I'd not consider it inside information. That said, Goldy is probably the single biggest possible upgrade at a position that Astros could make at the moment. No other team should be willing to give up nearly as much as the Astros to get him due to Astros having the weakest 1B/DH among contenders with money.
The reality is that a lot of things align well for the Astros and Diamondbacks to make a trade for Goldschmidt. First, Goldschmidt has less value than most think because he plays first base and will be a free agent. Second, the Diamondbacks do not want to take on any salary in a deal and the Astros have the budget to make that work. Third it doesn't hurt that Hazen and Luhnow are friends and that Crane and Kendrick are very tight.
This is why a Grienke Goldshmidt to Astros trade could work. Yuli and Joe Smith and prospects and 27m from the Diamondbacks starting 2020 It's about as far as far can be and gives value across the board
The discussions between the Astros and Diamondbacks have been with the Astros giving viable prospects with the Diamondbacks eating money but that was a deal for Greinke discussed after the season ended. Honestly it comes down to how much the Diamondbacks want to decrease payroll. The Mariners have been willing to take on some payroll in order to get better prospects to rebuild around. It would be interesting if the Astros ended up adding Greinke, Goldschmidt and Pollock this off season. Not likey, but possible. The Astros have had discussions about all three.
I would pass on Pollock that 80m he wants is out of the question. Aim for Brantley or combo of Garcia and Dietrich . But it could get interesting
This team would be stupid good if we added Pollock, Goldy, and Greinke. My god... Pollocks injury history is a bit flukey if I recall correctly.
How about Mitch Haniger and Carlos Santana from the Mariners? Eating Santana's salary should lower the prospect cost for Haniger. Haniger is under team control for 4 years and not arbitration eligible until 2020. I wouldn't mind paying 18 million for Santana and Haniger in 2019 over paying Pollock anything close to that number. I seriously doubt Seattle would do it since we are in the same division.
I like your thinking, but I don't think the Astros will get any of those players. Luhnow's comments that I heard on Astroline suggest they are less likely to make big splashy moves.
Grandal, Greinke, and Goldschmidt would be a solid offseason, would fit within projected payroll, and wouldn’t cost Tucker or Whitley. It would leave the rotation depending on 2 internal options, but the lineup would be sick. CF Springer 3B Bregman 2B Altuve 1B Goldschmidt +14M C Grandal +16M SS Correa RF Reddick DH Gurriel LF Kemp Bench: Diaz, Stassi, White Rotation: Verlander, Cole, Greinke +19M, McHugh, James Bullpen: Peacock, Devenski, Smith, Harris, Rondon, Pressly, Osuna Optioned: Stubbs, Reed, Davis, Fisher, Straw, Tucker, Marisnick, Armenteros, Rodgers, C Perez, F Valdez, Abreu, Deetz, Guduan, TBD
I really don't know what they will ultimately do honestly. I can tell you, for sure, that the Astros and Diamondbacks have spoken quite a bit since the season ended and mostly about Greinke. They spoke enough that numbers and players from Houston's end were discussed.
It is EXTREMELY unlikely that the Astros get all three of them, I'm not saying that they will..... only that it would be odd to add three Diamonbacks to the team.
I would be be quite happy if the Astros added those three players. Although I think if the Astros add Goldschmidt that they may not feel as much pressure to add a good hitting catcher.
I agree. I don't think they are adding an outfielder, 1B/DH, and catcher. Maybe 2 of those but possibly just a catcher if they spend big on a starting pitcher.
I wished I had saved the tweet from earlier from one of the MLB insiders today but he pointed out something that rival GM's were pointing out today. They think all the trades that have already happened and the trades that are expected to take place this week will impact FA money. It will be interesting to see what happens. I hope the Astros are able to add impactful players.
A lot of what we do on offense depends on what our FO thinks of Kemp, Tucker and White. The catcher position will undoubtedly be our biggest focus. I think pitching will be a secondary focus, given that we have McHugh, Peacock, James and Valdez as options beyond our 2 aces. I do fully expect us to either resign Morton or fill his slot from outside our roster. I don't think we will sign or trade for 2 starting pitchers. I would love it if we could get Goldy here. It would free up Gurriel to be able to play around the diamond more often, and it would help fill a huge hitting need we lacked last year. The only way I see us acquiring 2 more offensive weapons is if we intend to move Kemp and likely White. Tucker might be dealt too. I'm not sure I like the depth we would have coming out of AAA if we gave up Kemp, White and Tucker.
