You are correct. I skimmed the post and missed "back". No issue admitting my mistake. That being said, I still like the deal. We had a legit shot to win another ring that unfortunately Dusty fumbled away. I'm not big on Gilbert but didn't like losing Clifford
How I kind of see things after the Caratini signing: “Needs”: 1. 8th inning RP 2. Above average everyday CF 3. ToR SP 4-6. 3 elite prospects to improve the long term outlook Fungible assets: 1. SP Jose Urquidy 2. CF Jake Meyers 3. SP Hunter Brown 4. ~$10M in 2024 payroll 5-?. a handful of 3rd tier prospects If Houston thinks Jake Meyers will be an above average everyday CF, then that takes one thing off the list on both sides of the ledger. Similarly if they think Hunter Brown (or Cristian Javier) will be a playoff Game 2-3 caliber SP, that takes that off the list. That leaves an 8th inning RP and improving the farm as the “needs”, with ~$10M to spend and a whatever prospects they feel they can part with as their capital. I suspect they will play it conservatively and end up with a Matt Moore level RP on a 2 year 7 figure deal and leave the farm as-is, hoping the next year will see some current prospects break out along with another full draft restocking things. Thats not a very exciting offseason, but it’s probably the smartest and most likely outcome. I do think the odds of an Urquidy trade are probably higher than any other player on Houston’s roster.
I actually hated losing both, but that is more about the state of the team and the organization. Right move, and would do it again now just for the 2 chances instead of 3, but 2026 looks like it may be bare. I don't expect either to become HOF, but I would not be surprised if they both ended up having 10 year, 20-25 WAR careers. Josh Reddick and Ryan Klesko?
Well said. I just wasn't really impressed by Gilbert. If he's going to be a corner outfielder then meh. Klesko is a good comparison for Clifford and I'd take that career
This is a very reasonable take I would add a backup 1B ( preferably LHB) to give Abreu 1 day off per week. I would be willing to bet that they are done and all this will need to be found/developed from whoever is on the roster. If they do sign someone else it will be either extremely affordable, or simply too good of a deal to turn down. Staying under the CBT to get the best comp pick possible for Bregman must be a very high priority. 26 players. 11 position players set. Holes are: backup 1B/3B and to lesser extent an OF. Candidates are Kessinger, Singleton, Hensley, Corona, Julks, minor league Spring Trainee invites like Loperfido, Dirden, Leon, Barber. 9 pitchers set. Holes are #6 SP (when needed), at least 1 7-8 inning guy and 2 5-7 inning guys. At least 2 of these must be optionable as McCullers and/or Garcia are expected to take their spots at some point. Candidates are: France, Bielak, Blanco, Coleman, Dubin, Gage, Kuhnel, Martinez, Mushinski, Ortega, Sousa, Whitley and minor league Spring Training invitees like Arrighetti, Gordon, and all the offseason minor league signings. Prediction: Kessinger, Singleton, France, Martinez, Sousa, Whitley make opening day roster. Martinez, Sousa, and Whitley are on very short leashes, Kessinger, Singleton (no options) and France gets a bit more slack.
They can and I hope and expect Diaz to learn to hit when playing somewhere other than catcher. I don’t need to speak for Idstrosfan who is one of the most knowledgeable of our posters, but I think he just really doesn’t see Singleton as a major league player and neither do I.
What makes you think Javier who has proven to wear down and is generally a 5 inning pitcher, or a CF with a weak arm is the answer in CF. Best fans can hope for is Brown went through the typical rookie doldrums and will be able to not only pitch more innings, but more effective innings later in the season, playoffs. The best we as fans can hope for is adding a guy that you mentioned like Matt Moore to solidify the bullpen. Hopefully Moore and a healthy Graveman can help form a shutdown bullpen. That and hopefully make moves at the deadline to fority the teams weaknesses are the Stros best chance at winning another championship.
Flat out sad considering all of the money Crane's made over the last few years. I think they add a Matt Moore type reliever, although I wish they would give Hicks the 3rd year and develop a shutdown bullpen like they had a couple of years ago. The extra year is worth the gamble.
I think this team has wants not needs. I have to explain this concept to my wife all the time. If we can pick up an OF that hits LH pitching then that will make a difference. That is a want though, not a need. We want another reliever and another starter. I think a reliever is the closest thing we have to a need, but we have a lot of pitching depth and converting one of our starters or a minor leaguer stepping up is very possible. In the end, if we do nothing else we are probably in the top 3 of winning the AL again.
Hoping things workout isn't a solid plan for giving the team it's best chance to win another championship. The Rangers and Mariners will be better this year. Of course with Altuve, Alvarez being healthy which isn't a given and Diaz playing more often the Stros should be better too. That's what Crane's banking on.
I agree they both can play 1B and probably will play some, but I think how much depends on thec12th-13th players on the roster. If Carantini is a league average bat, then ideally there is a better option. Realistically a 1B option should be 20% above league average or better. Now that means that he can take a few more starts at catcher with Diaz playing 1B if the next guy in line simply isn't at that level, but ideally I would like Diaz to catch as often as possible and rest when not catching. He is a strong, young man but catching is grueling and he needs to be fresh in October. As far as Singleton, he is an extremely talented hitter who spent years away from the game. This is year 3 back and he has shown flashes. I am not giving up on him yet but he needs to have a good spring training to make the team then needs to be good in his opportunities the first half or the team should move on. If he can manage to be a 120 wRC+ / OPS+ type of guy once per week I would prefer him to a 100 level guy like Caratini. Besides he takes lots of pitches, has a good eye and balances the lineup with power and as a LHB. If he can unlock his talent he would be perfect for this roster, but he only has 2-3 months. I am hopeful but not confident but his pitential means he should probably be given a shot.
In what world is 8th inning a need? We have the best relief pitcher in MLb (top 10 anyway) that pitches the 8th inning for us.
Pfffffffffft. All I meant was the “need” is for a RP capable of pitching high leverage late inning situations. Championship teams typically need at least 3-4 guys who can reliably prevent runs in the highest leverage situations. The Astros currently have 2.
Jake Meyers has 664 career MLB plate appearances, 10 less than Kyle Tucker had in 2023. Meyers has 17 HR, 10 SB, a .235/.296/.379 slash line, 88 wRC+, and 3.1 fwar. For some further context, Randy Arozarena put up 3.3 fwar last season in 654 pa. Considering Meyers’ career has only included his rookie year followed by injury-riddled 2022-2023, I remain optimistic that he can be a 2.5-4 win/yr player over the next 4 seasons.
He's a big plus defender so he just needs to be close to average for him to be considered excellent. It's similar to Pena. If both Pena and Meyers have an OPS close to 750, we will cooking with gas again.
Definitely agree on adding an arm (or two) to the pen that can handle high leverage situations. I'm sure some team will give Neris a three yr deal but if we could get him for two yrs I'd have no problem with that.
I’d have said 7th inning guy bc Graveman is a 6th to me. But yeah- need one more leverage dude. Unless you think that’s Lance.
