While I am sure that Crane is not thrilled with how Abreu has played this season, I don't think that the contract is going to make him overly gun shy because it was only a 3 year deal at 19 million a season. This is assuming Abreu doesn't bounce back, which is his most likely outcome. The Astros are going to need another bat regardless with Brantley being finished. The bat they get would in a perfect world be a catcher or someone that can play first and outfield. An extra bat expands the line up, helps if there are injuries or if someone goes cold down the stretch. Obviously Salvador Perez is the obvious answer. Others could include: Lourdes Gurriel JD Davis Justin Turner Carlos Santana Dominic Smith Mike Yastremski
Like all 5 of those guys at the price. I'd push back a bit on the idea of Yaz being a star (he's above average regular) unless you mean a star in a role- like combining him with Chas to form a pretty awesome platoon. None of those guys going out hurt my feelings otehr than Whitley. That actually seems like an overpay to me for Perez unless they are paying his salary. Doesn't he have an upside down contract value right now?
I've long maintained that if the Angels actually cared about winning a title that they would do that deal. Ohtani Trout and Rendon for a bag of shag balls or a couple of lotto tickets. Fans would be incensed and pissed off, but they have conclusively proven that Ohtani and Trout are not enough to win in and of themselves, Rendon is an anchor, and they need to start over.
One guy I'm watching is Seth Brown. He is currently rehabbing for Oakland, and if he is healthy and puts up good numbers, he is a player I'd be interested. A left handed hitter and thrower, he can play first base plus all three outfield positions. While the whiffs may be higher than the Astros would like, he has great power and hits the ball hard at a high rate. His BABIP, xBA, and xWOBA all suggest he's been unlucky, and I also think he'd benefit from the new shift rules. He'd also have the best lineup protection in his MLB career here if he's acquired. Watched him play live last year when the Athletics were in town, Has good speed on the basepaths as well.
I don't see the Royals trading Perez to the Astros without getting Drew Gilbert. We have seen multiple times the last couple years that the trades for these kinds of players are always way more expensive than we think. Look at the Daulton Varsho and Luis Castillo trades. No way a package led my Colin Barber is landing Perez. If I'm the Royals I want something like Drew Gilbert, Will Wagner, and Spencer Arrighetti. Also... Perez is a 10 and 5 guy so he can veto any trade.
He's likely to be worth his contract and that's about it for the next 2 years. I'd pass on giving up our best prospect and 2 other really good ones. Maybe you are right. More likely, I think, is KC holds onto him until the deadline in 2025 and then trades him for next to nothing b/c that would be what dumb organizations do.
The fear I have is that once Altuve comes back, Dusty still starts Dubon 75% of the time. That does not leave any playing time for a bat unless it's a catcher who moves Maldy to the bench or sits 50% of the time himself. C: Maldy 75%, Diaz 25% 1B: Abreu 90%, Diaz 10% 2B: Altuve 60%%, Dubon 40% 3B: Bregman 95%, Dubon 5% SS: Pena 95%, Dubon 5% LF: Alvarez 60%, McCormick 35%, Dubon 5% CF : Meyers 50%, McCormick 35%, Dubon 15% RF: Tucker 95%, Dubon 5% DH: Alvarez 35%, Altuve 35%, Diaz 30%
Agree on Yas. I want him because the Astros have guys that can hit LHPs, but not RHPs. Add him and if Brantley comes back able to hit RHPs, the Astros have the ability to flip flop between being able to destroy RHPs and LHPs. Yas should not play against LHPs.
Yall can freely comb through this list...but there was not a meanginful trade of position player or pitcher last season until July 27 (Benintendi), then there was a flurry of activity. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2022-transactions.shtml Carry on.
I think it is meaningful that Dubon is playing right now instead of Goodrum, but that's just me spit balling.
