I never said he shouldn't be upgraded from. In fact, I think he should be and have said as much multiple times. But ther are at least 2 positions, and probably 3 that should he replaced first because the projected starters are worse.
So WS is over, time to get Breggy on the phone. How long is the exclusive negotiating period? Five days?
We have to find a way to saw through the Dodgers lineup. Add an ace somehow. fix 1b. Add depth to the lineup. Odds improve.
I would say 1B is the only other position that ranks above CF. Not that I would do this, but if you got 2023 Chas you could live with him in LF.
2023 Chas would be our starting CF just like in 2023, Even with Dusty smoking crack and trying to replace him.
Yep, put Chas in CF and get a top tier hitter like Lowe to put in LF and Walker at 1B. Put Dezenzo at 3B and lets roll. If Dezenzo doesn't workout then hopefully Matthews will be ready and if that doesn't happen then go out and get an Urshela type vet stop gap.
What I would do is a 1 year a retooling year—not giving up, but adjusting to set up for a strong run once the dead money is off the books. 1. Re-sign Bregman: He wants to stay and would likely offer a hometown discount. Even if we plan to trade him in a year or two, signing him now ensures we don’t lose him as an asset. A discount would also increase his trade value if we need to move him later. 2. Trade Tucker: This may be controversial, but it’s unlikely we can keep both Bregman and Tucker. Bregman is easier to retain, and this would allow us to focus our funds. Trading Tucker could bring in a haul of prospects, similar to what the Padres got for Soto, helping us retool without just losing talent. 3. Trade Pressly: While Pressly won’t bring an enormous return, we could still net decent prospects, and his salary savings would give us more flexibility for next offseason’s free agents and help pay for bregman and other free agents this year. 4. Re-sign Kikuchi: While not cheap, we might get a discount due to tax savings compared to Toronto he was able to actually see, and he’s expressed interest in staying. With potential Japanese market opportunities, Kikuchi could help offset some salary through added revenue. 5. Trade Framber: Similar to Tucker, trading Framber could yield a strong set of prospects close to MLB-ready. With Kikuchi and a deep pitching staff, reallocating Framber’s, Pressly’s, and Tucker’s salaries lets us keep Bregman/kikuchi and still leaves us funds to target the next free-agent class. 6. Sign Christian Walker: Walker would be an ideal hole-filler. If we handle Bregman and Kikuchi’s deals early, we could make Walker a priority and close a deal quickly. 7. Target short-term free agents: Similar to the Braves and Rays, we could go after lower-cost, 1-2 year “prove it” deals toward the end of offseason. If these players perform, they could be valuable trade pieces at the deadline or fill gaps not covered by incoming prospects. 8. Load up for next year’s free-agent class: After clearing this year’s commitments, we’d be ready to pursue top free agents next year, positioning a retooled team to compete for another World Series.” I feel like this is the only real way to not have a drastic rebuild that is seemingly looming over us.
That's not why they got swept, they got swept because of the 4 holes they had in the lineup and the days of Altuve/Tucker/Alvarez/Bregs/Diaz carrying the weak bats didn't happen. Also I would prefer to trade for Robert than bring back Chas or Meyers in CF.
Nope, I didn't like Dusty because of his managerial style. He didn't put his best players on the field. He played favorites etc....
What Dana Brown and the Astros learned this year is you simply can't wait and hope. If there is a reasonable chance a position will be a weakness, it must be addressed in the offseason, not try during the year especially at the deadline. This team has no idea what it has at 3b. There is a VERY likely scenario where Dezenzo fails to adjust and has to be sent down to AAA. If they don't bring in another option, that becomes a Jose Abreu level hole. Jon Singleton can hit RHP at an acceptable level but should never start vs a LHP. And he has no defensive versatility so keeping him will require another 1b on the roster. Caratini is not the answer and neither is Diaz in 2025. This team would be much better with an everyday starter at 1b, but must at least bring in a platoon candidate. If Chas can recapture his 2023 form it would be great for this team. As I've mentioned before, though, they can't sit on their hands and hope that happens. If they don't address LF by at least bringing in competition or platoon option then if Chas doesn't rebound they are in a spit similar to 3b. In many ways, CF is the opposite of 1b. Mayers is good vs LHP but not vs RHP. The difference is he brings defensive and base running value (his base running value in 2024 was 88th percentile and speed 89th percentile) and the roster needs extra outfielders. However only 30% of pitchers are LH. A better option at CF would be welcome but not above the other 3 priorities. My choice would be to resign Bregman and bring in Robert. Then only 1b and LF will need addressing and both could be covered by adding cheap platoon bats.
