What happens if Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, and Houston all tie with 74 losses? I figure Houston still the one left without a dance partner.
Yep, we don't have a tie breaker over any of them. And the 163rd game tradition is dead with expanded playoffs.
They need to move him to open up some money. How much money do you think they will have to eat. I would even attach a pitching prospect like an Alex Santos to a trade to try and get a team to eat more money. Which teams need a 1B?
They need to move Walker and use the Framber money and the Walker money to add a SP1. Then I would trade Arrighetti if I could get a quality bat from a team like the Orioles.
Arizona, New York Mets (if they don’t resign Alonso), and Padres would be the only teams I think Houston would have a chance to offload him to without eating a huge amount of his contract. He has a narrow market (contenders with money who need a 1B).
Should've been an option, I'm over it, I'm just thankful Luhnow built the best or this city has ever had and I hate to see it end because
I’ve thought about this a decent bit. I basically became a full fledged rockets fan in 96, when Barkley was traded there. Kid me didn’t have a favorite team but i rooted for the rockets and suns. I got into baseball in 97 and football really when Houston got a team. I think there’s a > 90% chance there will never be a more important person in sports for me than Luhnow. Harden was great, watt was awesome, andre Johnson, Altuve, but nobody can touch Luhnow for me. I think it would take the Rockets getting a Jokic level player (a legit top 5 type all timer who’s amazing to watch) for Lunhow to gain some company.
And after the Astros trade Walker, we can add the Astros to that list, no? After buying Paredes a first basemen mitt, we might bring in Wash to train him up FWIW Walker leads the team in RBIs (my favorite useless stat until the Astros struggle to score) and is second on the team in HRs. And his glove is still golden. Given that and his $20 large contract for the next two years, Walker's contract may not be that underwater, if at all. A Walker trade might resemble the Correa trade, with the Astros getting back some low A (or lower) lottery tickets. I would be reluctant to trade Walker though, after only one year since signing him in FA, especially if he wants to stay. Future FAs might be wary to sign with the Astros. Think the long game.
Marwin led the team in RBIs in 2017... (and Fiers in innings.) But there is something to be said about folks that don't cower in a corner with runners on (looking at you Jake).
I don’t think Houston is anywhere close to a position where they have to trade Walker. If he were a free agent demanding a 2 year deal he’d probably get something like $25M/2yrs, so his contract is only underwater by about $15M. So I don’t want to see Houston trade away really good prospects just to get out from under his contract. Theres a decent chance he rebounds and is worth what he will be paid. I am also not too worried about Paredes playing 2B if it comes to that to get all their good hitters in the lineup. The Astros have a deep roster, an improving farm system, and a little bit of money to play with. Aside from all the injury issues, they are in a really good place entering the offseason and can be opportunistic and take advantage of where the market goes.
...where is Brendan Rogers going to play? Kidding... Defensively, it seems like more teams have war gamed against how we shift (within the rules) and outfield positioned this year (to the frustration of Framber). I wonder if that may change moving forward. Back to the point, Paredes can handle 2nd if his leg is 100%.
I agree with all of this, the amount I have heard thrown around with Walker is that it is about $5,000,000 a season underwater. I also agree that there is a real chance that Walker rebounds and has a season in 2026 like he had in 22-24, and that is a pretty valuable player. He also is someone that can really be helped by having more healthy bats around him. Someone with the White Sox said to me that they think that the Astros will move Correa back to short if they move Pena, and keep Paredes at third and Walker at first. I don't know - Correa was not so great at SS last season, but some of that could have been situational. That does cover the offense loss of moving Pena with Correa's bat. I expect that the Astros are going to give Altuve and Alvarez more maintenance days off next season, with Alvarez at DH and when Alvarez sits, that Altuve plays DH. Getting a near ace level pitcher is going to be very expensive, and I am not sure that they will have the assets to make it happen without moving Pena.
No - the Astros positioning this year took a step back. Framber isn't the most controlled person on the planet, and I cannot and don't want to defend everything he does - but what he said about the positioning is true. The running game (holding runners and our guys running) is well below average from a coaching standpoint. The Astros were not good at doing a lot of things that are coaching related. That isn't ALL of Espada, he is one person, but those are areas the Astros MUST be very good at and why I could see Brown and Crane deciding to bring someone else in to manage this team that is more detail oriented and will not be able to have firm boundaries.
It’s going to be an exciting offseason. A trade of Pena would be an even bolder move than the Tucker trade. Franchise-altering. Anytime you are analyzing pitching there’s a lot of subjectivity involved; e.g. how you define an “ace”, how much you think Houston can improve any given pitcher, how much value is affected by durability and injury risk and age, etc. Houston MUST add at least one really good starting pitcher if they want to contend next season, full stop. But does that mean it has to be one of the top 15-20 pitchers in the league from this season (basically meaning they have to go out and pay Cease, Framber, or Suarez in free agency or trade for Gore or Rasmussen)? I don’t necessarily think so. Who knows how much money will be out there for an aging 2nd tier guy like Merrill Kelly, or what a trade candidate like Sonny Gray will cost. Is adding somebody like Ryan Pepiot (a 2 wins player) enough? I think the fact that Houston’s glaring need is pitching plays to their strengths. I hate that Houston is entering another offseason with 3+ decent SP on the long term IL. I think that really put Dana Brown in a tough spot last offseason and it will restrict them this offseason. And I hate that Altuve might be finally succumbing to Father Time. But I liked the roster Dana Brown built last offseason, I don’t think it is at all his fault they will miss the playoffs, and I expect him to do a great job again this offseason of putting together a complete 2026 roster while also improving the long term outlook. I think If it gets derailed it will be because Crane mettled and forces another bad signing.
