Astros Offseason Thread ('13-'14)

i sincerely hope they are saving their $ for Tanaka.

if not.. just another offseason in which the astros cement themselves as the worst team in baseball.

TBH, i was OK with that route the past 3 years, and it has paid dividends. BUT, it's time to start competing.

 

Define "young" though. Usually, before someone's prime years is what I consider young. Greene, Chambers, and Jackson met that criteria, and it was more of a seasoned lotto ticket rather than the A/AA "let them grow up and see what happens" tickets. Point being, a 25 year old major leaguer is young in most people's book.

And of course not all over 35 signings are bad, but for every Bedard and Veras, there is a Carlos Pena or Travis Blackley (who is 31, I get it, but past prime probably). Sure, Bedard had a decent year but mostly second half, but what did that do for us other than consume innings? I would rather see someone that is younger get the chance that can be a piece of the future rather than someone that we don't even trade or resign past the first year. That being said, Veras is a perfect example of someone that we flipped after giving him a chance.

 

Eating innings ain't a bad thing at all. Especially with where this starting rotation was before we brought up the young'ns.

 

I agree, I just didn't think we needed a second half innings eater. But hey, they did it for a reason I am sure and maybe the AAA guys weren't ready.

 

25 & Under is young for an unproven player.

Greene was 10 days shy of his 29th birthday (not young)

Jackson is 25, but has been very mediocre in the minors, and terrible in the majors.

Chambers is 27.

 

...and especially given how ridiculously bad the bullpen was.

 

Add Tanaka and Rodon within the next calendar year to our already formidable young guns in the minors, and we could honestly have something special sooner than most think. Word is the Yanks are focusing on Beltran, so I am wondering if signing McCann and Beltran would eliminate them from the Tanaka sweepstakes? Even then, we'd be up against the apparently budget-less Dodgers.

 

Agreed, and I think it's the best thing for the team. It's too bad that so many Astro/Crane haters will be calling for his head because he's "too cheap to bring in any free agents" or "a $15MM payroll is the max he's willing to spend" or "we're destined to lose 159 games this year"...etc.

 

Good point, but I still think they make a big push for Tanaka. Ned Colletti has been very aggressive when it comes to international signings, so I'd expect that to continue.

I have a gut feeling that the Mariners are another team to watch out for. They are always willing to overspend to try and lure free agents, but they always get turned down. The posting system eliminates that hurdle for them. I'm sure they'd prefer to spend that type of money for a big time hitter, but they might "settle" for pitching and go after Tanaka hard.

The contracts of Haren and Ervin Santana only reiterate the ridiculously expensive market for pitching. That will certainly trickle down to Tanaka and raise his price, but I also think that at the end of the day, when the contract is said and done, it will provide that much more value for whichever team ends up signing him, and I hope that that team is us.

 

When did i suggest the astros should recklessly throw money around? Obviously i do not want the stros to go after a tendered FA because the 2.1 pick is just too valuable in this talent rich draft. That's why Tanaka makes so much sense. I would have liked to see Chris Young sign a 1yr deal. He would not have cost a draft pick and he always plays well in houston. I am all for sensibility, but if the astros do not land Tanaka it shows me they are not serious about improving in 2014. Especially with all the chatter about Springer starting the yr in AAA.

 

I missed that chatter..where did you hear that?

 

I haven't seen anything beyond random speculation, but I will say quotes from Luhnow more recently, IIRC, only say that Springer will be up at some point this year.

I'm concerned.

 

Just speculating, but maybe it's a thinly veiled way to keep Springer working in the offseason to earn his spot next year. I think he'll have to really fall on his face in Spring Training to not break camp with the big club.

 

I think that way too, but there's a part of me that is worried they'll find an excuse.

 

Same here...but I really don't understand why. Simply because he wasn't a Luhnow pick? Does he have an attitude problem that hasn't become public? Otherwise, there's no logical reason why he isn't the Opening Day starting CF.

 

Money. Plain and simple. From an economic standpoint, it usually is a bad decision to have somebody make the ML debut at the start of the season, when you could delay them slightly and get an extra year of control.

Edit: Obviously they'll make a different public excuse, but it will be obvious.

 

I think you might need to get used to the idea that Springer is not the next superstar for this franchise. Every thing I've read projects him to hit about .240-.250 with power and speed. Hopefully he hits more like .270 with walks but I think all the hype he's gotten might result in a big disappointment when he gets here.

On Tanaka, I doubt the Astros will be in on him. The fact that there is a posting fee plus a big contract on top of that, I just don't think the Astros have the cash. The posting fee for Daisuke Matsuzaka was $51 million. His contract was six years $52 million. Yu Darvish posting fee was $51 million, contract was six years $60 million.

I'd be shocked if the Astros were serious about him.