I agree about the person being a better fit if he can play LF. Belt played some early in his career but not since 2019. Maybe the MMP LF would work for 30ish games? Big ask.
Vogelfat on a 1/3M deal is an upgrade over Jake Meyers 1/2 the time against RHP, when Yordan is going to play his 40 or 50 games in the OF. It makes sense as it's an incremental, poverty level move. There are obviously other moves I'd prefer to that but that makes the Astros better and should cost nothing.
I agree that Vogelfat is an under the radar move that is 75% likely to be an improvement over Singleton and affordable. But he may be only able to DH. He only DH'd in 2023 and only played 5 g at 1B in 2022. If most other options were off the table then signing him would not bother me.
Come playoffs, Yordan will be in LF unless Meyers has a great year. Yordan will be a better LF than any available, and if he Astros can afford him, Belt is probably the best platoon bat they can get afford. If someone offers Belt a better deal, Belt should take it. From the Astros perspective, they should offer him every cent they have left available for a position player.
Secret recording of that discussion -- Tim Redding: Hey Forrest, it's Tim Redding! Forrest Whitley: Who? TR: Exactly. FW: Why are you calling me? TR: To tell you what you can learn from me. FW: Why would I want to learn something from a bust? TR: Because I at least made it to the majors before I threw my potential out the window.
I have a question for someone more familiar with the luxury tax threshold. When is luxury tax calculated? Is it beginning of season? End of season? Mid season? Or is it living throughout the season?
Glasnow to the Dodgers contingent on him signing an extension. I think I’m officially on the “idgaf who wins the WS as long as it ain’t the Dodgers train”. Man… I’d love for it to be the Astros… and don’t look now- but I have a feeling that a lot of the country outside of Dodger/yankee fans would also be rooting for the Astros in a potential Hou-LAD WS matchup
I had a chance to listen to 790 tonight and Todd had Dana Brown on. I wanted to give you guys a recap of what he talked about. Getting a backup catcher was very important for them to get accomplished early. Victor Caratini was their main target, and they had a deal in place before the winter meetings started. The team is very excited about Diaz. Dana said Diaz has been working very hard this off season to be ready. Todd specifically asked about Diaz's ability to catch Valdez and Verlander. Dana said Diaz had practice catching Diaz during spring training. He believes that Verlander and Diaz will be able to work well together. He also hinted that Maldy was Dusty's general and he trusted Maldy. Todd asked about potential additions. Dana stated as @Nook shared that if there is a piece within their price range, they will go for it. I got the sense that Dana believes there will be relief pitchers that can be signed at a much lower price in January. Dana said it's really important for them to stay at the CBT unless there is move that make senses for them to do. Dana is very confident about their pitching depth. He stated he wasn't confident going into 2023 (which pisses me off), but he believes they have the arms to get them back to what they were able to accomplish in 2022. He said Garcia and McCullers could be ready at some point July and he is expecting one of them to come out of the pen. He really likes the lefty Suiza and expects him to be a factor in 2024. He went into depth about the outfield. He stated that Tucker is of course the guy in right field. They want to have Meyers in Center and Chas at LF. They like Meyers against lefties. He stated that if it doesn't work, they will look to make changes. He stated they would be very interested in a lefthanded bat. He believes Chas will do very well. Dana said Yordan will be DHing 100% of the time. He might get some play in LF, but he is their DH. Todd asked about Dubon and he said he MIGHT get some play out there. He wants to be able to slide Chas in CF and give Yordan maybe a day in left. I got the sense that they do not want Dubon in the outfield. They talked about the infield and the strategy going into 2024. They plan to give Jose Abreu more rest. He was playing hurt and he mentioned how much better Abreu played after getting some rest. They plan to have Big Jon out there to give Abreu more rest. Dubon will be used more to give guys like Altuve and Bregman more rest during the season. Dana believes this infield will be one of the best in the league if they can stay healthy and fresh. Pena has been in the lab working on his swing and overall approach. They expect they can get him right in 2024 and cut down on swings he was taking. Todd asked about any potential rookie of the year candidates. This is more in @Snake Diggit wheel house but Dana is very very high on Arrighetti. He expects that he will have some type of impact this year. His other candidate he spoke about is Melton. He stated that other teams have asked for Melton in trades and he isn't someone that they will include. I don't know much about Melton but Dana raved about him. Lastly, the one common theme in every scenario that was discussed tonight, he made sure to refer back to Joe. That he and Joe are making decisions together. I get the sense that these two guys are really getting a long and working together as partnership. I'm excited to see how this plays out.
Tim Redding, MLB head case expert. I see he has found his calling. Whitley is running out of chances. I hope he realizes that.
Health and command are what kept Hideo Nomo from being a Hall of Famer. Yamamoto is better at the same age - but his movement reminds me of Nomo. Unfortunately some of the earlier Japanese pitchers struggled with some of the cultural aspects and had injuries as well. Dice-K had a very high upside.
Thanks for the breakdown man. Very relieved that they plan on Yordan pretty much being the exclusive DH. He’s locked in for several years and the only thing that made sense about him wanting to play in the field was him increasing his market value. I get that he worked his a$$ off and wanted to show that he could do it- but it’s in Yordan’s and the Astros’ best interest to try to keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible. I still believe that the Astros have another move up their sleeve. I think most teams are waiting on a couple dominoes to fall and that the trade market will pick up.
Brown really likes his high upside - high variance prospects. Arrighetti and Melton both have extreme outcome profiles. Melton is going to be really, really good if he makes enough good contact. He has the type of base running speed and instincts to steal 70-80 bases if he hits. He has plus power, he is learning to walk and he is really good everywhere with the glove. The downside is the contact issue is a real concern. Arrighetti is really deceptive and has the type of late movement that works in the big leagues. However his command/control concerns are genuine. Brown and Espada are both very well respected and stand up guys. They should work well together. From what I have heard - the Astros expect Caratini to catch Verlander. Also glad Alvarez isn’t being trotted out there 60 times a season. Let him DH. Dubon was solid last year - but I also like him being able to focus on 3rd, SS and 2nd- his bat profiles better backing up those spots as well. I’m not crazy about Singleton coming back - but I think that may work it self out in January.
Thank you for posting (anyone check on @J.R. , is this just regularly scheduled downtime?!). Can't help but believe that it is "important for them to stay at the CBT" so they get the better comp pick if/when Bregman leaves. *sigh*
I remember Ryan being high on him. If he didn't listen to Ryan or Strom he sure as hell wouldn't listen to Tim Redding They should have traded him when he was the #1 ranked prospect here if they knew he was that difficult. Maybe he matures this year in the pen but like a certain basketball star we had here some guys never grow mentally. I'm more willing to believe in one of the other guys in the roster having a breakout season or Montero returning a solid 7th inning guy. We shall see its baseball.
