I believe they may be in negotiations with Marwin and Morton.... DALLAS QO. Was a formality to try and get the pick.
Stubby Clapp managed TriCity Valley Cats (Astros minor league affiliate) for two years, with some success.
One would hope that the Astros and Morton are in talks for a one year deal or maybe a two year deal with a team option on the second year.
If they re-sign Maldonado I hope they pay him enough money to buy a new catchers mitt. The one he has now does not work very well.
One sneaky team to watch as well: SFG I could see them pulling the trigger on Harper or Machado. They’ve been after a bat for a while, too.
A bit surprised we’re not offering Marwin the QO. Wonder if that’s in part to appease Marwin. Borderline QO FAs who rejected the QO faced repercussions on the market last year...because teams didn’t want to lose the pick. Clearly Luhnow will do what’s best for the team but I wonder if that angle is factoring into it at all.
Marwin would be very likely to take it, and we absolutely do not want to be paying Marwin 17 million dollars next season. With Gurriel able to play 1B/3B, the need for Marwin isn't really all that high. The majority of his PA's are as a 1B/LF (SS in a pinch), and he is a very light hitter for those positions. Money is getting tight, and we have young players in White and Kemp who are already showing promise, and a guy in Tucker in need of AB's. Not to mention we are likely targeting a bat of some kind with our spending cash.
I wonder if the Astros have a (reasonable) price for Marwin ($10MM/year?) or they're done with him? Frankly, I'd much rather Gurriel/Kemp fill his void and they go get a much better bat to plug-in at 1B.
I honestly don't think they want him back in any real capacity. The fact that they (reportedly) aren't extending a QO, and the fact that they moved Yuli around the infield so much towards the end of last season tells me a lot. Reddick is under contract, and the Astros no doubt "want" Tucker to be the everyday outfielder, and even if he's not, Kemp seems to be a lateral move at least as a LF. All signs point to 1B/DH as being the clearest way to upgrade this offense in an impactful way. He is a useful player, so I'm sure there is some price at which they would bring him back at, but I don't think it's anywhere close to what his market value will likely be.
Yuli was moving around last season because Astros needed him to with Correa and others hurting. I do agree that Astros having Kemp, Tucker, Yuli, and Reddick under contract/control makes it unlikely they spend money on Marwin. Astros likely plan to use money on a pitcher(s) and/or catcher (maybe a great hitter if there is one available for the right price). QO likely is too risky as if he accepts it limits their flexibility to balance the roster.
He likely didn’t view Rasmus as that either but thought it was worth the risk. Maybe he learned his lesson w Colby to not risk it.
Is Wade Miley a possible LHSP target? I was impressed with him in the NLCS, he should come at a lower price than Eovaldi, Corbin, etc, and could be a Brent Strom reclamation project? FWIW, he lives in Austin during the offseason.
There are literally dozens of guys who could fit the “Strom reclamation” mold who could be the next Morton or McHugh. And there are less but still quite a few guys who could fit the “go from good to great” mold who could be the next Cole. My hope is that Houston adds one of each this offseason.
I disagree. I think Luhnow thought Rasmus would be better in 2016. He put up 2.9 fWAR in 2015, and had he duplicated that, his salary would have been a bargain.
Kershaw is from Texas and the Astros just lost 3/5 of their rotation. I don’t think there’s a significant chance of Houston signing him but that’s where the odds are coming from.
