A few years ago he said something similar. I’m trying to remember when, I believe it was the Brewers deal year deadline. Turned out he almost had a deal in place for Price. Luhnow isn’t always 100% truthful when he discusses particular players, but he is like Morey in that he is transparent about if something likely will or will not get done.
It just seems like chasing a half starter / half backup quality C is not where I'd spend money on quickly if I didn't even know his role might be. Was Chirinos really in that much demand in a way that couldn't have been filled by lots of other similar players if he signed elsewhere? I think if they end up spending money on two catchers and failing to upgrade a starter somewhere else, that's going to be pretty bad planning.
Chirinos’ salary represents <5% of the payroll. It’s not a very consequential consideration in the context of removing a pressing concern, especially considering that $6M wasn’t even the real choice; the real choice was do we only offer $4M and risk not filling the need or do we offer $2M (~1% of payroll) more and make sure we are taken care of. If they fail to upgrade the rotation, it won’t be because of the $2M marginal (or even the $6M total) difference they gave Chirinos vs a true backup.
I agree with your premise. When I heard the signing was for over $6,000,000 that struck me as starter money (and he may very well turn out being the starter). I don’t think we will sign another catcher but I could see a trade at the right cost. Now the Astros feel it is less pressing. I agree with you though, from my perspective it seems like an odd situation. FWIW after asking about it, like a day later Luhnow said the Astros were not ruling out trading for a catcher. So who knows.
Stassi is the cheap backup alternative and there's zero chance he'd be making much more than $500k. And of course $6MM matters if it's wasted on a backup. In the scenario where they go get another catcher, then any free agent they make offers to, they could offer $6MM more if they didn't have Chirinos. Whatever their max is for Cruz or Brantley or Happ or Harper or whomever they want most, they could offer $6MM more than they can otherwise. An extra $3MM/yr for 2 years could very well be the difference between getting one of those guys and not (excluding Harper).
No. $6M is not going to be the difference in signing a $50M+ player. Houston doesn’t have unlimited payroll, but they have enough flexibility that $6M isn’t going to keep them from making the moves they think are a good value.
Yeesh. Not *that* big of a Stroman fan. Some serious durability concerns mixed with a pretty shoddy 2018. I do like him, a solid #3...but not for Paxton price
I like Stroman too. He’s not on Paxton’s level but I didn’t think the return Seattle got was that great. JB Bukauskas, Rogelio Armenteros, and Ronnie Dawson for Stroman would be a slightly lesser but close enough proxy for the Paxton return, and that would be ok with me.
The more I look at it, the more Markakis or David Peralta makes sense. 3rd and 8th most hits among lefty hitters last season, respectively. I don't see Brantley happening. He's reportedly getting offers around what McCutchen got (3y/50m), which seems too rich for a player who has lived on the DL for the past half decade. Inciarte would be an interesting target too, especially with Acuna taking over CF in ATL. Personally, I think I'd prefer a short-term deal with Murphy above all of these names. Either way, I think we're going to sign one FA (LH hitter or SP) and trade for the other.
I don’t believe so. This is very encouraging IMO. I have this gut feeling that we’re going to make a big acquisition that not many saw coming. Not sure what that would be but I just kind of have that feeling. Not that that’s worth anything.
Dodgers looking to move outfield talent. I think they feel they have a good shot at Harper. They may be right this time. I thought Chicago made more sense but scenarios change on the regular. Certain Dodgers players meeting with Harper and friends in effort to sway him. Pay attention to whether or not they successfully move puig or other outfielders in the coming 2-8 days
White can rake. In over 2200 PA in the minors he posted a .305BA .404OBP .913OPS. His 1st season in the show he struggled like most do. But the last 2 years he has been over all decent with .853 & .888 OPS. His numbers last year late and close and 2 outs with RISP were money. Maybe Tyler slips and is a .250 hitter but for half a million and not being eligible for arbitration till 2021 the Astros have to give it a shot.
