Fangraphs has updated the payroll with the arbitration estimates from MLBtraderumors. They have the Astros at 231 million for the luxury tax payroll without adding a single free agent. I'm expecting an extremely underwhelming offseason. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/astros
What time does Maldonado and Dusty announce their retirement, that's my world series..... Can't wait!!!!
Agreed. This group, for whatever reason, just didn't have it. That they were a game away from the world series and winning the AL is hard to believe. I hoped that they would kick it in gear when it mattered, and they kinda did, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Yep. They may have ~$20M to spend. But free agency is not going to be a place they can look to make major impact moves. They’ll probably be able to find viable answers at backup C and RP there, but any significant upgrades to the lineup or rotation are going to have to come via trade. Hard to see Crane going way above the line and hard to see Brown further decimating the farm. The team that played last night is probably 85%+ the team that they’ll run out on opening day in terms of projected production.
I think the frustration(aside from losing to the Rangers) is that despite the Astros not being a WS-caliber team, they managed to win their division and were up 3-2 with 2 shots at advancing to the World Series. And it's entirely possible still that the NL team awaiting them would be the 84-win Diamondbacks. Had this postseason played out as expected, the Astros realistically should've had no shot at repeating. But once the Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Braves, Dodgers, and even Brewers all went down, their odds went up exponentially. They just couldn't capitalize on it. It's the same frustration we have over 2019 and especially 2021. In the former, they were a 107-win team that couldn't win a single home game against the 93-win Nationals. In the latter, they lucked into facing the Red Sox instead of the Rays in the ALCS and 88-win Braves in the World Series which gave them home field advantage against both. The truth is they've had a lot of luck in this 7 year run. They had home field advantage in 2017 in the ALCS thanks to the Yankees beating the Indians. They faced the 87-win Phillies in 2022 instead of the Dodgers or Braves. Sometimes they've taken advantage. Other times they haven't. The "glass is half empty" side of us laments that they could have more than 2 rings right now.
Bring back Brent Strom. Crane should move the whole family here on his dime. Buy them all places in River Oaks.
These are just my opinions and nothing from the Astros....... I think the first and easiest issue is that the Astros need to have a line up with at least 8 above average bats in it. Baker insisted on Maldonado in the lineup and then we also had Pena. I expect the Maldonado situation to be fixed with Diaz starting 100 times behind the plate. My guess is they roll with Pena because of the glove and hope he makes n slight improvement with the bat so that he is basically an average offensive player. The second issue is the pen - and how the Astros choose to go about addressing it. They are losing Neris and a couple of others. They have an ageing Pressly and Abreu coming back to anchor the pen. They will also hope that a rested Graveman is effective. I think they need another arm in that pen that can shut people down, because those are the relievers that do well in the playoffs. That can be someone like Hader, who they want or that can be a trade for someone on another roster - OR that can be converting a starter to the pen. Someone like Garcia or McCullers or Brown could become very good one inning relievers. In the rotation - they need to get rest for Javier and Valdez and hope that helps them bounce back. Javier needs to be put on a conditioning program that he will actually follow. Verlander is 90% of the pitcher he was a couple years ago, and he needs to be treated with kid gloves going forward, even if he wants to go deep into games, he should be limited. Another quality starter would be ideal, but I don't think it will happen.
If the Astros have the money, get Mitch Garver. The Astros offense is likely the best or 2nd best in MLB if they do that (maybe even if they don't) and have a competent manager. Beg, borrow, and steal for pitching.
Ideal realistic 2024 playoff roster: 2B Altuve 3B Bregman DH Altuve 1B Abreu (showing his Aug-Oct play is his true self) RF Tucker CF McCormick LF offseason trade acquisition acquired for BoR SP (Urquidy or France) C Diaz SS Pena Bench: Dubon, Kessinger, free agent (Garver, Caratini, Grandal, Murphy), TBD prospect Rotation: Verlander, Framber, deadline acquisition acquired for prospects who broke out, Javier Bullpen: Pressly, Abreu, Brown, free agent (Moore, Hicks, Lopez, Hader), McCullers, Garcia, Graveman, Montero, TBD prospect Lineup is 8.5 deep, bullpen is STACKED, rotation is more than adequate.
I mostly agree and would prefer to get a backup C that can hit well enough to DH to keep Diaz fresh as well as Abreu and Alvarez. If they can't get that one more bat, I think the Astros could make things work with 7 above average bats and two plus defenders that aren't Maldy level hitters if they got even more pitching.
I am sure the Rangers will throw money to keep him - but I agree that he would be a really nice addition.
The fact that losing in game 7 of the ALCS is a down season for the Astros shows the level of expectations this team has and it's a rather insane expectation year in and year out. Wouldn't be surprised if they make it 8 straight appearances.
Tim Anderson's value is at an all-time low after a down year. I would bet he can bounce back in a different environment. Cease also had a slight down year and might be obtainable since White Sox may not want to extend him in their current rebuild mode. Would Pena + Hunter Brown + something else for Cease and Tim Anderson be worth it for us? Of course I want Luis Roberts but White Sox seem committed to keeping him after his stellar season.
Pretty clear from the get-go that our arms were either injured or dead. It was going to catch up with us at some point. Hitting comes and goes for individuals, especially when you've played a season's worth of playoff games. My off-season priorities: Rest up, heal up, and spend some money to lock in our key guys and buy some others. We don't need to spend like the Mets, but given this window, some taxes for the next two years should be justified.
3 under the radar OF that could be traded this offseason that make sense as Astros targets: Juan Soto, Randy Arozarena, Eloy Jimenez. All would be traded for financial reasons by teams that would likely be looking for big league assets in return rather than prospects. Hunter Brown could be a headliner for Soto. With Wander Franco getting locked up, Jeremy Pena might make sense to swap for Arozarena. Jimenez’s value is lower, but I could see the Sox taking France as the main piece for him. Another potential OF target could be Alex Verdugo, same situation, Boston would be looking for big league pieces. Maybe Urquidy for Verdugo makes sense.
