What I hope is we find a guy who wants a 1-2 year contract who wants a ring before he goes for his payday.
Looking through the bats available (not counting Hosmer and Martinez who I think are out of Astros price range), Duda and Lucroy seem like only likely decent upgrades unless Astros think they can convert an IF that has tools to play OF to the OF. Still don't want Duda any where near the OF, but warming to the idea of him instead of Gattis or Stassi if one of them is moved. Anyone else and they would need to sign for a very cheap deal. For free agent pitchers, Darvish is only I'm confident would crack the rotation unless Astros go with 6 guys. If 6, add Arrieta if you like him (personally not sure about him). Relief pitchers have been picked over. Some loogies still left, but would need to come cheap. I'm sure there is someone that showed something that suggests he'll be better than he has been, but no sure fire decent relievers. Maybe there is a starter that projects as good reliever that currently could not make the rotation. Free agent market does not look good for a stacked team.
I wonder if it’s possible that a team (like the Astros) made a bunch of lowball offers to free agents and let them know they were on the table until March 1. Could that be a potential cause of the slow market? Guys like Darvish and Martinez may have offers in hand from a contender and know they can wait out their more serious suitors. Doubtful, but it would be an interesting move and have the ancillary benefit of driving up prices and creating uncertainty for Houston’s opponents.
The Houston #Astros have already sold about 19,000 season tickets coming off the World Series, their highest total in 12 years. That Jose Altuve money is stacking up.
I highly doubt we sign any more FAs. Fact is, we have to pony up for our stars soon, and no one in this market is really worth a long-term commitment. Unless the price is stupid low, I don't see it happening. MLB CBA terminates in 2021. If this were 2019 or 2020...maybe a player is more likely to take a sweet short term deal. I would think this salary issue gets re-evaluated in 2021. There's a lot of pushback from the MLBPA regarding it's current set-up, and it's warranted. We could see a shift in how the MLB structures it's payout soon. Our MLB roster is fine and our farm is good. We're not in any rush to add guaranteed money for 2019 and beyond. Our team is in great financial shape moving forward. We have the flexibility to keep several of our young stars for long times to come. Darvish/Arrieta ain't happening. I don't see us risking our flexibility for anyone of the market, not with how well our organization is put together right now. It's honestly beautiful to see. Bravo Luhnow, Bravo.
I doubt Astros spend much on a free agent if they do. I see contracts 3 years or more as very doubtful.
I still think the Astros will go bargain hunting for a bat or lefty reliever once the market settles down. However they won’t extend themselves to the point that they can’t make moves in June. The reality is we don’t know now, what we will need in June. Most likely some hole will pop up.
Aye. LHRP and maybe catcher. If they're not trading guys off the roster I don't see what else fits. I'm expecting them, ST depending, to roll with Fisher/Jake/Marwin in LF early. Unless something cool comes up....then?
If 12 months ago someone would have told me that Houston could sign CarGo, Lucroy, and Darvish for less than $200M TOTAL this offseason, I would have thought they were stupid and that the Astros should be ALL OVER that.
12 months ago we were coming off season where we failed to make the playoffs. Not only did they win the WS in the interim, they also return pretty much every significant contributor on that team AND traded for a potential front of the rotation starter. Meanwhile CarGo and Lucroy had mediocre seasons in the interim and Darvish now has some question marks given his WS performance. So... whats your point? That it's much better to be the Astros this off-season than last off-season?
And thank JC we didn't, because those three combined over a year aren't worth 25-30 million total. CarGo for 5 million? ok. Lucroy for 4 million? ok. Darvish for 15 million? ok.
My comment was not related to Houston’s situation, it was about the players. My point was that those 3 players had dramatically higher values 12 months ago. And while their play over the last 12 months is a meaningful part of evaluating their value, a big(ger) reason for their decline in price is the overall market. My opinion is that all 3 of those players still represent potential upgrades to Houston’s roster at a better value than previously thought. Lucroy especially could be a multi year solution.
That looks awful cheap to me. Contracts Id be ok with for each of those guys: Lucroy: $27M/3yrs plus incentives and a $13M vesting 4th year option based on PA. Gonzalez: $12M/2yrs plus incentives based on PA, HR, and all-star appearances. Darvish: $123M/5yrs and a $27M 6th year vesting option based on IP. Darvish should easily beat that deal. But the other two guys may not, and if not I think they represent good values.
