Suzuki is awful defensively and we already have a long term DH The return for Tucker was OUTSTANDING Some of yall just don't understand baseball. Just because Cam hasn't set the world on fire right off the bat doesn't mean he won't be a superstar. Extremely few future star level players step right in to MLB and dominate
I agree with this. But Altuve is on this team and will be in the lineup. Period. Putting him at 2b does not change that. He is not a good fielder, so him being at 2b rather than LF is not going to suddenly add to the value he brings and suddenly help the Astros win games. The best place for him is DH, but that's the best place for Yordan too. What needs to happen, is Mookie Betts suddenly get an injury that allows him to hit but not field a position. Then, since the Dodgers have Ohtani, Manfred and MLB will trip all over each other changing the rules so each team gets 2 DHs
Tucker had a .979 OPS in 60 games before the injury last year Tucker has a .942 OPS in 38 games so far this year The Cubs hitting coach hasn't made an impact on Tuckers ability so far, and if you want to say with the small difference in his OPS that their hitting coach HAS made an impact, then it hasn't been a good one
I get loyalty but there are no rules stating that you have to play a bad offensive player at an offense 1st position. Especially on a team starving for offense. That said, I think Jose will turn it around. If not, Espada will need to grow some balls and field the best team at some point.
On Brown... I think the biggest thing for a pitcher in Hunters shoes is to get to Free Agency as quickly as possible. Not only because you can bring a longer term deal at a younger age, but also because the quicker you get there the less opportunity you have for a major injury to occur that would crush your ability to earn the biggest of the big contracts Hunter by the end of this year (according to Spotrac) will have earned a bit over 3 million in his career. Obviously that's not big baseball money, but if he is handling it all right it is enough to set him up to have a comfortable life, and I think that matters when you are deciding whether to take a risk on HUGE money vs taking an extension now that would bring you back guaranteed big money but lessens your percentages to get the HUGE contract While I laugh at some of the comments people make about Boras because the one thing Boras seems to do is fight for whatever his client wants...but most people that hire him are doing so in order to maximize their highest earnings I think it would take $200 million + in order to get him to sign a deal buying out free agency years. ** I also want to point out just how remarkable he has been, we all watch him and know he is great, but looking at the numbers makes me say WOW Since May 28 of 2024, he has made 28 starts Dude has gone 6+ in 25 of those 28 starts. That in and of itself is remarkable in this day and age BUT in those 25 starts of 6+ he has held the opposition scoreless 10 times, so over almost a calendar year 40% of his starts have been 6+ innings of scoreless ball. Just WOW In another 8 of those starts he has given up only 1 run. So in 64% of his starts he has gone 6+ and given up 1 run or less In another 4 he gave up 2 runs. 79% of his starts over what amounts to almost a full season, he went 6+ and gave up 2 or less. 79% And you almost never hear him mentioned among the best
His position and his bat are not connected in any way. He is on this team and is not going to be sitting on the bench. Therefore put him where he hurts the team the least. Period. He needs to be a maximum of 5 games per week player. But he has only had a single game off all year, so far. Maybe Espada is secretly hoping to wear him out and cause the need for an I L. stint? If I'm the manager: Pick the most fly balls heavy SP in the rotation (Arrighetti, but Blanco currently) and start Altuve at 2b his first start of each week. If that SP gets 2 starts in a week, Altuve is DH or off. Pick the 2 most ground ball starters ( Framber and Brown) and start Altuve in LF those games. Choose 2 other games per week for Altuve to DH and he gets the other 1 or 2 games in a week off.
Since April 16th ( just "middle of April" no special date significance) 10 Astros have 40+ PAs Altuve and Yordan have lowest OPS and Yainer hasn't walked even once.
You can just as easily argue that any pitcher that’s made small money in his career would be insane to run down 100M guaranteed when his arm could fall off during any of his next 25 starts this year and he gets essentially nothing. How much money did Urquidy or garcia make during their arbitrations and getting cut? different strokes for different folks but I’d sign a 6/105M extension today (every day in the future it got offered would lessen my risk and make me less likely to sign) and figure I could still be a badass at 32 and sign another 5/150 or 175M deal at that time and then sign a 3/100 at 37 if things played out like I hoped they did and I stayed healthy.
I generally agree with you but I think you are asking the question wrong when talking about what position he plays. The right question is: Is the team better with Altuve at left and Dubon/rogers at 2B or are they better with Altuve at 2B and Dezenzo in left field and cam in right field. depending upon the pitcher and the importance of the defense either is a credible argument. If Rodgers sucks and can and Dezenzo both are hitting 110 or 120 then the answer is probably team is best with Altuve at 2B even with the horrific defense. the decision isn’t about Altuve in my opinion it’s about the other guys that would play the position he doesn’t.
The value is in improving your outfield/lineup both in the short and long term by getting the two young guys consistent abs. Tuves bat nor glove play in left field. Maybe several years ago they would, but not now.
Altuve had a 127 wRC+ last year that eoukd have been the 7th best LF in MLB last year. We don't know that his bat is gone. Yet. But to your other point, how much better would Dezenzo in LF be than Rodgers at 2b? And is it more than the negative value Altuve brings at 2b? I think Altuve's bat + Rodgers bat +/- Altuve's LF defense and Rodgers 2b defense Should be greater than Altuve's bat + Dezenzo's bat +/- Altuve's 2b defense and Dezenzo's LF defense.
I value getting the young guys up to speed. Our upside as a team is based on the ascension of young talent. doesn’t come from Rodger’s. doesn’t come from altuve. I’d rest altuve 2-3 days a week with one being a dh day. Dubon can cover the balance and be late inning defensive replacement.
The problem with that is Crane just gave him $125M. Set aside or one second that he will not want to see the guy he is giving THAT money to sitting 2-3 days per week. What are the chances of Altuve getting to 3000 hits if he is only playing 110 (2 games off per week,26 wk season) games per year? I'm betting Crane was betting on a revenue boost at the end of that contract from a run for 3000
I agree Crane wants him to play But I don’t see much of a revenue boost from 3,000. He would have to be within a couple hits from 3K before anyone would buy a ticket hoping to see it, and 50/50 chance that happens on the road
The real problem is the nature of your fandom. Snake is even worse. The actual game skips by you guys. Hunter Brown…Peña. We get to watch them. It’s a gift.
I get what you’re saying, but you don’t bring up the up side of getting Dezenzo and Smith into the starting line-up every day, which is why I think most people are calling for Altuve back to 2b. Getting Dezenzo and Smith into the lineup may not pay huge dividends this year, but it could next year. Just for kicks let’s say both Dezenzo and Smith start hitting at about major league average for corner outfielders. Does the added offensive production and better defensive play in LF, more than off-set the defensive regression at 2b? I’m not a stat guy, so this is an honest question not a starky one. How does Altuve in LF affect our ability to further Cam’s and Zach’s development next year. If we can’t remove him from LF this year how can we next year?
People like things for different reasons and that should be ok. We don’t have to like/appreciate everything for the same reason.
