I think they'd be foolish to build *any* plans around Lance McCullers. I'm not terribly enthused about their starting rotation, actually. JV aside (who probably shouldn't be counted on for heavy lifting at this point), Framber is now a legitimate area of concern; it's possible Javier has been exposed (& unless he develops a 3r pitch, he really needs to be in the bullpen); and Urquidy, Brown and France seem like prototypical depth guys who, on a better team, eat innings in the regular season and then disappear in October.
Of course. I definitely think they will help. It would be like adding two All-Star caliber pitchers to the rotation when they come back in mid to late summer next year. That being said, we're going to have to hold serve until they come back. Hopefully our injury woes end starting next season.
Agree with most of this, except Brown. I think he will be an ace at some point. He has great stuff, a very repeatable and injury resistant wind-up that mirrors Verlander’s and he has Verlander as a mentor all next year and a catcher that won’t be near as predictable as Maldy.
1) Get a new manager. I don't know whether it'll be Espada or someone from outside the organization, but upgrading from Dusty who was dreadful in 2023 is paramount. 2) Find a replacement for Brantley. Bagwell and Crane badly whiffed on that resigning. Bagwell insisted he'd be ready for opening day......and was off by 5 months. We need someone reliable in LF(or CF if Chas moves over to LF) so we're not forced to start the likes of Julks or force Yordan to play in the outfield. 3) Get a backup first baseman. Jose Abreu is likely the primary starter simply due to his salary, but find someone who can credibly fill in for him so the Astros can keep him fresh. 4) Resign Neris and Maton or find capable replacements in the bullpen. Let Stanek walk. 5) Sign a backup catcher. Diaz is all but certain to be the everyday starter next season(thank God!). Let Maldy go. I doubt he's even in the majors next year given how terrible he is at the plate and his regression defensively. 6) The starting pitching is where I'm most uncertain. I'm guessing the Astros gamble on better health and bounceback seasons instead of signing another arm. If that bet pays off, we'd have a healthy McCullers and Garcia added to a rotation that already has Verlander, Valdez, Javier, Brown, France, and Urquidy. That gives them a lot of flexibility. They could try to trade Urquidy or McCullers for a position player. They could move Brown into the bullpen where he seems to thrive. They could have a 6-man rotation just like in late 2022 which wound up being a huge benefit that season.
Certainly Houston could go balls out on the bullpen by moving Brown and Javier there: Pressly, Abreu, Brown, Javier, Graveman, Montero, plus a free agent lefty (Matt Moore), with one of Bielak/Whitley/etc holding the last bullpen spot until Garcia or McCullers comes back. That would very well be the best bullpen of all time. But that would require adding a legit ToR SP, which Houston doesn’t seem to have the money or prospects to do.
I can't believe they are really gonna pay Graveman $8M next season when he was replacement level this past year. What was Dana thinking?
Maybe they're hoping he's motivated to pitch his ass off next season in order to score one more big contract as he approaches his mid-30s. Hopefully they let someone else pay him that money(don't pull another Montero), but at least it's possible you get a decent 2024 out of the guy.
That seems like a stretch. I thought they would have a plan for him but he more or less still sucked following the trade and I'm not sure what can be done to fix him other than hoping he can locate some of his pitches again.
