I'm pretty sure you could trade a guy like Solomon/Nova etc.... and get a young up and coming guy like Moniak.
But would that get you a veteran CF with an average bat? A younger cost controlled CF with an average bat would likely be more, right? I suspect that as we get closer to spring training that the price will come down for remaining CF FAs, like Kevin Pillar, who may settle for a single year contract at that point. No loss of prospect capital. :shrug:
I just know there will be no championships with Straw as your everyday CF. Straw is fine in the 4th OF role. I would've spent more on an everyday CF rather than a backup C and a middling middle relief P with declining velocity. That seems like a misuse of funds to me.
Myles Straw, even if he's bad, in place of a league average CF will not be the difference between a WS contender and no chance in hell.
Dude. He was hired in Feb 2020 and had to deal with the PR mess of the cheating scandal, finding a manager willing to take on the mess, Spring Training getting cancelled and the season postponed, and a roster freeze until late June. Don't know how you can seriously count that a fair offseason to **** on him lmao. Sure, I'm not talking about the rest of his time here. I am simply arguing it is not fair to count last offseason against him. Sure I would have loved to have more help last year at the deadline. The pitching staff was destroyed and badly needed help. Those shouldn't cost that much so should've been possible even with our poor farm system; but that's not what I'm arguing here
Especially when you consider that there is a potential stud in the pipeline that could be called up at some point this season if Straw is THAT bad. Straw has a solid glove, is the fastest guy in the organization, and should be able to put up something like a .700 OPS....which isn't great, but not tragic for a 9 hitter who would have a ton of protection in the lineup and would be a dangerous weapon any time he got on base given his elite speed. I think the absolutely stacked state of the team has some people getting REALLY greedy. Not every player is going to be an all star caliber player, and that's okay LOL
We have the same problem with Rockets and Astros - we got spoiled by a truly elite team with few to no holes, and have forgotten what a really good team looks like. It is possible to compete at a very high level without a historically elite team.
Barring another signing. Toro, Stubbs, Souza, McCormick & Leon are the competition for the last three non-guaranteed spots.
I don't expect anything from Souza. He will be 32 in a couple months. He hasn't been good since he was 28 and nothing but injuries since then. I think the Astros are comfortable with a Straw and McCormick platoon. They keep talking McCormick up against lefties because he did this in 2019 in AA and AAA... vs LHP 78 ABs, .321 AVG, .418 OBP, 1.007 OPS, 5 HR He's going to be our CF version of Mike Brosseau
Corpus announcers hyped McCormick as someone ready to play well in the majors amongst the group of OF’ers. If he makes it, it’s as the starting CF unless the minor league season is scrapped. Good chance in taking five OF’ers..McCormick, Leon & Souza are good competition for two spots.
My sentiments exactly. Straw had a crummy 2020, like a great many players with much more experience. Maybe long term he will never be more than a utility player, but he still has upside and elite speed. All the doom and gloom over probably the best lineup in baseball (even if our 8 and 9 hitters are average or even below average) is par for the course for the instant gratification crowd. We are solid contenders this year for the WS, even with Straw or another journeyman in CF. No use in panicking ourselves into a bad trade or signing an equally iffy CF out of impatience. We might want to save our powder for mid-season trade or call up, after we know for sure what we have in house, not to mention the possibility that we might be working on an extension for Correa. Patience Grasshopper.
McCormick does have a more promising profile as a hitter than Straw. How much worse of a fielder is McCormick perceived as being compared to Straw? I like the idea of giving each an extended look this season compared to signing someone like JBJ. It's likely at least one of them will end up at least being in the same ballpark as a player to JBJ and who knows maybe one of them will pan out and look like a potential 2+ WAR player, saving the team money down the line.
Souza is a Christian.[26] Early in his baseball career, Souza lived a lifestyle characterized by "drinking, staying out late, chasing women."[27] After his live-in girlfriend cheated on him with a teammate, and he had a confrontation with Potomac Nationals manager Matt LeCroy, Souza briefly quit baseball in 2011 James Harden Junior.
