Last week of January and still 4 star level players on the free agent market (Montgomery, Snell, Chapman, Bellinger) along with a handful of everyday caliber position players (Soler, Rosario, Martinez, Pederson, Pham, Sanchez, Turner, Merrifield). Houston’s roster is probably set but I’m keeping an eye on Jankowski, Pederson, Rosario, and Soler as well as Snell and Montgomery.
Snell solves a lot of problems for the Astros all the way through 2028. I really would like to see that happen. 30M (20 in cap) is coming off the board after 24 in Bregman and another 24 in current dollars- 40m in 25 dollars, is coming off the board in 25 in Tucker and Framber. Snell is our replacement ace for Framber at what I presume would be a reasonable price (6/150 or something like that- maybe 7/175), we have the most talented astros roster ever in 24 and damn near in 25 while solidifying likely playoff floor in 26-28. It’s only really one bad year salary cap wise in 24. I don’t think it happens to be really clear, but it would be awesome. You could definitely also do an Urquidy/mccullers/France/montero series of trades at the deadline if LMJ and Gardia are healthy. New rotation: JV/Snell/Framber/Javier/Brown/Garcia rotation. The Urquidy/mccullers/france/Montero movement off salary would more than pay for snells new salary. Put another way- Urquidy and France have more surplus value than LmJ and Montero have negative value. You should be able to pair some combo of those guys, and maybe even Graveman, and move off 35M in 24 salary. 25 and beyond already is explained. This would presume LMJ comes back and can throw before the break- someone would take that contract if sweetened by JP France being average ish for minimum wage for 5 more years.
Now that Dusty is gone , I would be curious to get the scoop on what really went on behind scenes and what it was about Chas that got under Dusty’s skin. I don’t think anyone doesn’t think/know that there was some bias against playing him I mean maybe it was justified ? Chas could’ve said something once to Dusty he didn’t appreciate - but it likely had some clubhouse impact etc
Nook and others has said that Chas had a weird personality. Chas also admitted that he didn't appreciate being benched last season when he wasn't doing well and was really unproven and didn't have a great attitude. However, it seems that he changed after his really short demotion to the minors, but Dusty always held it against him despite Chas proving himself last season. Dusty held a grudge. Total speculation on my part, but Dusty also seemed to have a soft spot for African Americans like himself which is why he gave Julks a lot of chances.
I buy the bad attitude as a reason to not be in good standing - however favoring other players because of race would be egregious (if that is even true ) . Imagine a white manager did that
Again, I have no proof so I don't to want it to be something more than what it is, which is my hunch.
I was one of them that said he has a weird personality. You can see it reading between the lines when his teammates talk about him (especially rookie year- I assumed stupid but was told wasn't that) and then I heard a couple stories from guys that would know in the locker room and I was like- ok- yeah- I could get why people think he's a weird cat. Look- I've got an autistic diagnosed son and my wife describes me as spectrum adjacent- but I more or less pass for normal. It's easy to recognize stuff like that in other people though and the couple instances I heard about were just bizarre and at a minimum he's not able to read the room well, at a max he's got some sort of people skills that aren't normal (not a bad guy- just quirky or odd).
Racism is a legitimate concern, but an accusation of racism with no evidence is actually worse than actual racism in my opinion.
@Nook remember it being mentioned a few weeks ago, but any chance the Astros are still in on Jordan Hicks? Having another flamethrower arm would be awesome.
As for Dusty Baker. I will admit that I like him as a person. I have met him and he is very friendly and laid back, and he has helped several people I know advance in baseball. I think that Dusty Baker has lived and seen a lot of things as a black man in the last 65 or so years, and I am sure that has impacted how he sees the world and he can likely relate to a minority male easier than a lot of white men. However, having said that - I really don't think that he has a strong preference for black people or black baseball players. He has favorites for sure, but many of them were white or Hispanic and I can tell you that most of his friends are either white or bi-racial. Dusty will say things - like the comments about Latin or black players playing in the heat, but it is really tongue in cheek and the two players he has been the most loyal to (Verlander and Maldonado) are not black. As for Julks, yes he liked him personally but I don't think it was because he was black.
He isn't the first or last with having a personality that rubs people the wrong way. Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Billy Wagner, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, Kyle Tucker and Chris Johnson all come to mind as guys with the Astros that some people really disliked........ Pete Rose and Barry Bonds are others... some didn't like Bo Jackson either. At the end of the day, if you work hard, support your teammates and avoid gossip - you can be a weirdo even and your teammates will have your back. Nolan Ryan was a judgmental ******* with thin skin - and at the end of the day, even his teammates that had to deal with his passive aggressiveness put up for him because he followed the code.
I’d like to see the Astros sign Travis Jankowski and be done. There’s gonna be a ton of relievers available at the deadline so no need to splurge assess what you have on the 40 man. Obviously signing Snell would make me hard as ****. Diaz, Caratini Abreu, Altuve, Bregman, Pena, Dubon Tucker, Meyers, McCormick, Jankowski, Alvarez 40 Man Spot: Singleton, Hensley, Kessinger, Julks, Corona Verlander, Valdez, Javier, Brown, Urquidy Hader, Pressly, Abreu, Montero, Coleman, France TWO 40 Man spots: Sousa, Martinez, Blanco, Whitley, Bielak, Mushinski, Ortega, Cronin
