I think people are too negative. Look at the 2nd rate teams who made the series. As bad as we feel, what about Philly? Atlanta? LA? Baltimore? Just a fluke year in the sport.. MLB deserves the ratings they are about to get for watering down the playoffs..
Definitely need a SS who can hit and has a bad glove!!! Defense is so overrated. 3.8 WAR is so easy to replace.
I wonder how Ted Williams got any hits without a batters eye back in the day!! Batters eye is an excuse probably put out there by Snitker to overshadow the crappy job he did with our batters this past season.
Diaz, McCormick, and Dubon had amazing years relative to past performance and expected performance. Alvarez, Bregman, Altuve, Tucker, and Pena (more on base, but was powerless) were either slightly better or slightly worse to what they've done recently (not counting missed time to injuries). Abreu looked hurt for most of the year. Julks and Maldy were well below average hitting, but weren't expected to hit. Meyers had his best post-injury year, and might be even better next year. Snitker does not set the lineup. Snitker isn't the trainer.
man I’ll always have a soft spot for those 90s jerseys. Childhood right there. Just wish Big and Bag got over the hump lol
Having Diaz and McCormick playing full time is the equivalent of a new bat. Addition by subtraction with Maldi. We made the ALCS even though our pitching staff was completely gassed. You guys are so pessimistic. With everybody healthy and rested with a decent manager, we will be favored once an again to win it all and I think we will. News of Abreu being injured during his last slump is great news. Losing Garcia right off the bat was a huge blow. Brown is going to be a stud and will have another year of experience working with Verlander. Really stupid to write off Framber for a slump with a catcher that no longer called a good game. Javier either has to find a third pitch or go to the pen.
Yep. This is a 95-105 win team as-is. They will be a top 5 team in MLB in terms of win projections. 2025 looks similar. The dynasty may be over after that, but we’ve got 2 more years of the Astros being very likely to make the playoffs and truly contend for the WS.
He did. The cover story was that he wanted to be closer to home which may be partially true but word on the streets was that he also didn't like Dusty's managing style and they didn't get along. His hire a week later with the D-Backs was a big surprise.
Possibly - there are just so many things that go into it. I really like Carter but he does have some holes in his swing that can be possibly exploited. As for Wyatt Langford, I think he is the top prospect in baseball and likely will be special - but we will have to see. The Rangers have some issues as well. Jonah Heim and Adolis Garcia and Leody Tavares have never hit as well as they did this season. They could repeat or improve on their performance, but it is also possible that they come back down to earth. They are going to basically not have a bullpen unless they add free agents. Mitch Garver is a free agent. So is Jordan Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith and Martin Perez. The Rangers may get Jacob DeGrom back in September - but he will be 36 years old. The Astros will likely get back both Garcia and McCullers back in July. Hector Neris is an important free agent. Michael Brantley, Phil Maton, Ryan Stanek and Martin Maldonado all are free agents as well - and other than maybe Brantley on the cheap, I don't think the Astros really want any of them back. To me the Astros can be better than the Rangers - but Crane will have to spend some money. He doesn't have to go hog wild but he will need to add a hammer in the pen and a secondary reliever or he will need to look for a Nathan Evoldi type starter. The Astros offense should be better - because the difference between Maldonado and Diaz is MASSIVE.
I don't have any issue adding Verlander. Montgomery was awesome for the Rangers..... but if we are going to play that game, the Astros were close to signing Nathan Evoldi, and had they done that, the Rangers wouldn't have beaten the Astros. There are just a lot of factors that go into it.
New coach, Diaz as FT C, replacement for Brantley, some new bullpen pieces and an extension for Tucker. SP should be fine with JV, Framber, Javier, McCullers, Garcia, Urquidy, France, and Brown.
Good question. My guess would be the Astros. However I think that it could be a possible deal if the Astros could get another shortstop through another trade or signing. Arozerena- McCormick -Tucker is a nasty outfield with Alvarez as the DH.... Arozerena has also always struck me as a guy that had another level possibly. There are not a lot of really attractive outfielders available in the Astros price range..... Soler, Duvall, Brantley all are possible. I suspect T.Hernandez makes too much. On the SS front, there isn't a lot there either.......... Ahmed Rosario, if you believe he is a SS, Tim Anderson in trade. I guess it comes down to whether or not the Astros believe in Grae Kessinger. He doesn't have pop, but in the minors he walked a lot and had a strong glove. If the Astros believe that will translate, then maybe you make a move for Arozarena and lock up your outfield and DH and have Kessinger hit in the 9 hole.
Yep, part of breaking down the great things Luhnow built. Wonder if they can find another pitching guru like Strom?
Make the deal and let Dubon/Kessinger split time at SS. Find another Dubon/Diaz type utility guy. Trade surplus pitching and a minor leaguer or 2 for an Ace lever SP. I dont know how you rebuild the bullpen given the salary constraints, but I would trade Framber to alleviate some of those.
