Pitching targets: Gausman, Fedde, Bassitt, Eflin, Rogers 1B targets: Guerrero, Diaz, Wade, Candelario, Walker
Low cost moves from MLB guys they had on the market… In- Justin Turner, 3M and Jesse winker. Out- Chas, Whitley, Leon. Turner plays 1B. New lineup altuve, Yordan, Bregman, Tucker, turner, Diaz, Winker, Pena, Meyers. not a single easy out in that lineup. Reserves- Dubon (backs up everywhere- quasi regular playing time), Caratini, Kessinger, Cabbage or Loperfido- whoever you think is fastest/best glove. Or- Salazar if you want 3 catchers because you want to use Yainer/Caratini as PH on days they don’t start.
If we decided we had to have Crochet (I think we ought to) what would it take in your mind? Is bloss or arrighetti, then blumbaugh, Ullola, Melton and Loperfido in the neighborhood? Do we need more? Like replace Loperfido with Mathews?
The problem w/ Crochet ( and I like him) is that he is coming up on innings issues and will need to be coddled like most of the current Astros starters. And he is the most popular name being mentioned so it will require an overpay.
The more the Astros recently traded prospects continue to be meh… the more likely they’ll be wheeling/dealing.
Most teams have a full or nearly full 40 man roster. With the draft coming up, how realistic is it to think that someone is going to want to add 4 or even 5 or 6 players for one player in a trade? I see a lot of suggestions for that kind of trade but seldom see them actually occurring. We have a relatively weak farm system and I am sure we will have to release a few players to make way for the incoming draftees.
That's cool and may very well be true But doesn't make me think Crane is going to pick up over 50 million left on Gausman's contract when he is having a poor year. Certainly doesn't seem like a Jim Crane type of think to do
Problem with Crochet is he will be on pretty strict innings limits moving forward. The only contender i've really heard connected to him is LAD and they would likely put him in the pen the rest of this year
I don't think there is any connection to the draft and the 40 man roster. Very few drafted are ever on the 40 man even 2 yrs after being drafted. And most prospect trades don't impact the 40 man during the season of the trade. Melton, Ullola, Whitcomb, Marthews, Baez, Blubaugh, Wagner, DeZenzo, Gordon None of those guys are on the 40 so that doesn't impact any team trading for them. Edit: sorry. reread your post and I misinterpreted. I thought you were saying teams didn't want to add prospects in trades because they had to be on 40 and also draft picks need 40 space.
I don’t care if we have to limit his innings and coddle him a little. This team is short a playoff ace and he gives us that for 3 more years. We can cobble innings out of other guys. 6 man rotation or we could tandem start him with Luis Garcia. so- something like Crochet/garcia, Blanco, Brown, Bloss or Areighetti- whoever would be left, and JV. If Lance comes back you could tandem Brown or Blanco with him. If he doesn’t you could tandem Dubin with one of them.
One more like flier? Or one more top 5 in organization type? I am not worried about us being able to produce starters 2-5. We need 1’s. He’s a 1 for 3 years potentially at short money. Do it!
Depends on how weak the other teams roster is and how strong the players are. You’d be adding multiple guys to their 26 and other guys that don’t need to be 40 man rostered and would be in the org top 10/15 prospects for them. It would not be a problem. also- we went through this the other day and the Astros have about 12 guys. Body would give a **** about losing off the 40. I can tell you Chicago is likely the same way. Not an issue.
I would say one more not named Bloss, Matthews, or Baez. But maybe Loperfido or Leon or Blubaugh. I am just not a big believer in Crochet. He has already thrown twice as many innings this season as he ever has in any previous season. The time to overpay for him was before this season started. Now you’re paying Gerrit Cole prices for a guy who had 80 total pro innings coming into this season. Plus, I disagree that the Astros need aces. I think they need guys who can give bulk competitive innings. Right now Blanco, Brown, and Framber are all playoff starters and Garcia, Verlander, and McCullers all could be as well. They just need a guy who they can count on to go 6 innings per start and help them keep their other starters rested enough to be peaked in October.
Man- there is no way I want any part of blanco starting a playoff game, brown give me 3 more months, and Framber is on my do not trust- headcase edition lists until he proves otherwise. For like months at a time.
If the playoffs were starting now ( and Astros were in) I think Blanco must be the #2 or #3 starter depending on how you feel about Framber. Brown is really the only guy who is trustworthy now and he only has been for a month. And he may still hit a wall in the second half, like last year. If the Astros do not add a TOR starter, then I think the second half will determine who the top 4 are. The good news is there should be lots of candidates. If Framber can have quality starts 75-80% of the time I think he will earn the #1 spot. I don't see any scenario where a healthy Framber isn't in the playoff rotation but could see him as low as 3rd. Likewise, Verlander will be in the rotation if healthy. I don't think he has the #1 spot in him any longer but could be #2-4 Brown, McCullers, Garcia, or Blanco could potentially earn other spots Brown or McCullers have the stuff to be the #1. If nobody improves from where we are today - Blanco probably makes the rotation but I'm not happy about it. He reminds me of Garcia in 2022- but at least he's not like "the Rat" from 2017. I think Arrighetti could mimic Brown's role from 2022. My best guess: Framber, Brown, McCullers, Verlander
Which is why I want to go ace hunting and would give up a ton to get one on 3 playoff runs and club controlled salary.
It’s meh till they actually do it at the big league level (as is the case with every prospect the Astros traded). There would be a thread mentioning them if they were blowing up while JV has continued neck pain. Is Josh Rojas the current WAR leader for any traded astros prospect of the golden era? (Hader being traded in 2015… questionable whether we consider that truly part of the golden era).