This team was among the best in baseball in 2023. Absolutely things didn't work out, but there are very few holes to fill. The Rangers were a buzz saw, just like the 2018 Red Sox, 2019 Nats, and 2021 Braves, they got hot and outplayed the Astros. So what needs to change, that can be changed? 1) Manager - Dusty's decisions were a major factor. In my opinion the lineups with Dubon, Pena, and Maldonado at the bottom were too weak. Any benefit (real or imagined) that Maldy brought were negated by a lack of overall lineup depth. McCormack also brought a level of power and run production when he was in the #7 spot that Dubon simply didn't. Furthermore his pitching change decisions did not work out like 2022 post season. It's time to move on. 2) catcher - Diaz needs to be named the starter and work with the veteran pitchers from the start of camp. A defense first veteran who can contribute to game planning, mentor him, and be a defensive sub in the 7th+ inning of blowouts to allow him to start more often would be welcome. It can't be Maldy even if he agrees to that role. There can not be that temptation and divide. 3) bullpen - this team is losing a ton of bullpen depth. Fortunately Pressly and Abreu are still under control, but losing Neris, Maton, and Stanek will hurt. Graveman gets a fresh start and should move into Maton's #4 role and be OK but this team needs a good #3 and at least 2 depth pieces. Hopefully a youngster or two can step up. 4) run producing OF/DH bat that is good vs RHP. I think Chas and Tucker need to be everyday starters and Yordan should play 1/4-1/3 of the games in LF. That said, I think Chas took a step back defensively this year and maybe is more suited in LF after all. Dubon is a great bench player but does not have the bat to be a primary starter in the outfield. An OF who can produce runs vs RHP and can play CF even if he's better in the corners would be ideal. LF: McCormick 67%, Yordan 33% CF: New OF 67%, McCormick 33% DH: Yordan 67%, Altuve/Abreu/Diaz 33% 5) commit to a 6 man rotation from spring training on. This team should have enough SP depth that the #4, 5, and 6 starters are very very comparable in expected results. Jv's age and LMJ's injury risk, along with that of all starting pitching in general makes this a no brainer. That works out to be 6 starters w/ 27 starts and 162 innings (@6 per start). It may be beneficial to regularly tandem 2 guys to keep Framber or JV on 5 days rest if there are off days and for a specific matchup. It also will help mask the lack of quality bullpen depth as it makes the bullpen 7 instead of 8 deep. I would go: JV, Javier, Brown, Framber, McCullers, France. That way, Brown can piggyback Javier and France can piggyback McCullers anytime they want to keep JV and/or Framber on 5 days rest after an offday. That's all I have for now. I'm sure I will expound on how to fill the spots I mentioned and more. This sucks but 2024 is bright and should be even better than 2023.
I don't expect much out of him next season. I'm just hoping that extra motivation to score another payday elevates him from from mediocre to slightly above average.
Window still wide open .. Everyone with the exception of a few players played below what we expected.. We gon be alright!
The window is still wide open......in 2024. Beyond that, I'm not so sure. What really hurts is those Abreu and Montero contracts that last through 2025. That's gonna limit how much Crane spends the next two offseasons.
While specific targets are certainly interesting to me, Crane's overall mindset/strategy interests me more. Will he deplete the farm even further to land someone(s) substantial or will he just do what he thinks he has to? A new HC and backup catcher are a given. A couple bullpen guys to replace those that we lose probably is also. My feeling is, come next March, we will find the off-season moves made underwhelming. By this I mean, no big signings. Still a competent team, but arguably no better than the 2023 team. Maybe that is good enough many may think. We did get to the ALCS after all. But what if the Rangers add BIG. Can we do little if they do a lot?
Watching the ALCS and watching the Rangers 1-9 made the fact that Maldy came up in big spots several times so obviously detrimental. Huge difference between a strong 1-9 and a 1-8 with an auto-out at 9.
Since we're stuck with J. Abreu, he needs to only play ~100 games at 1st base to get the most out of him and preserve his health. Hopefully the next manager will do a better job at load management than Dusty who tried to play the 2 oldest position players the most games out of everyone. I expect they don't re-up Brantley either. I think Cody Bellinger would be a decent pick-up. He can play outfield (LF and occasional CF) and back-up Abreu at 1st base. He's a power lefty and plays stellar defense.
Agree with this. He also threw more innings this year than ever. He probably hit that wall at some point. Hes definitely worth developing and keeping in the rotation. He could be an excellent pitcher for us. People forget before the innings got to him. He was looking really good.
There have been a few years recently where that kind of attitude was taken and little was done. In those years, it seems like 1 or 2 unexpected things happened, and we got caught short and had to make a semi-desperation move(s) at the trade deadline to fix things. I hope we steer a more aggressive approach.
I'm sorry it's still eff Bellinger for me. There are only a few MLB players I genuinely dislike and hes near the top of the list. I think the little Pineapple for the outfield. Hes a damn pretty good hitter and give Blake Snell some money. That would be ideal to me.
