Castro sucks. I don't care what his ops is. Those numbers are skewed and he's still overpaid and for to long. IMHO
I think Castro's contract is fine if he's platooned. As a backup, what's the point? I've seen some people speculate that Click wants Castro used more (when he was healthy anyways) but Dusty refuses to play him, which doesn't make much sense to me given the power dynamic between the GM and skipper.
On the list of things to complain about with the Houston Astros, I'm not sure Jason Castro makes the top 50, behind such pressing matters as "the amount of sawdust in Sheriff Blaylock's Chili"
Right. You have a backup catcher who has been effective even with such sporadic playing time that is only under contract through next season. Not sure how he 'sucks' this current season.
With each productive start Garcia’s value goes up. Beginning the season none of us would have batted an eye at Click including him as a secondary piece on a trade for a controllable everyday CF. Even as recently as 3 weeks ago I doubt many would have scoffed at the idea of trading him as a centerpiece for a player like Ketel Marte. But now he’s 1/3 of the way through a season of ToR surface stats, and if he keeps this up for another handful of starts I totally agree with you that his value would be such that he’d only be traded for a top line controllable player. For now I would still be comfortable trading him for a guy like Ketel Marte or Bryan Reynolds but the other pieces from Houston would need to be minimal (no Hunter Brown). But if you ask me again in a month I may say he’s off the table for everybody who’s not a affordable star with 3+ addl years.
More likely the reverse.... Castro gets 250k more next season for every 10 games he plays up to 2 million. Paying Castro and Maldonado over 10 million next year would suck a little but not the end of the world. I doubt Baker cares. Click might. I think some are missing the point. Castro at 3.5 million by itself looks fine. The problem with the Baez and Castro deals are the Astros are squeezed up against the luxury tax now. If Crane decides he doesn't care and lets Click add 6 or 10 million in payroll at the deadline then it doesn't matter, or if Click can get the CF and bullpen help we need and stay under the tax then fine. If they don't make the couple moves they need (bullpen and CF) because of the luxury tax then those deals look worse. Especially when you put them in context with last offseason where a lot of relievers that are performing well this season were had for much cheaper than the cost of Baez and Castro.
For Castro at his contract, yes IMHO Put it this way, would you rather have say Kennedy in the bullpen and Stubbs as the backup C for less money than Castro makes?
We can play 'would you rather' all day. Personally, Castro's contract isn't hamstringing the Astros anywhere close to the Baez deal.
How are they hamstrung with Castro's contract? They weren't going into the season with Stubbs as backup. They had so sign someone.
Enjoy watching the bullpen. An even bigger deal is they signed him for 2 yrs. Give me a cheap guy like Pawlecki or Avila on a cheap one year deal.
The fact that the kid went straight from A ball to the majors without the normal development chain probably leads Click to think there is a ton of potential left to be gained by Garcia I would be shocked if he were moved, especially by a GM who came from an organization like Tampa
I wouldn’t be shocked but I would be surprised. Which means we should all expect a relatively tame deadline for the Astros this season, because the only way they are getting a controllable impact player is if they use one of Garcia, Urquidy, or Javier as a trade chip. A rental CF like Starling Marte and RP like Graveman in exchange for 2nd tier prospects like Abreu and Ivey is probably the most realistic (and best) outcome we can hope for.
To be honest Click himself hasn’t given me much optimism. He inherited one of the most talented rosters in baseball and hasn’t really had to do much. The 2020 season was so weird. Shortened season. Expanded playoffs. Never really felt like there were any true “seller” teams. Hell... the Astros looked horrible at times and finished below .500 and still came within a game of the WS. What DOES make me optimistic is the eye test of how this team looks. I’ve seen most games thus far. Almost all of our big dogs are having really solid years. Altuve is back. Bregman(although he’s slumped a bit of late) is back. Yordan is healthy. Tucker has really turned it on. Correa has too. Yuli is as good as ever. Our starting pitching has been borderline elite. Any competent GM( if they were in Click’s shoes) would look at this roster and say “damn... we have a contender on our hands. What can we do to push us over the top?” I couple that thought process with an owner who has shown his desire to win and sign off on spending money and acquiring players to come to the conclusion that something will be done to help fill some holes. I’m definitely an optimist by nature but I just feel like this team has what it takes to make yet another deep playoff run. I just can’t see Straw being our starting CF in August and can’t see Stanek/Raley being the set up guy in August. Just my opinion
It wouldn’t surprise me if Abraham Toro were included in a trade and a became a decent everyday 3B for another team. He got hurt to start the year but I think he is undervalued. If I were a team dealing with the Astros he is one of the young players I would target as a secondary piece. I would also try to get Papierski, Meyers, and/or Dawson as throw-ins. I think all 3 of those guys will need Rule 5 protection this fall.
