[San Diego Union Tribune] Blum back to the Astros?

what are you talking about?

the astros won the NL pennant and the season ended. Jason Lane squeezed that fly ball. that was it. the end.

 

Blum is terrible.

 

Does anyone know what our plans are for Lamb and Loretta? Did we offer them anything or are we just letting them walk without getting any compensation?

 

Lamb is just about guaranteed to leave for a team that will promise him regular time at 1st or DH, a return to the Rangers is likely. Do not remember if Elias had him (or Loretta) rated as a Type B FA or not, if so the Stros would get a sandwich pick after the 1st round, iirc. The deadline for offering arbitration to FAs is not for a while, and it can still be offered after a player has signed with another team.

Loretta wants a starting job, and has told the Stros that if he can´t find one he´d like to return in the same role he had here last season, and the Stros would like him back in that role, but do not prefer him as the OD starter at 2nd.

 

Loretta is a type B free agent. Lamb is neither A nor B.

 

Knowing the Astros history (Pettite, Clemens, Kent) they won't offer anything and will let the player leave without a compensation pick. I don't understand it, but that's the way it's been.

 

Thanks guys, Lamb should be a B type. I would definitely go after him as my DH. Blum would be nice if we don't sign Lamb. He can play second or third pretty well. He should get a decent amount of PT if he comes here again.

 

In the case of Loretta and Trevor Miller (the other Type B free agent), you have to be prepared to want them back if they accept. I'm guessing they'll offer it to Loretta and not Miller. If it was a choice between Loretta and Blum, I'd take Loretta every time. He's simply a better hitter. Miller can just go away as far as I care.

Lamb is all but gone. He deserves an everyday shot somewhere. I think he'll get it in the AL.

 

But Brooks is a switchy.

 

He'll be 28 at the start of the season, has never made it to the majors and hit .218 last season at Round Rock. If he didn't get called up at the end of last season, I can't imagine the Astros have any plans for him.

 

Thanks, bobrek, for the clarification.

FA middle relievers are seldom offered arbitration, and he'd almost definitely accept, so I'd also be very surprised if they offered him.

 

They should sign Lamb at 3rd base and let go of that bum Wigginton. When Lamb filled in at 3rd, he was ten times better defensively. He is really underrated overall. He could get you about 25 homeruns and 90+ rbi's. If you look at his numbers and his AB's, you could easily tell that. He was also a clutch hitter.

 

I agree they should keep Lamb, but offensively, his stats are very close to Wigginton and, I don't know what games you watched, but Lamb is not a good defensive third baseman and, statistically, Wigginton is much better.

 

??????



Mike Lamb is a terrible defensive 3B. Wigg is nothing special, but Lamb just sucks in the field at any position other than 1B.

 

Does that mean Loretta is gone?

 

I doubt this move means that. Right now you can look at this as Blum replacing Bruntlett's spot.

 

Could be; they have a few different ways they can go with this.

Blum definitely takes over Lamb's role as reserve 3B/1B & LH bat on the bench, and also can play a very capable 2B. He's nothing but an emergency SS, I'd think.

They still need a RH bat on the bench (could be Burke if he's not traded) & a guy who can play capable SS. Could be Loretta, could be someone else (Ransom?).

 

I've not heard what the terms of this deal are, but it is exactly the kind of signing that the Astros should not be contemplating. There aren't words in the English language to describe how bad of an offensive player Blum is. His only contribution to a major league team is his versatility. I am 100% certain that the Astros could find in their own system someone who would provide, if not the same, quite similar value at a fraction of the cost. Even if he only costs $1.0MM year, a 26-yr old AAAA player making the league minimum would be much more worthwhile for the club.