Center fielder Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand are among the more than two dozen free agents the Astros have made initial contact with, general manager Ed Wade said on Tuesday. Teams are permitted to talk with free agents from other teams following the World Series, but can't discuss money or sign them until 15 days after the Series is over. Wade said the Astros are leaving no stone unturned. "We'd like to figure out a way to either get a center fielder that would allow us to move (Hunter) Pence to right, and if it ended up being a corner outfielder and leaving Hunter in center, that's one of the areas we'd like to address going forward," Wade said. Hunter hit .287 with 28 homers and 107 RBIs with the Minnesota Twins last year, and Rowand hit .309 with 27 homers and 89 RBIs for the Philadelphia Phillies. Wade said the Astros aren't in the market for Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. "We haven't had any internal conversions, and I would say at this point that probably wouldn't be an area we would pursue," Wade said. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5259247.html
I'd love Hunter, but Rowand will be cheaper, 2 years younger, and there's the Philly connection. I hope we end up with one of them.
Pence isn't an awesome centerfielder. In a perfect world, he would be playing left field. Lee makes that impossible, so they want to move him to right field.
Yeah, this proves that Pence is not that good in center (compared to say Willy T) and that Luke Scott isn't really starting material.
I find it hard to believe that they will be able to sign Hunter. During the season he turned down 3 years, 45 million from the Twins. My guess is it will take at least 4 years and 60 million.
True, but this is a second group of Astros leadership that doesnt think Luke Scott is a full-time player. I like the idea of moving guys to more natural positions. Pence is good at center but I think a better fit at right.
I like Hunter even though he is getting up there in age. I'm afraid Rowand will get paid some big bucks and not be able to reproduce his stats from this year.
Only problem with that is they had about 6 guys starting last year whose "natural position" is LF or 1B.
They are right about Pence. He doesn't take good angles on fly balls and he doesn't have a strong or accurate throwing arm. Signing one of those guys will make the Astros better defensively and will add another good bat. It would be a smart move.
I love hearing those names. The field positions will work themselves out. Let's get a serious batting order together. Pitching needs to come in more creative ways - it's just ridiculous trying to bring a vet in with this out of control market. Move guys like Lamb, Scott, Everett, etc for a bonafide #2 or #3. I like them too, but they aren't game changers and we'll go nowhere without a passable rotation. Evan
Do I get a vote? Sign Rowand, overpay as you must (it's not my money). He's still rising. Torii is a fav of mine, but he will be this year's poster child for most inflated contract v performance. He's aging, slipping. And there is that 45mm turn down already referenced. Bring Pettitte back now that the Bronx, it is a burnin'.
Torii Hunter is the definition of a class individual and a teammate. And how is he slipping? He has put up the best numbers of his career in the past 2 seasons. Not to mention the second-to-none defensive skill. If Torii somehow wound up wearing a stros uni, consider me a fan.
