I wanted to give a successful and not successful example. The common factor is both teams rely on developing or finding yet to peak players. They do not have the resources so have fewer options. The Astros have the market and income to have these additional options. They can sign players like Verlander or Brantley. I'm not advocating making bad or stupid decisions or spending for the sake of spending. I am saying IF you have the money and intend to spend then pay market value. And what other teams pay is market value. If you refuse to pay what other teams pay then fine. Admit that you are the Rays and not the Mariners and run your team that way. It has worked for 6+ years. Maybe it keeps working but other teams are spending and bringing in impact players. Eventually their talent will simply over run the Astros and they will be a 3rd place team struggling to make the wild card. This offseason is different. This year teams are paying more in money and years and the Astros no longer have the deep organization to use to fill the holes and stay ahead. They need to adjust and find value among the overpays not ignore the overpays and just use J.J. Matijevic as the LH DH bat. That's why Conforto and his ONLY 2 years when everyone else wants 4+ is a good RISK.
Is this a something you've heard tossed around? Or just a suggestion. Sorry Urquidy fans, but look at his Savant page. Yikes. A ton of blue, and he seemed to have benefitted from really good luck. I also vividly remember one game against Oakland, in the Coliseum, where he went 7 shutout, but generated only 3 swinging strikes (no, not 3 swinging Ks, only 3 swings and misses period), and got a lot of loud outs that were rocketed RIGHT into a defender's glove. And this was after he ditched the cutter. In essence, a microcosm of his season. I would do Urquidy plus a rookie ball throw-in/lottery ticket for Jansen.
Yes. You’re trading your #6 pitcher and likely a tier 2 outfielder. He’s a heavy pull hitter, so he should benefit from both the Crawford boxes and the elimination of the shift. Then go sign a #6 pitcher in free agency.
I like the Salvador Perez random trade idea. Astros have the space to take on the full salary too to minimize prospect cost. Perez plus Conforto/Brantley/Bientendi would be worth getting excited about
Maybe. Could we make the same deal for Kirk? Would we? Brown, Leon, Diaz and Gilbert are off the table? Probably. 5 Barber OF 6 Melton OF 7 Lee C 8 Clifford OF 9 Perez 3B 10 Whitley RHP Jansen 4 Years Kirk 2 Years
But at the same time, that's reality. If that ring is never less than $1300 ever again you need to decide if that's what you want or if a ring you value at $700 but costs $1000 is the right move. There are no $1000 rings that you can buy for under $1300 anymore. Do you adjust or do you settle? Either you pay the inflated price ( which is only inflated in your mind) and get the item or you refuse and have to settle for what you already had. The item that you thought was too expensive is actually not. If other teams are willing to pay then it's priced perfectly. And if you have solid substitutes at home then that's fine. But eventually the substitutes you have run out and you have no choice but to pay the going rate or go without ( and become second rate in this case)
I think the question is more if the Blue Jays would go for that. I'd hate to lose another starting pitcher, but the upgrade from Maldonado to Jansen is pretty extreme.
I am afraid of what the asking price Toronto would want for Kirk. Jansen might be more realistic as he has only 2 years left of control as opposed to 4 years of Kirk. Plus I think Jansen is a better defensive catcher. T
I like Jansen and would probably do that deal. But it's hard to chalk up Urquidy's success to luck when he's had similar results for his entire career. His stuff hasn't gotten worse. He pitches to contact and doesn't walk guys, which works on the Astros but probably not on a bad defensive club.
I feel like Brantley is the easiest plug and play here (assuming health of course). You slot him in as basically your full time DH, playing in the field only at half the games at Minute Maid. That gets you 3 quality lefty bats in the lineup. Maybe you go for a 4th with Benintendi, and sign a lefty catcher like Narváez. Vs RHP 2B Altuve (R) CF Benintendi (L) LF Yordan (L) 3B Bregman (R) RF Tucker (L) 1B Abreu (R) DH Brantley (L) SS Pena (R) C Narváez (L) vs LHP 2B Altuve (R) SS Pena (R) LF Yordan (L) 3B Bregman (R) RF Tucker (L) 1B Abreu (R) DH Brantley (L) CF McCormick (R) C Maldonado (R)
Next level: Astros get: Perez C -37.4 Singer SP 52 Zerpa LHP 1.9 Total 16.5 Royals Get: Y Diaz 14.4 Whitley RHP 2 Total 16.4
At the time I was shocked. I just knew they had already invested too much into the bullpen already and had Abreu ready to step in. Now after seeing how free agency is playing out, I think it was a shrewd and fantastic move. Especially now that improving the roster has become such a challenge that extra high quality bullpen arm is essential. Bravo.
A second year option is just security without commitment If a player is worth $20M, I'd give him $20 with a second year player option at $10 and a team option for $20. Or make the player option conditional like JVs or a little of both. Covering downside risk without some upside risk protection is a bad investment for the team.
If Perez was an option then we definitely would have signed Contreras or Vazquez first. Problem is playing time and Maldy has it. Catching- Astros will stay with Maldy and Lee (or pick up some rando for backup). LF it will be Brantley. And if he comes back then I could see Yuli as well. The run-it-back in full force.
Personally I would have given J.V. the two years and spent into the tax, but that's just me and it isn't my money.
Something we should keep in mind is that the Astros accurately predicted this market, and every decision they’ve made and NOT made has been in alignment with that. Knowing Contreras would get 5 years ahead of time likely wouldn’t have changed anything we’ve done to this point. The overheated free agent market causing an overheated trade market doesn’t change what we’re willing to pay for Murphy. To this point, we’re up 1 bat, neutral in the bullpen and slightly down on starting pitching. The next quality bat we add makes us a better team than last year. If we add 2 bats, we’re the clear World Series favorites again.
The problem with that is Urquidy may be our #5/6 pitcher but we have a championship rotation. On most teams the #6 pitcher is still a prospect like Murray or France. Urquidy is at least a #3 on most teams. That is a very expensive pitcher to replace, especially on the free agent market.
I don't think JV was worth anywhere near what he got paid to the Astros....but that's based on my opinion that at his current age, he's a regular season only type pitcher. He doesn't seem to have anything left in the tank by the playoffs. He was arguably the worst pitcher for the Astros in the playoffs and he's only getting older. The Astros don't need any regular season help, they need guys who are going to produce in the playoffs. Since JV doesn't move that needle, I was fine with him moving on....but I had hoped that the Astros would make at least one more major move to improve the team with that money.
