so with the move to the A.L. i was curious if anyone knew what Crane has said he will spend for next year? does anyone know the free agent list this off season and who is on their we might pursue? i know this year was about developing young talent and growing our farm system but you have to think he will add a few FA to the roster per year and i didn't know if we are gonna be a big player in money spent or will crane end up being a tight wad and just trying win with the farm approach?
You don't build the worst farm in baseball up in one year. You don't sign big time FA's when A) You don't have the attendance numbers to afford them and B) You have to give up a first round pick as compensation. Astros will be a winning team when Singleton, Cosart, Springer, Villar, etc. can come and develop and join the ranks of Altuve, Martinez, Norris, Lyles, Castro, Schafer, etc. In the meantime they should keep building through the draft as the time will come when those developed players will all reach contract years and they won't be able to afford resigning them all. That's where being able to flip them for top prospects and having a top prospect at that position being ready to come up and take that spot becomes valuable. I'm completely against trying to spend to be a winning club 95% of the time it ends in utter disaster. Carlos Lee is proof. You're seeing it now with Pujols, Carl Crawford. We've seen it with Beltran, Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, Soriano, Tejada, Giambi, etc. Yankees built their dynasty team of the 90's through the farm (Jeter, Pettitte, Girardi, Bernie Williams, Paul O Neill, Posada, Mariano Rivera, etc.)
If the team shows they are close, then signing a big time player may be worth it, but the team appears at best 2 years away. I'm not sure about that giving up a 1st rounder. They changed the rules to Type A free agents. I also know under the old CBA that top 10 were protected (which the Astros figure to be).
For the most part, I agree with you. But sometimes, even in the Stros situation, you keep an eye out for moderately priced FA's if they fill a hole where there is no one on the farm that can foreseeably fill it in the time frame your thinking of signing the guy for. While Lowrie was brought in via trade rather than as a FA, ive warmed to the idea if for no other reason that we didnt have any SS on the farm ready to man the post as an every day player. Along these lines, pitching, particularly relief pitching is something the farm alone may not adequately fill in a 2-3 year time frame. So if the right FA comes along, it might be worth considering if the $$$ and contract length is right.
I could definitely see the front office picking up a attendance-drawing guy like Berkman to be the DH next year. Other than that, I don't anticipate much.
Paul O'Neill was drafted by the Reds in 85 and traded to the Yankees in 92, but your point still stands.
I think attendance is a very small percentage of revenue. With the new TV deal kicking in next year, I could see more money being available. Cole Hamels is the only one that really gets me excited at all. Berkman could be signed to hold down the fort until Singleton is ready.
I think both Berkman and Roy O could be great pr moves for the right price. Stressing for the right price. Some will complain that those spots should go to younger player. Personally I feel it never hurts to have some veteran leadership in the club house. Again stressing for the right price.
Singleton probably is ready next year, but I think he will be at 1st. I don't think Brett Wallace will be our regular starting 1B ever again.
i would just think if we have good young talent and knowing not everyone from the farm will pan out, signing a good free agent pitcher, closer, or big bat will help us in the A.L. i was just curious if Crane is deep pockets type of guy or gonna be only spending 85 mill a year type of guy.. I know everyone raves about the rangers and they did it with the farm, BUT, Hamilton and cruz were through trades, Beltre, Napoli and Darvish were Free agent signings.. you gotta have a mixture and i think we can have a great draft, develop our young talent, and sign a couple of really good free agents and be a player from the start with Crane..
I think Crane will have deep pockets when the team is ready. The key item is when. The thing about free-agent signings in MLB is that you almost always overpay on the back end, at least for really good players. Remember that most free agents are approaching 30 or on the other side of it. But you still have to give them significant long-term deals in order to sign them, because they have all the leverage in that market. Think Carlos Lee prior to 2007. Beltre, for example, will be 37 in 2016 and making nearly $20 million. It won't be pretty. But it makes sense for the Rangers because they're championship-ready now and his ability to potentially put them over the top is worth the eventual downside. (It's the opposite of the situation with the Astros/Lee, where the upside - merely staying afloat - wasn't anywhere near worth the eventual downside that his contract became the last two years.) Unless the Astros have a ridiculous amount of things go right over these next five months, they're not going to be a marquee player or two from contention in 2013. Thus, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money and "start the clock", so to speak. I'm sure they'll kick the tires on veterans who fall through the cracks, especially with guys like Berkman/Oswalt that have Houston connections and might give a discount. But the big spending won't occur until there's more of a foundation in place. I'm optimistic that Crane will be much more than an $85 million payroll guy - he's certainly given every indication that he'll pay for a contender. But there won't be evidence either way until the team is closer.
we will do that through the draft. i dont want us to sign someone who can draw a crowd when we are rebuilding. they would never sign with us anyway
I believe that will be Altuve, Martinez, Singleton, Springer, Norris, etc., etc. Winning draws a crowd. Having a marquee player on a crappy team does nothing. There might be a few that come out for a name on the back of the jersey...but not many. This isn't the NBA. MLB, much like the NFL, is built on the popularity of the teams much more than any individual player.
With Beltre's deal and Kinsler's deal, the Rangers may find themselves hamstrung with awful deals right about the time the Astros are finding their way up.
Yup. That's why it cracks me up to see all of HillBoy's hand-wringing about how the Astros are "doomed" in the AL West because they'll be competing with recent big-spenders in Texas and LA. Big-ticket signings are usually about trying to take advantage of a 2-to-3 year window. Beyond three years, those signings usually hurt... and that's exactly the window the Astros are targeting for their return to prominence. The way things look in 2012, 2013 and maybe even 2014 is irrelevant.
