For all the heat Crane got in his first year or so as owner, he has done exactly what he said he would as far as building the team and increasing payroll.
[rQUOTEr] While Colby Rasmus became the Astros' best hitter in the postseason, it still is thought more likely than not that Houston declines to give him the $15.8 million qualifying offer. He certainly proved to be a worthy power hitter when they needed him most, but some find him "quirky" and wonder about some lapses in left field. Alex Gordon, who is expected to become a free agent (he will surely not exercise his $12.5M player option without turning it into something more), is a name to keep an eye on with Houston for left field. They could also consider an on-base guy for left field, as they have enough power. The Astros' 230 home runs were actually just two fewer than the MLB-leading Blue Jays, but they didn't come close to scoring as many runs as Toronto. So there's a belief the Astros will look to add some more high-average pieces to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, which means they may take a long look at first base and third base where the all-or-nothing types, Chris Carter and Luis Valbuena, mostly manned things. Jon Singleton, who was wise to sign that $10 million, five-year deal, may need a change of scenery, some believe. They had to play Jason Castro every day at the end due to Hank Conger's throwing problems, but he wore down by the end and that could be something else they look at The Astros had a terrific year, but one person associated with some Astros people said that "morale is at an all-time low." That's because team higher-ups decided to remove the team's non-uniformed pension plan. They will replace it with something else, but it has employees concerned. The Astros also pay notoriously low salaries, with some sabremetric exceptions. They are saying they may use the TrackMan system more for scouting, which measures spin rate, launch angles and the like, thus giving a nod to robots. One plus: Robots don't need pensions. [/rQUOTEr]
Not a good sign. Hopefully he doesn't cheap out and is able to keep the core pieces intact over the next several years like Uncle Drayton was.
While I really hate when organizations worth hundreds of million decide to nickle dime the little guy, this doesn't surprise me. This team has always appeared to have a ruthless "best for the organization" mindset. Now that they are winning their PR messes are easier to overlook, so this is a good time to do it. If a robot can do your job better and cheaper, people get phased out. Not saying I agree, or like it, just that I'm not surprised.
Not entirely shocked by this. When BC took ownership control of the club, the morale was low because they let go of a number of long time employees that had high salary and ran it more like a business than an baseball team. I don't know that it will ever make much difference on the field though. The Astros have not had issues paying people that are unique or not easily replaced, such as the GM, highly thought of scouts and others. However they are not going to pay the folks in charge of video production, promotions and other similar jobs as well as some other clubs. Also, it is just the reality of the world trickling into the baseball world with pensions and such. When I was involved with the Astros years ago, BC wasn't there yet but the previous owner already had started cutting perks we received. Honestly, unless you are at the very top it isn't all that profitable and then at the very top, you probably are not making as much as people would expect. FWIW The Cubs have been doing similar things since their new ownership.
And this is generally true of every sports organization; the vast majority of overhead is spent on the players and, by extension, the people assigned to find and develop those players; not the employees working behind the scenes. My experience is that they tend to hire younger (read: cheaper) employees and they tend to have a bit of a revolving door.
They can probably pay employees much less than market value due to the prestige of working with a sports franchise.
Trade with Milwaukee for Lucroy. He has one year left on his contract. Perhaps they would go for a deal that includes two of Gattis/Singleton/Duffy. We have plenty of pieces to make a trade work. Lucroy in the Astros lineup would be wondrous.
Lucroy will cost a lot in trade. He doesn't have just one year left. He has 2 club option years guaranteed to be picked up. He is in his prime, good behind the plate, durable and a plus hitter.
Lucroy is a good defensive catcher also. He has had concussion issues though. I would do a VV/Fisher/Musgrove/Singleton deal for Lucroy
VV/Fisher is getting closer.... I think you may have to throw in another top 5 prospect, simply because you are dealing with a guy under club control at a low salary for 3 years. Having said that, it is something the Astros should consider if they believe he will remain at catcher the next 3 seasons.
Wouldn't do it. VV and Fisher are looking great so far throughout their careers. Plus a top 5 prospect on top of that. Forget it. I don't want to see the farm depleted and ruin long term success for a 2-3 year run. Astros are in a position too be contenders for a very long time, guys like VV and Fisher are the talent you want to build around the Big 4 (Correa, Keuchel, Altuve & Springer) Castro behind the plate is well above average. I don't care if he doesn't hit. There's other guys in the lineup who don't hit. Fix that first. AJ Reed at first. Deal Lowrie, Carter, Valbuena & Singleton for the best prospects you can get. Try Moran and JD Davis at 3B or let Marwin who deserves a spot or a free agent. No more trades. The Gomez/Kazmir deals turned out bad. We lost Nottingham who could be a future stud Catcher.
How did the Gomez/Fiers deal turn out bad? The Astros have Gomez next year, if he leaves in free agency after next year the Astros get a #1 compensation pick and Fiers is under Astros control for the next 4 seasons. I didn't like the Nottingham deal at the time it was made, but in hindsight the Astros do not make the playoffs without that deal. He still may resign with the Astros as well. If you are not expecting deals, you will be upset. It is almost a guarantee that the Astros will attempt to trade for an elite closer and they also will be looking for a plus bat. Davis has not really established himself as a top tier prospect for the Astros, and there is concern that he may eventually move away from third base. Moran had somewhat of a bounce back season but there are questions about his glove and bat. Honestly, Fisher has not been especially impressive either and will be pressed by Cameron and Tucker soon enough. You identify your cornerstones (Correa/Altuve/Springer/Dallas/McCullers) and then you deal pieces to fill holes (Gomez/Kazmir/Fiers) and balance all of that with payroll flexibility. For the most part baseball is a very dynamic game. There is no guarantee that the Astros are really good 2-3 years from now even if you keep all your farm system talent.
I would give up a lot for Lucroy. He is 29 years old. He broke his toe at the beginning of this season, but the previous 2 years he averaged 150 games behind the plate. For goodness sakes he hit .300 with a .370 obp and 50+ doubles in well over 500 AB's in '14. Could you imagine that kind of production in our lineup from the Catcher? Especially a righthanded hitting Catcher hitting in Minute Maid?
