Even with numbers, they've yet to develop a starting pitching stat that can fully vet out how many wins his ability to rest a bullpen, on a team that uses its bullpen a lot for almost every other starter, truly contributes. And as far as numbers go, you really can't get a better extrapolation of the last 6 games if you want to assign even half credit value to him... he's factored into every decision (pitched 7 or more innings in five out of the six games, the other he went 6), and the team has gone 13-11 in the other games (which included the LMJ clunker)... and the bullpen is still 100% intact and possibly gaining momentum when guys like Okert and Dubin have some high leverage success (mixed with some mishaps here/there). Not saying he'll be worth whatever he gets after this. Not saying he's still not prone to the random mental WTF moments... but he's still criminally underrated here when he's by/large this team's MVP.
I am on record as stating that this team CAN NOT trade Framber. Not mow, not the rest of the season. All I'm saying is that the difference between an Ace and a AAAA replacement starter is about 7 wins in a season. That's all I'm saying. If you can get a solid MLB 4 or 5, then maybe its 5 games. And if you have 3-4 other SP who are post season caliber maybe trading him before his final year for 10-18 years of potential 2-4 WAR guys its a good idea to do it. But once the season starts, dance with the girl you brought.
And I'm saying that impact gets magnified when judging wins/losses on THIS team over these last 2 months as they've jumped back into a division leading contender, while battling all sorts of roster issues. Short 2 month stints do matter, despite this being a game where everybody knows what the 162g-based metrics tally out to.... I'll say it again: the 2017 team possibly is a different story had they not had some pedophile holding the rotation together with smoke/mirrors during the heart of the summer (which further reinforced the need/convincing for the JV trade). (Granted, no ace can truly hold the rest of the staff together when you've got 3 other potential AAA guys and one guy still working his way back over 3 years... with Hunter having command issues of late... so if all things hold as is, the bullpen gets more work/exposure and the overall pitching likely regresses coinciding with this team hitting a rough patch till reinforcements make it back).
Honestly, before the season was the time to trade him. Now that Tucker and Bregs are gone I'm sure management knew they would be paying Framber to keep him (although that does have a limit if he gets over his head on his asking price). No way do you give someone like him a 6 year deal though, unless it is very team friendly. Astros would overpay for a 3-4 year deal and may come out even on a 5.
