Are we allowed to at least platoon Maldy and Castro next season? I hope seeing Maldy gift Swanson with two homers in the World Series on fastballs that should have never been thrown has disabused some here of the notion that Maldy is some gifted pitch caller.
Javier needs to be converted back into a starter. That gives you 6 starters, plus whatever you have on the farm. There's no reason to sign a mid-tier starter - the only reason to sign a starter is if you can get a reliable high-innings ace (Verlander, Scherzer, etc). Beyond that, they are no better than the people we have and we can always get more of that mid-tier pitching at the deadline.
Seems like the problem was the pitchers not executing more so than maldy calling the pitch. So many times he was setup high and in to righties and the ball would be thrown to the outside.
Its time for Click to shine. He has done well so far especially with the Bullpen but can take it to the next level with some crafty moves,
Neither Javier nor Garcia have great command of their pitches. I'm still not sure why they chose to start Garcia last night when Urquidy pitched so well in his outing against them and threw less than 20 pitches on his bullpen day. Then Dusty managed the game like Garcia had to get 3+ innings or die trying when Odorizzi and Javier were both available with a well rested Urquidy available to pitch in game seven. Just maddening.
They really do need an ace but there isn't that much available this off-season in free agency. Gausman will probably stay in SF. Who knows what you will get with Verlander. I don't think Scherzer wants to come here but yeah he should absolutely be a target. Ray and Stroman had good seasons but neither are really elite.
I think the Astros offer 8/280 to Correa but then he signs with the Yankees for 10/400 and watches the playoffs from home the next several years. QO to Verlander who goes back to Det. Resign Graveman. Sign a SP like Ray. Trade one of Siri/Chaz/Meyers to boost the farm. Let Pena and Lee battle it out for starting SS. Long looks at Whitley and Hunter Brown for the majors. Ultimately maintain some flexibility to make a move at the deadline if CF or SS just isn’t cutting it.
It seems like every single ex-Astro from Marisnick to McHugh to Smith to Chirinos to Reddick to Harris all wanted their stay here to be longer. Maldy fired his agent to get back here.
Huh? The reason to grow the farm is to get products like these on the cheap for the next 5-6 years...
Rodon had issues with the Astros going back to the draft.... having said that, he would come to the Astros if they give him the best offer. It would be a major risk for the Astros though because of his serious injury history. He is capable of winning a Cy Young if he stays healthy though. I am not sure he is going to get many long term offers, and is someone that may have to take a 1-2 year deal at a higher annual salary.
I’m most curious about who our skipper will be. If we can’t find a solid shortstop there are other options. I know people hate the idea of Bregman at short but it is his natural position. Breg to shortstop would open the door to 3rd basemen free agents. It may also be a good change for Bregman to break out again. Yuli sliding to 3rd opens the door to 1st base free agents. There are some star free agents out there, we need to look broader than just shortstop.
Gonna have to make a trade for a front line starter. That's going to hurt, Leon + for a front line starter.
On the free agent pitchers list, I'd like to take a look at: Michael Wacha Marcus Stroman Alex Wood I'm pretty excited about both Pedro Leon and Jeremy Pena -- we need to keep the youth pipeline going to make the financial math work moving forward. We also need Jake Meyers to continue to improve. Will 2022 finally be the year that Forest Whitley contributes? That would be a pleasant surprise. Hunter Brown needs to be evaluated at the MLB level as well.
Offseason Outlook (2/2): Addressing the weaknesses: C: At this point it seems as if Maldonado is too valuable for his defense and leadership to replace, and Castro had a fine year and is one of the better backups in the league. Given the lack of top line options available in free agency, if they did want to upgrade at catcher I only see 2 options, both via trade. Willson Contreras will be available from the Cubs and Mike Zunino might be available from Tampa. Houston could likely afford the prospect cost and salary, but I just don’t see those players being significant enough to disrupt what they have with Maldonado as the everyday guy. Hypothetical: Zunino for Castro and a 2nd tier pitching prospect like Dubin. Prediction: stand pat. SS: They love Jeremy Pena and he projects to be a 2-3 win player with upside for more. But 2-3 wins is still 2-3 wins short of what Correa provided, so they’ll need to replace that somewhere. Yes they can afford one of the elite free agent SS but it just doesn’t seem like something Click would do. A more versatile and affordable option like Chris Taylor or Jonathan Villar might make some sense but I fully expect them to roll with Pena as their starting SS. Hypothetical: sign Correa for $180M/5yrs, heavily front loaded with an opt out. Prediction: stand pat (see notes on 13th position player). CF: Click obviously had confidence in Meyers/McCormick/Siri, since he traded Straw. But they HAVE to replace Correa’s offense somewhere, and if it’s not at C or SS, CF is the only viable place to do it. There’s only one sure fire everyday CF available in free agency (Starling Marte), BUT there is a group of good free agent hitters who could reasonably play CF: Kris Bryant, Mark Canha, Tommy Pham, and Michael Conforto. There’s also potential trade targets: Ketel Marte, Byron Buxton, Mitch Haniger, and Joey Gallo. It won’t be the end of the world to open the season with a 7-8-9 of Meyers-Pena-Maldonado, but I expect Click to get somewhat creative. Hypothetical: Byron Buxton and Taylor Rogers for Jake Meyers and Forrest Whitley. Prediction: Astros sign Starling Marte for $85M/4yrs. 13th position player: If Houston doesn’t do anything at starting SS, I think they’ll at least make a minor move to provide insurance against Jeremy Pena struggling (although Aledmys Diaz will provide some of that already). Options include Jon Villar, Freddy Galvis, and Leury Garcia, among others. Marwin Gonzalez would also be a cheap option. Prediction: sign Marwin Gonzalez $1M/1yr. SP: Houston has 5 established SP already in place for next season and they have excellent SP depth in the upper minors, so any move needs to be of the high impact variety. There is a good class of free agents, but nobody who deserves $150M+ (although several will likely get that much). The trade market for ToR SP is thin to non-existent. I do think Houston will do something here. Hypothetical: Luis Castillo for Hunter Brown, Bryan Abreu, Jose Siri, Freudis Nova, and Collin Barber. Prediction: Astros sign Eduardo Rodriguez for $130M/5yrs. RP: Houston loses Graveman, Garcia, and Raley but should get an in house boost from Pedro Baez. Their minors depth will also help here. Too many possibilities in both free agency and trade to root thru. Hypothetical: Josh Hader for Bryan Abreu, Forrest Whitley, Jake Meyers, Misael Tamarez, and a PTBNL. Projected opening day roster: CF Starling Marte LF Michael Brantley 2B Jose Altuve DH Yordan Alvarez 1B Yuli Gurriel RF Kyle Tucker 3B Alex Bregman SS Jeremy Pena C Martin Maldonado Bench: Aledmys Diaz, Jason Castro, Chas McCormick, Marwin Gonzalez Rotation: Lance McCullers Je., Eduardo Rodriguez, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Jake Odorizzi Bullpen: Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, Josh James, Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, Pedro Baez, Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly
