He's been very good, but gets to choose where he goes just like when he was in Detroit. He's a savvy negotiator.
He has said this several time ! Does Brown really think our starters can get it done? Honestly I just think we need another great starter.
We need another great starter. No one goes deep in the playoffs with average arms. Get a solid 6 man rotation and we have a great shot. Save arms for the playoffs. Right now we are on fumes.
Our key off-season signings of Montero, Abreu and Brantley have all been overpaid failures IMO. Sucks we had to give up Lee bc Montero couldn’t live up to his contract. I doubt we get Verlander or a top SP - this is a sellers market and not sure we have the goods - do teams want Myers or Julks ? Ehhhhhhh
Better not get our hopes up on acquiring another SP. Brown sounds like they're good to go with Valdez--Javier--JP--Brown--Urquidy. If that's the case go get another high leverage arm for the pen.
Do you really think he believes that? The second he says, "Yup, our top priority is a starting pitcher because we all know this rotation isn't enough" is the instant the asking price on every SP goes up by 25% when we call. What would Brown and the Astros gain by broadcasting that we're heavily in the market for a SP?
On paper the Graveman trade is a terrible value. They traded away a guy who will likely provide 0.5-1.5 war per year as a quality backup/fringe starting C for 5-6 years for a guy who has been a sub-replacement level RP this year and projects to be barely above replacement level next year, when they will pay him $8M. $-wise it favors the White Sox by tens of millions of dollars. That said, I had a similar reaction when they traded away Toro for Graveman/Montero in 2021, and that worked out fine for Houston. Still, I do not like this trade.
Hes a groundball pitcher playing with a terrible defense. Now he plays with a great defense and isnt in the highest leverage "closer" spot, and a more relaxed "setup" role. He is gonna do just fine here imo Who cares about Lee, hes blocked here and his luster has faded nationally. This very well may have been the best value available for him
I promise I’m not here simply to crap on anybody’s excitement about today’s trade, but while my memory may be fuzzy, here’s what I feel like I remember about Graveman’s 1st stint with The Astros: We were excited to get him at the trade deadline, then he kind of underwhelmed, wasn’t great nor terrible in the playoffs. Is the excitement here simply that we needed another body in the pen to tame down the overuse of our current bullpen core? Because beyond that, Graveman feels slightly above ‘Meh’ to me at best
I think he was a bit "meh" in comparison to what he was doing in Seattle prior to the trade, but he was still very solid, especially in the playoffs. As you allude to, he provides depth to an overworked bullpen, which should prove huge for the stretch run. If Montero also gets his ish together, then our bullpen will be much stronger. Plus we might still get more bullpen help. All at the cost of a prospect that looked to have no future with the team - so on paper, all good with this trade.
Depends on how you view Lee. I personally don’t think very high of him. He has a rocket for an arm, a true 70-80 arm but even with that he is inconsistent throwing out runners. He has some legitimate power, but he strikes out a lot, he doesn’t walk a lot. He isn’t good at blocking the plate and he 25 years old and repeating a level. He also isn’t known as a great framer of handler of pitchers. I would have liked him as a back up next year but the Astros can likely get a similar player for close to the minimum. The Sox can roll the dice and see. The Astros get an experienced reliever that also is under control next year at a low number. I am concerned about some of Graveman numbers, but we will see what happens.
That’s just the cost of buying in this market I’m afraid. I don’t think there’s going to be any buyer-friendly deals for players who *may* move the needle, where you say, man they got great value there. Astros, like other buyers, are going find themselves in uncomfortable negotiation positions and will be forced to accept the least-worst deals if they want to make meaningful moves. I agree the value here is not great, but the question is—is it better than standing pat? Probably not, and they are probably choosing the least painful deal possible. Here, yes it sucks to lose Lee’s value, but it’s more palatable with Diaz as our clear future starting C.
Come on now that wouldn't come into play at all. Numerous contending teams are obviously needing SP and the pickings are VERY slim. Throw in Giolito and Lynn are off the board and as others come off the board the price to get a good SP is going to go higher and higher. Dana Brown talking about needing a SP doesn't do anything. The reality of the situation is just get in line behind all the other contending teams who are needing one as well and it doesn't take a genius to know what teams needs are. The market will dictate the going price not what a GM says in an interview with the media.
I would come to wonder if they can't find a SP a a decent price. They jump at another high leverage Closer type Pitcher? Solidify the back end and hope our front end can get us there.
The Cubs want a lot for Bellinger. Surprised the Astros pulled the trigger on Lee for Graveman. They still have offers for Barlow and Hernandez on the table. My guess is Brown wanted to get something done to make sure we aren’t left out. Thus far Astros don’t want to trade their teenage prospects.
