Some guys have been overworked lately for what they can do, but not nearly as much as the bullpen is falling crowd suggest. Up until last 25 games or so, Astros pen was pitching an average number of innings relative to other teams while having 8 relievers. Devenski pitched a lot last year, too. His load should be less going forward once Keuchel is back and McHugh pitches.
I don't see how anybody can say Harris is being overused. He's only pitched 34 times all year, and only 6 times back to back. He had one stretch in late May where he pitched 4 times in 6 days, otherwise he has been getting regular rest. 98 guys have thrown more relief innings than him, including 3 on this team. The only way to get him more rest is to basically stop using him altogether, that way he'll be really fresh in October. Devenski on the other hand is a topic worth discussing, he's never gone a full year in this role, so we are approaching uncharted waters.
I actually like this. Gives you a guy that can eat a lot of innings protecting your bullpen for the playoffs, and he wont cost too much. He also leads MLB in K/BB ratio with 9.07, trailing him is Chris Sale at 7.96.
I am not sure about 3 more years at $20 mil per. Not sure if he is better than at least 3 of our current starters.
I know some here don't like "on pace" but in this argument it is what we have to go on Devo on pace to throw 96 innings....threw 108 last year...I know he started a few games last year, but he certainly isn't on some kind of big increase in his load
Keuchel, McCullers, Morton, Fiers, Peacock/McHugh I like Peacock in rotation, but him back to pen would make our pen so good So which of those rotation guys would Samardjida greatly improve? I don't want to move prospects unless we get someone CLEARLY better than current options
Madson and Doolittle go to the Nats, who were desperate for bullpen help, for Blake Treinen and a couple of prospects. Doolittle was a guy I was really hoping the Astros would be interested in. eta: just looked up his splits, hard to do much better than .000 .000 .000 .000 in 24 PAs vs LHB
Luzardo is a good prospect that would likely slot in near the end of our top 10. Think I would have been good with that price.
I agree. I think Samardzija is an upgrade over whoever would be their Game 3 starter right now. If they can get him without giving up Tucker or Whitley I like it. With $60M/3yrs left on his deal there isn't much surplus value, so the return should be light (comparatively speaking). I'd say Samardzija for Martes, a 2nd tier prospect (like Moran, Reed, or Cameron) and a lotto (like Hector Perez) would be fair.
You're right about Harris (Devo too), I'm just having nightmares about his collapse in Sept/Oct of '15.
Jose Quintana looking fantastic today. I think all that speculation was really wearing on him. He looks like a fresh pitcher.
Definitely wish we could have added him cheaply. I don't think Samardzija is an improvement in the playoffs. Other than eating innings, he hasn't had much value in his career. He's got talent, but been mediocre to bad for a large portion of his career.
I trust Luhnow, as we obviously all should, but if he put Martes in a deal for Samarj he would be insane
Britton on the block apparently. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ As long as Orioles ownership approves, executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette has told other teams that he is open to trading three of his top relievers (Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day) as well as outfielder Seth Smith, Ken Rosenthal reports via his Facebook page. All this trade talk assumes, of course, that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is willing to green-light the proposed deadline moves. Rosenthal points out that Angelos hasn’t permitted his team to make significant trades of veterans at the deadline since 2000, though the O’s are only on the fringes of contention this year. The Orioles entered the day tied with the Blue Jays for fourth place in the AL East with a 42-48 record, 8.5 games out of first place and five games out of a wild card berth. Britton posted one of the best years of any closer in baseball history in 2016, though he has only pitched 13 innings for Baltimore this season due to a pair of forearm strains. Despite the worrying nature of such injuries, Britton’s track record ensures that he would be a prized commodity at the deadline, with such teams as the Dodgers and Astros already showing some interest. Britton’s rise to elite closer status has coincided with his arbitration years, as he is playing this season on an $11.4MM salary. Though his injury woes will probably limit the size of his raise in his fourth and final trip through the arb process this winter, Britton still has another $12MM+ salary coming his way in 2018, and there were whispers all winter that the O’s could move Britton and go with a less-expensive option at closer.