It was a great win last night but it can't overshadow how France got lit up. France could still be an average MLB starting pitcher but after 3 starts he isn't. 6.13 FIP, only 5.9 K/9, and barely averagung 5 IP per start. There is a reason he was in the minors until he was 28. Great story - but great stories don't win championships. Good news is if the season ended today the Astros would be in the playoffs, 1/2 game ahead of Yankees (final WC vs Min). Bad news is either France or Bielak would be the 4th starter. I just don't see how the team can count on when/if McCullers or Urquidy get healthy. Until then 40% of the games will be srarted by AAAA level pitchers. And Urquidy wasn't good enough to be in the playoff rotation last year, is he any better this year? And Lance can be great or terrible. Flip a coin. Maybe the game last night opened Brown's eyes about the need for a starting pitcher. This team is set up to repeat as long as that is addressed.
I don't think Brown is under any delusion that those 2 will be major contributors. The fact is that it's an extreme seller's market right now with so few sellers and such a long time until the deadline. He isn't gonna pay a premium unless he has to. As of now France and Bielak have kept their games winnable. Hopefully they can hold out for a few more starts until we get guys healthy and/or prices come down.
We don’t have to think about this until 7/15. We should have answers on both LMJ and a Urquidy by then.
I wonder if a straight trade of Jake Meyers or Chas McCormick for Lucas Giolito would work? Chas has 3 years of control left and has more position flexibility and offensive track record. Jake has 4 years of control left. Giolito is a rental but would drastically improve the rotation immediately and at least be insurance in case McCullers and/or Urquidy don't return (or are not effective) or another injury. The White Sox have a huge problem in RF. Its been a rotation of players who can't hit or can't field. This deal allows them to move Robert to RF which also limits his injury potential since that has been an issue. Giolito is expendible since the White Sox are very unlikely to make the playoffs. Meyers/ McCormick are available because with Altuve back, Dubon will get some time in the OF limiting the time of one of them. Also if Brantley returns there are simply too many outfielders. It reminds me of the Bader for Montgomery deal last year, but each of them only had 1 year of control left.
I think most fans would think that’s a fair trade but I would want the White Sox to add a prospect; nobody major just a throw-in to close the gap. Their farm is pretty terrible, so can’t even think of a realistic add, maybe Tanner McDougal.
The Padres have been sucking and lost Machado for awhile. If they sell then they’ll probably shop Josh Hader. I also like Matt Carpenter as a 13th position player to provide insurance in case they need to replace Abreu. Seth Lugo and Blake Snell are also rentals that would likely be available if SD sells. Astros get: RP Josh Hader 1B/DH Matt Carpenter SP Blake Snell Padres get: RHP Forrest Whitley RHP Spencer Arrighetti 3B Joe Perez OF Corey Julks Hader is a rental making $14M and Carpenter is making $6M with a $6M player option for next year that I assume he will pick up. Neither player has a ton of surplus value although Hader will be in high demand so will likely warrant a decent prospect. Snell is hard to value; he has sucked this year but still projects to be pretty good over the rest of the season, and he’s making $10M this year. Whitley is still easily Houston’s best pitching prospect and there’s an argument that Arrighetti is next behind him. Perez’s stock is down but he still has potential to be a power bench bat and Julks still has some upside even after he came back to earth with Houston; either way both guys are nice depth pieces to stash in AAA for a couple years. How Snell pitches over the next 8 weeks would have a big impact on whether this trade is realistic or not. If this trade is too light try swapping out Julks for one of Leon, Dirden, Lee, or Melton. I would not include Gilbert, Loperfido, Barber, or Clifford in this trade. Resulting Astros playoff roster: 2B Altuve SS Pena 3B Bregman DH/LF Alvarez 1B Carpenter RF Tucker LF/DH McCormick/Abreu CF Meyers/Dubon C Maldonado/Diaz/Salazar SP Framber, Brown, Javier, Snell RP McCullers, Gage, Stanek, Montero, Maton, Neris, Abreu, Pressly, Hader
