And that's one of the reasons I think he remains unsigned. He's a head case and teams don't want to make a long term commitment to him.
He still showed elite spin on his curve last season, but without an effective fastball he cannot compete. I don’t think the odds favor it but if he’s able to get back to sitting 93+ on his fastball thru health improvement or moving to the pen and throwing shorter stints, then he could be good again. But he looked finished last year, and not just the stats; his whole demeanor looked to me like somebody who was about ready to hang it up.
Sure, but that's his first season back after a REALLY long time of not being able to throw. It's not surprising to me that his fastball speed was down to just over 91 MPH in his first season back, but I think if he can remain injury free he'll get back the strength and trust in his arm to start hitting 93 consistently again. If he was 35 instead of 32, I'd see it differently if he gets another serious injury, I'll see it differently. If he fails to regain enough his pitching prowess this season, then I think he's done, but I'd give him this year to show it.
McCullers is a sunk cost and a free agent after the season. If his arm doesn't fall off in spring training they should squeeze out as many innings as they can until he shows he can't pitch in MLB anymore or his arm falls off. We don't have a bunch of innings eaters in this rotation. Get what you can out of him and then move on.
My take on McCullers 80% he makes opening day rotation. 20% he starts season on I.L. 5% - He makes 25+ very good starts throwing 125 IP and gets down ballot CY votes. Signs a new short term deal w/ Astros. 20% - Makes 15+ starts and pitches very well but rarely goes more than 5 innings. Probably a couple of short I.L. stints mixed in. Then signs a new low AAV incentive heavy 3 year deal somewhere (maybe here) 40% - Other than 2-3 I.L. stints he remains in the rotation all year but is not able to pitch at better than a #5/AAAA level. Then he retires. 20% - At some point he gets hurt, misses the rest of the season and his career is over. 15% - He starts for 1-3 months before the team must release him. 0% chance he is released before opening day 0% chance he is in the bullpen
I think we saw Lance skiing at Steamboat this weekend… I had zero concerns whether or not he would be putting himself at risk of not being able to pitch this season. That’s about where I am on him. Appreciate everything he did. Bury him in the H.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/red-sox-close-to-deal-with-isiah-kiner-falefa.html Welp can probably fully cross Boston off of the list of potential trade partners.
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/isaac-paredes-avoids-arbitration-with-astros Who knows how accurate or truthful these quotes are, but I thought Brown’s response when asked about Teng was interesting. He said “it was a major gut feel for me”. The last time I recall him making a comment like that it was when Ronel Blanco got converted into a SP and subsequently put up a 2.80 era over 167 ip.
If Boston prefers Isiah Kiner-Falefa and his lack of offense to Isaac Paredes, then they were never serious about acquiring Paredes. They only wanted Paredes if the Astros would be willing to sell low.
If nothing else, we can revisit bosox at the trade deadline as I'm sure ikf will underwhelm offensively.
Detroit is going to be good. They’d be a fit for Jake Meyers imho. CF is their weakest spot and Meyers would be a good platoon-mate for Meadows. Their pitching staff is stacked.
