Just watched the Crush City podcast and Josh Reddick stated that unless both Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes are playing everyday it would hurt the team to have them both on it. I have been pretty vocal here that giving everyone 1-2 days off every 10-14 days would work and give everyone enough playing time while also keeping everyone fresh. Chandler Rome says guys in arbitration like Paredes and Pena would be frustrated because it loses them numbers needed in arbitration. Reddick says it will not work to keep hitters sharp. If that is true Walker, Paredes, Correa, or Alvarez need to be traded. Basically this means its Walker or Paredes. Rome says there has been zero interest in Walker, even at a reduced salary paid down by the Astros. He also says everyone he has talked to says they do not want to trade Isaac. Something I just mentioned needs to change.
I love Boston, my son lived in Cambridge. It's an awesome town. It took 3 teams in 3 years but Bregs got the money he was looking for. Posters need to understand the Stros that left valued money over everything else. They went to the orgs that paid them top dollar. Tucker, Bregs, Cole, JV , Springer etc.... Altuve, Alvarez took below market deals and they stayed. When Pena comes due, he will be leaving too.
Yes, 90% of players want to play every game. That is also partially because they want to get their numbers and reach bonuses. Having said that - Altuve very clearly wears down by the end of the season. His performance really has suffered because of playing so often. Pena plays a very demanding position and while he is a fitness freak, he still gets banged up. Yordan Alvarez is Mona Lisa with a bat, but he needs rest on his joints and tendons. Walker played hurt last year, it was stupid. So there is a need for all of these guys to rest and Miss 10-15% of their games. That is enough for Paredes to play. I didn’t even discuss Correa and his ankles. I know the players want to play every game. A good manager makes it so that they accept they will sit to stay fresh. Click pulled it off- so have others. If Espada cannot do it, then they can bring in someone that will. Having said that, I still think it is very possible Paredes or Walker are traded. The Red Sox need a third baseman and Paredes fits the bill. As for Walker, all it takes is one team to decide they struck out on bats in FA and they want to pay him 13-14 mil and the Astros eat 6-7 million or take back another mediocre contract. Even with Walker, I think there is a 50% chance he has an 800-820 OPS year and proves to be a very good player in the bottom half of the line up. Pena Paredes Alvarez Correa Altuve Walker Diaz Sanchez/Smith Meyers While a better outfielder than Sanchez/Smith would help a lot - the line up doesn’t have any huge holes
Texas Monthy just did their "Bum Steers of the Year" issue, and they love s!!t talking about Texas politicians. One of the best blurbs they had was about a proposed bill in the State House that would have allowed any mother or pregnant woman to use any HOV lane in the state, even if there's nobody else in the car.
Or it could be that Reddick is just one opinion instead of the be-all, end-all of all decision making.
This lineup looks great, but it sure sounds like they are planning on sitting at least one of Paredes, Yordan, Walker, Altuve, or Correa nearly every day and this lineup has an additional hole 90% of the time because of it.
Assuming, of course, no player ever gets injured and players never have off days. If you instead look at reality, that's not true at all. If you assume each of those 5 players gets 10 days off during the season, you've already solved 1/3rd of the season, so now at most you're at 67% of the time. If you assume 15 off days, you've taken care of nearly 50% of the season. And given their histories, you can be sure several of them are going to be injured at some point or another, which will address even more. This is no different than going into the season with 6 or 7 SPs despite only having 5 or 6 spots to play them. You're spending a lot of energy to solve a problem that will solve itself. There's a decent chance, like last year, the Astros don't even make it out of spring training with all of those guys healthy.
Something interesting with this lineup. If Sanchez, Smith and Meyers were our everyday OF then the Astros could rotate the infield everyday. Pena day off - Correa to ss, Paredes to 3rd Correa day off - Paredes to 3rd Walker day off - Paredes to 1st, or Diaz to 1st and backup catcher starts Altuve day off - Matthews to 2nd Yordan day off - Paredes to DH Rotating every 5 games would give everyone 80% playing time or 130+ games. Pena Paredes Alvarez Correa Altuve Walker Diaz Sanchez/Smith Meyers
Agree, especially Castro, but I don't see any of those guys being the type that Crane will approve going into the tax for Hate to sound like a broken record, but this is why I think trading Walker would be so valuable. It's not just to get Paredes a regular spot in the lineup, it's to give us some flexibility to add a utility, backup catcher, and whatever else is needed as the season moves on
wouldnt have if super(utility player)man Dubon was still here. i say play Altuve 2/3 of a 3-game series (games 1 & 3) and 3/4 of a 4-game series (1, 3, 4 -OR- 1, 2, 4) do the same for 4LV4REZ & Correa with alternating combinations of games in a series Paredes & Walker play 5 days/week Caratini/Diaz sub in at 1B when not catching and the math hits a roadblock this can easily be figured out by plugging in he “regular” 1-9 hitters, adding a few tier 2 & tier 3 hitters— into an full-season AI model to get the most bang for buck … custom swap outs for hot hitters / hitters vs LHP / ballparks / injuries, etc… export, download sheet/chart. “problem” solved.
I would rather keep Paredes after becoming a big fan of his last season but if the Red Sox were interested, I wouldn't mind Paredes for Jarren Duran and a prospect. We need a lefty outfielder and they need a 3rd baseman who can hit dingers over the Green Monster.
So Dubon starts 100+ games again? Thats probably worse. FWIW, I prefer Dubon to Nick Allen. 0-50 games started Dubon is worth $6M per year. 51+ games started and he starts hurting the team.
Y'all are crazy if you think the Red Sox will trade Duran AND a prospect for Paredes. It would be more like Paredes + a GOOD prospect for Duran. If we get an MLB player and a prospect back for Paredes, it will be Abreu... but really, a 1-for-1, Paredes for Abreu seems about right to me. I would do that deal.
First choice to trade would be Correa, he adds nothing to the team, second would be Alvarez, he would return the most and clearing him from the roster leaves the DH spot open for Altuve.
Would you shut up about Correa? It’s getting tiresome at this point. They aren’t trading him. Saying he adds nothing to the team is ridiculous as well. Correa had 1.3 bWAR in 51 games for the Astros. Paredes was at 2.3 bWAR at 102 games.
In my view there's 2 people in the car. Texas also gives vets free tolls which helps this old man a lot.
Which is exactly what guys like Pena and Paredes would be unhappy with being in arbitration still And for those using the injuries argument, yes they will happen But every time you have even a 2 week stretch with everyone happen and Pena is asked to sit for the second time in two weeks, it won’t go over well with him Players like having certain roles, it’s why a guy like Dubon is so valuable when not being overused This team will miss having a true utility guy if we don’t pick one up, a guy that can play multiple positions and give a legit mlb at bat, and accept that role, is very valuable
