I haven't read any rumors that we are in the running for Tanaka. This is based purely on my speculation, sorry, I should have made that clear. However, my thinking is that with this front office, they wouldn't be public about their targets anyway. They haven't been a team that's been known to send scouts over to Japan to watch him pitch, but I'm sure they have all the statistical data they need to determine if they will make a push for him or not. I think if they do win the posting, it will completely come out of left field and not many other teams will have seen it coming.
Singleton is unprofessional, lazy, lacks self discipline and doesn't have a burning desire to be great.
Yep, and that should really be it. The biggest issue is there are still so many guys who need more reps and time to grow. In no particular order: Grossman, Hoes, Chapman, Zeid, Stoffel Wojciechowski, Tropeano. Tropeano is probably deserving of a 'pen spot at some point next season (I think he'd really benefit from fewer innings, and this seems like a natural move to me). Wojo may get a chance in the rotation, but if he does then someone like Keuchel or Lyles should get to throw a lot of innings out of the bullpen. A big bat is definitely needed on this team and would fit in the corner outfield, but LJ Hoes and Grossman are both so young (23 and 24, respectively), with good OBP skills, and deserve reps as they continue to grow. These are tough decisions for me to make, but the front office will make their money here. For every free agent acquisition we make, one young player is likely to lose their place on this team. And that's fine, not all of these players will pan out, but it's hard to tell which right now.
He is projected to be that in the future. The trade I am proposing is for a young player who already has 3-4 years MLB experience. I suspect after Singleton's suspension and lack luster AAA performance from last year his star will lose some of its shine. This might be a sell high situation for the Astros.
You don't deal Singleton right now unless you get a very good long term 3-4 hole hitter. A player with 3-4 years already in will be arbitration eligible that much sooner. Further, trading Singleton right now would be selling low. He will bounce back next season and his value will improve. The issue I have with him is that he lacks effort.
As for the original Post, i'm ok with everything except Loney. I know Carter strikes out a lot, but he is 26 years old and in his FIRST season as a full time player he is sitting on 29 HR, and he has driven in more runs in our lineup than Loney has in Tampa. No reason to spend on a guy like Loney in my opinion. Also, Singleton may end up being a fat pot head, but in our situation no reason to give up on him now I'd spend $$ on the bullpen, and a corner OF spot wouldn't be a bad spot to spend either. We have some guys who look like they "could" be decent regulars in the OF, but if we could get a legit OF then bring him on, wouldn't set any of our better prospects back any. Pence would be fine if he wanted to return, Choo would be another one. I wouldn't want us to move prospects to get a little better now, and wouldn't want us to really block a top prospect. We won't do either of those for sure. It IS time though, to worry about getting better at the major league level, no more top picks
Why do we want a guy with 3-4 years of MLB experience already? A young middle-of-the-order star with high OPS is going to cost a fortune in just a year or two. MLB teams are built on having core players for cheap - you can't afford paying everyone "market price" so the last thing you want to do is start out with market price players when you're building. Those are the guys you add once you figure out where your holes are.
We suck too much to really have a wish list. I'd like to see them try to hit on someone like Phil Hughes, Joba Chmberlain, or even Josh Johnson. Incentive filled deal with Johnson because he's always hurt. Take Hughes and Joba out of New York and who knows what happens. Carlos Marmol is another guy you might take a flyer on.
And maybe starting 2014 in AAA again will light that fire. If he's on fire in the spring, he won't be in OKC for more than a month.
Several reasons. The current Astros offense is complete crap. They no have no high OBP guys. They also have too many high strike out guys. The roster lacks balance. Springer should help. Singleton needs to figure out AAA before one can expect him to help. My best guess is that Singleton breaks with the team out of 2015 spring training. There is still a possibility that Singleton struggles in 2014 playing AAA ball and his ceiling becomes a AAAA player like Brett Wallace. After those two, I do not see much on the farm in AA and AAA (2013). Santana is still a prospect but his career trajectory may be in line with cHRis KKKarter, albeit Santana is not a defensive liability. Santana's ETA also will be 2015 at the earliest. I especially do not see any farm help for the 2014 Astros offense, outside of Springer. To take the next step, the Astros need to win 15-20 more games to get to ~70 wins in 2014. Springer and a league average bullpen might get you half the way there. To expect to get the rest of the way there via offensive improvement in Hoes, Grossman, Villar and Wallace is a sucker's bet.
There are young MLB prospects who we know wont figure into the long term. Villar, Grossman, Hoes, Dominguez, Carter, Lyles, etc dont figure into the long term future. I think these type of player could be used more as trade bait for older veterans, especially quality stop gaps - until the elite projected prospects come up. Every team wants to get younger and find lightning in a bottle. A young prospect that becomes an all star and has potential - has value for other teams. We need proven veterans who have known average ceilings. I agree that hoping that Hoes, Grossman, wallace, Carter, etc can turn the corner is a blind optimists bet (a suckers bet). Though those guys have Major league talent but at best it is merely average. If they turn into dynamic level players, it would be like winnng a mini lottery. We have to remember that older teams are always wanting to restock without going the complete overhaul way the Astros did. So i say use the lower level prospects to upgrade the team now. The big guns are still there and just need time to develop. I am sure you can package some of those guys for a guy that has an OPS of 780 already. It really is sad to see OPS from astros compared to other teams. The Astros have Carter and Castro with any significant playing time with an OPS above .770. Now that needs to be improved. You cant send Hoes Grossman Carter Barnes etc back to the minors. They are at least serviceable players. You either go all in with them or you cut your ties and trade for upgrades now.
Sounds good in theory, but I think you underrating the price most of these free agents will go for. The price for Pence probably starts somewhere around 5/75 and I wouldn't be surprised to see him break $100 million. Nathan has a club option that will be picked up and, even if its not, I doubt he'll take that big a pay cut coming off one of his best years. And I don't want to touch Loney, especially not for 3 years. I think someone like DeJesus would make a lot of sense. He'd be relately cheap, without draft pick compensation and wouldn't really be blocking anyone. The problem with obtaining a in-his-prime-middle-of-the-order bat is a) there really isn't anyone available like that on the FA market. The closest ones like Pence or Choo are already in their 30s. And b) to trade for someone who fits that description would cost an arm and a leg in prospects. I wonder if they would be interested in Andre Either if he's put on the market. He's overpriced, but maybe that just means he won't cost much in prospects if the Astros eat all his salary.
The Astros will likely win ~52 games this season. To win 63 games next year would mean that they only lost 99 games. To get there the Astros must find 10+ additional wins. I suspect that Luhnow would rather win closer to 70 games next year (2014) and then target 80 wins for 2015 and 90 wins for 2016 (and playoff contention). To meet these targets, the Astros roster must improve. To improve, the options are current young players get better with time the farm delivers prospects FAs are signed established MLB players are traded for
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9...iants-come-5-year-90-million-deal-reports-say Apparently, the market for Hunter Pence is 5 years, 90 million. 19 mill a year for Hunter Pence. Wow.
This isn't a joke. With the csn fiasco, and now bankrupcy fiasco. It could be years and years before money is put into the major league team
