Actually, Gattis might be your odd man out right now, at least in terms of everyday at-bats. If they call up Bregman, move Valbuena to first - then you tell Reed: your job is to hit. Period. See how he handles full-time DH responsibilities while Gattis continues to get spot starts in a straight platoon with Castro.
Not saying I'd do it but... Are you better defensively with val at third and reed at first, or Bregman at third and val at first? Why not DH Bregman for now?
Better defensively with Valbuena and Margo manning 1st and 3rd. Bregman is somewhat of an unknown quantity at third, defensively. Just really doubt that they bring him up now unless one of the other guys (i.e., Val, Margo, or Reed) really start to struggle over the next couple weeks. And by then, you'll be just a few weeks away from September call-ups, and you won't have to burn Bregman's rookie status for playing a few weeks.
Bregman 3B, Valbuena 1B. Astros essentially have 3B play SS about 25-33% of the time in a shift. Though I like Valbuena's defense, I like Bregman's more. Definitely prefer Bregman's defense to Reed.
Bregman is a bit of an unknown quantity at 3rd. While I don't think he will have any problems, it's never a sure thing. Having said that, the range that a Bregman/Correa/Altuve/Valbuena infield would have would be insane. The better question would be how many starts would Bregman get at SS/2B. Do we keep playing Altuve/Correa in the field everyday, or do we give them both more regular DH days.
Best everyday lineup first... Defense second. The Stros are blessed with not really having any "bad" defensive players. Hell, even Gattis is serviceable at catcher. They need consistency in the lineup.. And they need to be putting the best possible lineup out there regardless (especially against left-handed pitching).
Compare and contrast their (potential) ceilings - Reed's is considerably higher. If the move is Bregman to 3B; Valbuena to 1B - I'd rather they give Reed however many weeks to prove he's a better everyday option than Gattis.
I hope he Bregman call up is not delayed by the Yuliski Gurriel signing. The team could really use Bregman's defense and offensive bat. Yuliski Gurriel has a whole lot of international experience so I'm thinking he should do well almost off the bat. With Gurriel slated for 3rd base, where would Bregman play? Do they move him to the outfield? Or do they move Altuve to LF and Bregman to 2B, which is where I've read scouting reports (I've seen on the internet) say Bregman is best suited for?
Yea, you don't mess with a guy on an MVP path Bregman is an athlete, he is a "baseball player" If his bat is elite, it won't be hard to find a place for him
Not even close Reed, Feliz, Martes, Musgrove, K Tucker would make them stop and think about it though
There is this little issue of the Astros being in the playoff hunt. I guess the Astros can start playing for next year's playoffs. Good times.
They would have no reason to trade him this season, but with only 2 more years left, that would a be a very big offer (though the inclusion of Sipp is pointless).
