I loved Joey . . . but in retrospect we were clearly showcasing him to trade him last year, especially while he was hot.
Agreed, just because he can play CF and hits LH does not make him a fit for this team. He showed much much better as a corner OF than CF and actually K'd more (36.8%) vs RHP than LHP (34.0%) last year. He was collateral damage and no need to weep too much.
They dealt Pressly when they did, because he refused to waive his NTC earlier in the off season without an extension and it was only after he realized that no one was giving him an extension did he agree to a deal. As for Bregman, they moved some at the very end but yeah - they decided what his market value was an made him that offer. They did the same with a number of their own free agents. As for Arenado - I don't think he is magically going to become a 900 OPS guy like in his prime, but I do believe he has value. I agree with you, Arenado is ideal if another bat emerges like Chas - then you bat Arenado 7-8 and let his glove do the rest. Right now the Cardinals and Astros have discussed a larger deal roping in other Cardinals - but I don't know that Brown will move the prospects that the Cards want for a larger deal - and all of this assumes Arenado waives his no trade clause now that the Yankees and Red Sox and West Coast are not interested.
Loperfido is an under-rated athlete and he has power - he just has a massive hole in his swing and that is the only real concern - but it is a big concern. I think it came down to the Astros liking other similar players in their system more.
Has that strategy worked yet for them in free agency? Not extension candidates, but actual free agents? I can't recall it. In negotiating, there are times to give the bottom line best offer, and times when you hold back knowing the other party won't accept the initial offer but wants to meet somewhere in the middle. I feel like they set a market value for Bregs that was just slightly exceeded by other teams in terms of present day value. Not sure if the market plays out similarly in a different scenario. It felt inevitable at a certain point as it played out that it would not be us if we were not going to get creative with a different number of years, deferred money, whatever.
I think in the cases of Springer, Correa, Cole, and Bregman, Houston knew their own assessment of the player’s value was going to be well short of what the player expected (and/or would get on the open market), so they knew that making the offer didn’t really affect the outcome; either the player was going to take a significant discount to stay in Houston, or the player would leave. Im not sure Houston hasn’t taken the same approach with other free agents. It seems like with Christian Walker (and maybe Jose Abreu, Michael Brantley part 1, and heck maybe even Josh Reddick) Houston didn’t have a lot of back and forth. The Brantley deal worked out and the Walker deal looks good so far relative to the market.
Certainly possible. He’s what I have started coining a 30/30/30 guy: 30HR/30SB power and speed potential, but with a 30 grade hit tool. The Astros have a lot of guys in their farm like that. You hate to trade away guys like that because of the risk they improve their hit tool and become a superstar, but those are the exact guys teams should be trading, because they are guys other teams get enamored with and have such a low rate of panning out.
Its not about whether he has the stuff to shine through in the majors and force himself onto other lists. Its about manipulating the situation and making him appear to be a top 100 guy. Same with Loperdido, who was close to making lists last year with his hot start.
Primarily pitching going back to Houston in an effort to improve prospects they get from Houston. Also one of the Cardinals young infielders and a semi veteran outfielder has been discussed as someone the Astros have interest in.
Verdugo probably isn’t a big enough upgrade over Gamel to justify signing him, but he is one of the very few remaining FA position players who could feasibly improve Houston’s roster. If Houston was going to add a FA I’d much rather them go after SP Lance Lynn or Jose Quintana or RP like Hector Neris or David Robertson.
I'm surprised Neris hasn't reached a cheap deal to come back. He's coming off a negative WAR season and is 35, so I don't think he'd be expensive. Veteran in the pen who might be good in the 7th inning if he returns to 2022-2023 form.
I get this but the Astros need more guys with minor league options, not veterans who are stuck on the roster or must be released after paying them. Even if he would be cheap.
He was extremely good with the Astros when he came back last year. And his velo is still fine. He’d be a fine option for the 7th.
Huh? With the Astros he had 28% k, 3% bb, 3.28 xfip. Astros should take as many pitchers with a >9:1 k:bb ratio as they can.
I'm not sure what Luis Contreras did differently last year, but he was dominant at Sugar Land (1.72 era, 0.90 whip). Nick Hernandez has also consistently put up around a 1.14 whip in 3 AAA seasons. Astros should take a good look at both this spring as they should be strong considerations to make the team, perhaps over Dubin who may have arm problems and who struggles with a 1.50's whip in both AAA and last year in the show.
