Houston Astros: Ryan Pressly comments make me concerned for closer’s role What separates a closer from the rest of the relievers in the bullpen? Mindset. A closer must have an attack and kill mentality. A closer has to have a short memory. A closer has to have one thing on his mind, give me the ball so I can get outs. Houston Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly does not have the mindset of a closer and this concerns me heading into the 2021 season. https://calltothepen.com/2021/02/20...-comments-make-me-concerned-for-closers-role/
Forrest Whitley, who may or may not exist, is in West Palm Beach but not working out at the team complex, for some reason. James Click: Occasionally, out of an abundance of caution, there are protocol steps that have to be taken players and personnel are cleared to report. We expect those steps to be completed soon, which will still give everyone enough time to prepare for the season. http://www.astroscounty.com/2021/02/saturday-evening-hot-links.html
I know the likelihood is next to nil, but COL has to be looking to move Blackmon. He's turning 35 this season, is under contract for 3 more seasons, and has regressed some, but he has put up solid numbers the last few seasons. I think his home/road splits may be a bit too concerning to justify that type of move, but I'd be curious how much $$$ COL is willing to eat (or maybe adding in Marquez) in order to move him. I think Click is going to have to be aggressive on the trade market if Straw really struggles out of the gate, as we have no one in our organization who's really built to handle the brunt of a full regular season in CF. It's probably more likely that Click opts for a less flashy CF acquisition than Blackmon, but it's a slow Sunday and I'm tired of the Luhnow arguments.
He's not a CFer anymore and hasn't played CF since 2018. He doesn't fit the roster no matter how much money the Rockies eat. Rockies should have an epic fire sale at the deadline. Givens, Marquez, Gray, Story, and maybe Freeland should all be traded. They have zero percent chance of competing in that division for several years.
But apparently he has that mindset when he’s an elite setup man? I was hoping we’d be at the phase of the analytic movement where there was data supporting 2 inning saves or not having a fixed one guy for 9th inning only when up by 3 runs or less, regardless of who’s coming up to bat... but I guess the data still agrees with this dogma (despite the Astros having a flirtation going against this in some of the playoff games last year).
Agree with that 26. Having Stubbs, McCormick, Abreu, Scrubb, Garcia & Whitley in AAA is nice depth. Will be interesting what the corresponding move is once Pruitt returns.
Won't do it because signing him would put them over the Luxury Tax which would lower any potential compensatory picks for next year.
Interesting. If all the pending free agents have great seasons (and the QO rules stay the same), Houston could have up to 4 QOs with Correa, Greinke, Verlander, and McCullers. 4 extra 2nd rounders would go a long way to rebuilding the farm, although losing Correa would be a HUGE blow to the roster.
Rosenthal says Correa is for sure to get one and the jury is out on Verlander who will be 39. Doesn't sound like Greinke or McCullers will be worth it.
Greinke isn't eligible. He recieved a QO from the Dodgers so Rosenthal was wrong mentioning Greinke. Also, Rosenthal mentions it isn't just about the compensation for losing a guy we give a qualifying offer. It is also about the penalty for signing someone from another team that has a qualifying offer attached. The penatly in the luxury tax for that is 2nd and 5th draft picks and a million from international signing money. The penalty out of the luxury tax is just the 2nd pick and 500k in international money.
I keep forgetting Greinke isn’t eligible, my bad. I think McCullers has a chance to be offered a QO if he stays healthy and throws well. A >3 fWAR >140 ip season would likely line him up for a $50M+ contract in free agency which usually means a QO. Odds don’t favor him actually doing that but there’s def a chance.
I will be curious to see what type of weight range he is in. Many months ago he had trimmed down a lot and looked svelte. He REALLY wants to play the field badly. He was working on running drills and agility drills in an effort to play the outfield.
Yeah, I have ZERO numbers to back it up but I will say that Pressly always seemed more tight and not as effective as a closer. I think the Astros felt the same way, which is why they tried to get a closer. I suppose the hope is that if Pressly is healthy and command of his pitches that it won't really matter because his stuff can be close to unhittable.
Only see Correa getting a QO if he doesn’t sign an extension first...... David Nuno: Carlos Correa wants to hammer out an extension before the season starts. Correa: It would be great, but it has to be on their side also. If we can reach an agreement at some point it needs to be [before] the season starts because once the season starts, I don't want to be involved with any negotiations
Looking at the free agent list for next offseason there are a lot of guys that COULD get qualifying offers. Salvador Perez Brandon Belt Freddie Freeman Anthony Rizzo Javier Baez Carlos Correa Corey Seager Francisco Lindor Trevor Story Arenado (if he opts out) Kris Bryant Nicholas Castellanos (if he opts out) Michael Conforto Jorge Soler (would need a monster season) JD Martinez (if he opts out) Dylan Bundy Clayton Kershaw James Paxton (outside shot if healthy and doesn't get traded) Noah Syndergaard Justin Verlander Lance McCullers (would have to actually make 28 plus starts and pitch well)
