The why not is you set yourself up for a Yuli situation with a respected veteran that’s washed that you can’t/won’t move off of instead of just biting the bullet and upgrading in the off-season.
Very fair and likely point. So hopefully Dusty is not the manager. If Dusty didn't insist on playing Yuli even with better options on the bench then Yuli and his very reasonable salary is not an issue. With Yordan and Chas also able to play It would not be a big issue if Brantley ends up a pinch hitter and 1-2 day per week starter.
This same logic could have been used against signing Verlander last offseason. There’s risk in signing aging players but there’s also upside.
You do realize playing Yuli had NO effect on the Astros' record? 5-2 in the final games, ties the Astros' best record every at 107 games. 107 games. The Astros want to get younger. I don't think Brantley will be back.
Also, do you really have a need or room for another LH DH/LF guy on the bench when you already have one playing every day? I'm not totally opposed to bringing him back, it depends a whole lot on what the makeup of the rest of the team is.
Would love to have the prof hitter back in a depth role. Yordan has shown he does get hurt a ton so being interchangeable and having someone that good is a good thing. Not to mention the chemistry when so many of the guys have made it known they value Brantley a ton
I would love Brantley back, but only on a very team friendly one year deal. The kind of deal where he could be let go if he falters and doesn't prohibit us from more important offseason move. Brantley is liked and respected, but he's an American and doesn't have near the importance Yuli does to the Latin players, Cubans in particular.
Brantley back on an appropriate contract (neither team friendly or player friendly) would be great. Fits a position of need and will be a short contract.
I liked the way Hinch used DH as a "rest day" for players instead of completely removing them from playing. -.-
The only way they'd be looking at bringing him back is if his shoulder was healthy (obviously). So if they can get him on reasonable contract (7.5 mil?) they should jump on it. He doesn't have to be an everyday LF. As you mentioned he can DH. A risk I'd be willing to take.
I like Brantley back on a short term, team friendly deal. We don’t need an elite LF option. We need someone who can hit well enough to be DH when yordan plays, and can play yordan level defense in a short porch easy LF stadium.. Brantley is that to a T, no need to spend extra on someone else. Use the money to resign JV and get a CF and/or 1B. Chas should be our 4th OF. Dubon should never see the field.
Filling the OF hole with a 2nd/3rd tier player like Brantley starts to make a lot more sense if Houston makes a meaningful upgrade at both 1B and C. 2B Altuve 1B Bell $84M/5yrs 3B Bregman DH Alvarez C Murphy (traded for Brown and Lee) RF Tucker SS Pena LF Brantley $9M/1yr CF McCormick Bench: Maldonado, Dubon, Meyers, Gurriel $4M/1yr Rotation: JV $88M/2yrs, Framber, McCullers, Javier, Garcia, Urquidy Bullpen: James, Martinez, Maton, Stanek, Abreu, Neris, Pressly Optioned: Whitley, Bielak, France*, Murray*, Dubin, Mushinski, Paredes, Blanco, Taylor, Diaz, Hensley, Matijevic, Perez, Julks* Brantley as a 7-8 hole hitter looks a LOT better than counting him in the 2 or 5 hole.
Prior to getting here he was an ideal utility man. Competent enough with the bat, and can play basically every position except catcher. He has looked absolutely dreadful at the plate with us, mostly because Dusty has put him in a semi-everyday role where he faces RHP, a lot. Ideally he should spot start occasionally against LHP, but with Chaz hitting lefties even better and our lineup overall being right hand dominant there's not a good spot to platoon him with if even if you wanted to.
