It does not take a homer to look at a players stats, but it does make for a stupid statement to not look at them.
"Man, I don't think there's anyone in here that didn't love them some Tony Kemp," Springer said. "The player he is is fantastic but the person he is is even better. He was a clubhouse presence whether he realizes it or not." "He's always around, always saying something funny. I think the thing that stands out from him, for me, is that he'd always have some sort of one-liner in conversations he wasn't even in. He would just come out of nowhere with something funny. He's a guy that consistently made all of us laugh." "We look forward to seeing him with somebody else and getting some playing time. Seeing him down at AAA somewhere, I think, would be a waste of his talent," Reddick said. "He's proven he can do it up here at several positions. We're all rooting for him to hopefully go somewhere that's not really a rival for someone like us. We'd really like to see him in another uniform at some point." "He just fit in. He fit a role and was a puzzle piece that really worked well," Hinch said. "He accepted who he was, he knows who he is and one of the reasons he was able to contribute to good teams was that adaptability." "To have a guy like that be that supportive of all the guys playing every single day, not complain about it, keep his head down and work hard, it was an honor to play with him," Springer said. "I'm obviously sad he's gone." "I think personally, for him, whatever happens to him, I hope it's the best. I hope he can play every day wherever he goes. Selfishly, I'd like him still around. I love me Tony Kemp. I need him in my life every day just being who he is." Kemp's "Hugs for Homers" tradition became a staple in the Astros dugout. Without its creator still present, the team was debating whether or not to continue the celebration. Out of respect, Reddick said he "wouldn't want to step on any toes as a matter of taking his thing away from him." "He's a guy that probably deserved a lot more playing time but came in smiling and ready to cheer on his brothers and his teammates," Reddick said. "He always kept us on our feet. He kept us laughing, he always had these little one-liners that would come out of nowhere to keep everyone laughing and happy."
I did, so cut out the patronising comments. White went before Kemp because of roster construction, no more no less.
I didn't mean to come off that way. White went before Kemp because he offered more versatility on the field and was an integral part of the culture in the clubhouse. Nothing more or less.
There was only a matter of days between each DFA and it had been speculated for some time that it would happen with Diaz and Correa due back within the space of a few days. Do you really think they kept Kemp purely for an extra 5 days of his clubhouse presence? White went before Kemp because Diaz was due back before Correa. Diaz’s ability to play 1B made White more expendable, that’s why he went first.
They kept Kemp because he can play multiple positions and isn't a sloth on the basepaths. In addition to being a great clubhouse guy. All things being equal I can see why Kemp was kept over White and you dont know if Altuve or one of the OF'ers got hurt Kemp could've been very valuable. White not so much.
So you have gone from originally stating his clubhouse presence was the reason White got DFA'd first, to agreeing with my counter argument that it was about roster construction.
