I have lobbied for Perez in the past. Not only is he solid as hell, he is playoff tested and has a great relationship with Altuve. If the difference in prospect price between Realmuto and Perez is huge, then Id be fine with Perez. That said, Realmuto is easily the more valuable player. My ideal playoff roster: CF Springer 3B Bregman 2B Altuve SS Correa LF Tucker C Realmuto DH Gattis RF Reddick 1B Gurriel Bench: McCann, Marwin, White, Straw Rotation: Verlander, Cole, Keuchel Bullpen: Peacock, McHugh, Harris, Rondon, Devenski, Giles, Britton, McCullers, Morton That roster is straight STACKED. I would probably bite the bullet on including Alvarez in a trade for Realmuto. Alvarez and 2 third tier prospects (like Riley Ferrell and Dean Deetz) for Realmuto and a “Luhnow Lotto” (a draft pick like he got from Baltimore for Norris, or a complex league player in the mold of Martes, Paulino, or Arauz).
Very interesting to see Straw on your playoff roster. Think there's actually a chance he makes it? He'd have to dazzle in his September call up. And to beat out Fisher, Kemp, and Jake? I know Straw brings other assets to the table, but man would that be shocking to see him in October.
The FO already mentioned they almost added him to the playoff roster last year. He’s an elite base runner. And I was very impressed with his defense when I watched him play last week. At this point he is easily a more valuable 4th OF than Fisher, who really can’t play CF or RF and sucked at the plate in his big league stint. I am pretty down on Kemp’s defense; his “highlights” are usually the result of him having to dive or jump because he took a bad first step or has limited size/range, not to mention he has a very weak arm. And Marisnick has just been too brutal with the bat. I wouldn’t bet money on Straw being on the playoff roster, but I also wouldn’t be surprised.
Iglesias (non-save situation) really struggling to find the zone today. Walked the Brewers' first man on 4 pitches, then gave up a two run bomb to Braun. CIN leads 8-2.
Meh.Britton has been shaky since coming back from injury but still a preference over Iglesias. Likely a salary thing, Iglesias is controlled until 2021. The Orioles and Reds would do well to take the very many borderline batters the Astros have (Fisher, White, Reed, Davis etc).
Red Sox are also heavily pursuing him, and maybe other teams too. I don't like him, he's struggling with location. K/9 is down, HR/9 is way up. He's already matched his total HR given up from last year in less than half the innings. That is concerning, he screams Giles 2.0 and I already see the writing on the wall. The Athletics think they can make a run for the Wild Card (8 games behind, will be tough to pass both Seattle and NYY/BOS), but if they tank in the next 2-3 weeks I'd try and make a strong push for Treinen. Alvarez+Bukauskas+Armenteros+Kemp? Switching to hitters, I really want the team to make a push for Realmuto. Catcher has been our lineup's biggest hole this year. McCann has been posting what are easily the worst numbers of his entire career, and he's not getting any younger or better. Stassi has been falling back down to earth after his hot start, and some question whether or not he can actually be our long-term answer at catcher, which needs to be addressed this offseason.
What would be the point of trading for Iglesias? Giles has been better this season and has better projections.
Maybe the price won't be as ridiculous as everyone seems to think it is? The Reds might be the worst organization at developing pitchers, so getting him into a better organization might do wonders.
I hate to give up Alvarez but knowing McCann won't be resign and possibly Gattis, I'm willing to Include Alvarez in the right deal. I think him and Corbin Martin are two big chips I'm willing to dangled for an all star catcher. I think that's more of an off-season move, tho. I think with drafting Seth Beer, he is another left handed big bat who could play first base down the line in case Alvarez is traded.
I also think if the Astros were in the rebuilding phase, then no. But since we 're contending for the MLB title for the next few years, then yes to a Realmuto trade.
Because the unknown is better than the known if the known seems to be a proven time bomb. Giles might be OK if we only use him in the 9th inning with a lead of no greater than 3 runs. If we use him in literally any other situation he wets himself.
He's a proven time bomb because he punched himself one time? Or is this about extrapolating from SSS?
It's from watching a pitcher who dominated all season suddenly being incapable of getting through one good outing in October.
This was a make/break year for Giles as he enters arbitration. He's going to get a raise, but anything substantial makes him not likely to be retained here as a non-closer. I know this front office has yet to do this to one of their young starting pitchers, but letting Whitley start out via closing would be a very Adam Wainwright-like way to not only get him to the big leagues sooner, but have him actually be a difference maker.
Not sure about closing, but I expect Whitley will be relieving in the playoffs this year if he keeps pitching well.
The Astros' track record with right handed power pitchers recently is pretty damn good. If the front office thinks Iglesias is the guy, I trust them. Another thing about Iglesias is that he was a starter as recently as 2016 and can be used for multi-inning stints. He'd be a good platoon guy with Devo (Devo gets the lefties) for a playoff bridge to Morton/McCullers. Verlander - 6 IP Devo/Iglesias - the next 2 IP Morton - 9th Pretty good.
How about a trade for Realmuto + Barraclough? Two birds with one stone. If not Barraclough, Conley, a left-hander, is another good option. Though Sipp should be fine as a lefty specialist if he keeps his great year going. Barraclough has been far more impressive and dominant than Iglesias.
Here’s my “Unrealistic, but fair value, hypothetical raid the Marlins” trade: Astros get: C JT Realmuto 1B Justin Bour RHP Kyle Barraclough Marlins get: OF Yordan Alvarez RHP Corbin Martin RHP Josh James LHP Cionel Perez 1B AJ Reed C Max Stassi RHP Will Harris Astros resulting roster: CF Springer 3B Bregman 2B Altuve SS Correa C Realmuto LF K Tucker 1B Bour DH Gurriel RF Reddick Bench: Gattis, Marwin, McCann Rotation: Verlander, Cole, McCullers, Morton, Keuchel Bullpen: Sipp, McHugh, Peacock, Smith, Rondon, Devenski, Barraclough, Giles 40 man AAA: White, Davis, Kemp, Marisnick, Fisher, Boshers, Gustave, Rodgers, Deetz, Guduan, Paulino, Martes, Hoyt Marlins can make Harris their closer and flip him next year for more prospects. Next year, Whitley replaces Keuchel and Stubbs replaces McCann. Davis, White, Kemp, Marisnick, Fisher, Straw, Jones, Cesar, Mayfield and Rojas compete to take Gattis and Marwin’s roster spots. Martes, Paulino, Thornton, Armenteros, Dykxhoorn, Rodgers, Sneed, and Bostick compete to take Morton’s roster spot (McHugh or Peacock might end up in the rotation). All those pitchers plus Ferrell, Hoyt, Deetz, Guduan, Gustave, McCurry, and Boshers compete to take Sipp’s roster spot.
