in that very article i posted from...the next blurb is that the Braves aren't trading that guy. that they're not interested in giving him up, and that's why they're playing him at different positions.
Saltalamacchia catcher should be first thing on the to do list. honestly if jennings really wants 12 million/year for a contract i'd ship him out to the braves with 1/2 other guys for Saltalamacchia. which would look bad because hirsh/willy/buccholz/other guy for Saltalamacchia looks horrible for the FO. rotation of oswalt, backe, sampson, nieve, williams for next year and extra money for a FA SP for 09 season. also have Patton for solid SP. (albers is a RP)
how is everyone else reading this? it sure reads like they're gearing up to be a buyer... but then it mentions a "young" catcher... assuming oswalt, berkman, lee and pence are all untouchable (with lee being the shakiest of that group), it seems the only commodities they have to offer are veterans: lidge, jennings, loretta; possibly williams, lamb, qualls and/ wheeler.
You don't have to assume with Lance & Roy: full no-trade clauses. I believe, but may be wrong, that Lee has at least a partial no-trade. Don't have time to look it up right now. There's an article in the STL paper about how Jocketty & LaRussa would love to get more starting pitching, but there is absolutely nothing worthwhile on the market right now.
I didn't read that part earlier, but it says that they aren't going to trade him right now, but might trade him later on if Thorman starts hitting better. It may be a pipe dream, but I am allowed to dream. Second straight week of mentions of Aaron Rowand being on the move, and the Astros could probably get him and that would form a talented outfield.
Most catchers at this point would be an improvement over Ausmus at this point. I think Ausmus does have value on this team, but not as the everyday catcher.
i was coming from the astros' perspective, in terms of who they might be willing to part with. clause or no clause, i doubt either of those guys would be offered up. lee, though, is interesting. he's 31 (iirc) and set to make A LOT of money these next 5 years. i personally like the guy - faster than he looks, decent in the OF; i don't think it really matters, but he seems like a nice, fun guy... but if he could get you a player of cordero's caliber (as he did last year for the brewers) plus an upgraded version of a kevin mench (which is possible, given he's not in the final year of his contract)... i think jennings is going to generate a lot of heat in about 45 days... assuming the astros are still 10-12 games under .500.
Agreed. Having a good pitcher at the trade deadline can get you a fortune these days. If we don't raise the white flag or the Cubs come together we might as well get allot in return for someone we don't even know will come back and for what price. Then trade Lee and Woody for a few more top AA prospects and all of a sudden the farm system should have some excellent talent and within a couple years we could actually be contender in a real division, providing other moves and the scouting decisions are made right. I threw in Woody since he wouldn't make it another few years when we could get back on top. I could go on with only a couple other names that could net a good return (Oswalt and Berkman off limits), but you get the point. I think if we trade for top AA prospects mainly, we could be real good real soon again. I couldn't possibly imagine what we could get for Oswalt, but i would be to sad for that one. Otherwise, it could take us nearly another decade to bring up a bat like Hunter Pence (provided Pence does pan out) like Berkman did. Seems like we can either pay for good pitching or good hitting. Not both. So if Purpura does make trades, he better think about that.
You can't trade Lee 4 months into a 6 year contract where he took less money to play here. It'll seriously hurt your future chances with any free agent, and anyone that ever comes here is going to want a no-trade clause.
most demand it anyway. players go where the money is; they don't care how carlos lee was treated, especially if the astros are offering 100 million reasons not to. and, he took less money? who was offering more?
The Giants offered something like $110-115MM. I agree free agents will go where the money is - but they won't be as likely to take a lesser Astros' offer over another offer to play in their preferred city if Houston were to show that they'd trade you after 4 months.
Rather than trade for AA prospects, trade for AAA players that are ready to make the jump to the majors. You could conceivably trade Lidge or Jennings to the Braves and net Saltalamacchia because the Braves need another starter and need someone to close instead of Bob Wickman. Salty is ready to play now and doesn't because he is blocked by Brian McCann. The White Sox, Phillies, Mets and Mariners all want a reliever and/or another starter and they all have young prospects ready to make the jump to the majors at positions that the Astros need. If there is a year for the Astros to make the moves to get younger and rebuild on the fly, this is the year to do it. Let the young guys get out there and play, learn from Oswalt, Berkman, Lee and grow with Pence and keep this team competitive for years to come.
how about lidge for indians catcher kelly shoppach, hes from texas, he went to baylor and hes only 27 years old this years stats 57 AB 2 HR .386 AVG 9 RBI 14 R the indians could use a reliever and they allready have victor martinez a star catcher, maybe theyd throw in another player
27 is young for the astros hes the same age as burke and mclemore hunter pence is the only younger player on our major league team
But he played in the Red Sox farm system for a while. That means he's an automatic superstar. ESPN told me.
Somewhat off topic (but relevant to this thread), it's amazing to see the responses on Justice's blog today. Apparently, before last night, the Astros could've gotten the moon for Lidge, while now he's completely worthless in a trade. Even discarding the incredible job Lidge did last night to get out of a runner on third with none out and keep the game tied, the idea that professional baseball teams would make realistic evaluations and drastically change their opinions of players by one pitch is just crazy. It's always amazing to me, though, to see how many people are dumb enough to think like that.
