros to hold an offer open that was made to Bregman when they where looking for a third baseman? The Astros needs are elsewhere. At least one and maybe two outfielders are needed. A couple of starting pitchers they have been counting on will not be available. The bullpen is unsettled and two of four bench positions have no clear occupants. All these issues are more important than adding an additional and superfluous third baseman. Time to move on.
The problem with this is that there are no outfielders left that are good enough to make a difference. This team has a third baseman who can play second and a second baseman who is one of the 2-3 worst fielders at that position in MLB. Sounds like an opening at third to me.
And doesn’t Altuves salary go down in the last years? Altuve should never be questioned. He's done it on the field. We b**** and moaning about the other core players wanting more money and eventually leaving. Altuve is the only one that told Boras get the **** done. I want to be in Houston.
Till the outfield and rotation are dealt with there is no reason to revisit what has been done in the infield.
It almost feels like Bregs and the Astros are just merely going through a trial separation over pity stuff, but eventually you know they'll get back together. They just each want to prove a point first.
2 weeks from spring training and Bregman still hasn’t signed with another team. Clearly not the plan. Clearly Bregman is conflicted between whatever offers he’s received from other teamsand the one from the Astros that he’s held since November. Over the last 3 months the odds have fallen and risen. At one point I wouldn’t have put 10% odds on Bregman returning to Houston. Right now I think it’s around 40%.
