Dana Brown has already remarked on Diaz being the guy next season. With Dusty gone, and our pitching not performing well enough to demand s**t I would be shocked if he came back. It's a shame that he has such a cult like influence in the locker room because I think he would be an ideal and cheap backup for Diaz. However there would be perpetual grumbles and whispers with Diaz constantly looking over his shoulder if Maldy was on the roster (and given his petty ass attitude I doubt he would make any effort to quell them)
My sentiments exactly. I like Maldy as a backup, he is a student of the game and brings in a wealth of knowledge. But pitchers overwhelming pick him over Diaz because of that same reason. Many pitchers would rather pitch to comfort than have extra run support. After all pitching is a lot about feel. Perhaps Maldy can tell Dana he’d only back up on Diaz’s off days. But I do t see that happening.
Maldy as player/coach so he can continue pitch/hitter scouting and game planning with/for Diaz with occasional rest day starts. Why isn't that possible? Surely Espada and Maldy can announce this to the clubhouse during Spring Training.
Your backup catcher is going to start somewhere around 30-40 games, ideally. Realmuto started 130 last season, next guy started 116 (same in '22, 120 & 119 in '21) What you're describing is a coach.
First question Dana Brown asked all the managerial candidates: "Tell me who your starting catcher would be if you got this job, tell me how many games he would start. You know what - **** that - take this pen and write down on this piece of paper the name of the starting catcher and how many games he will play. Then sign it in triplicate."
Full article here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-zips-projections-houston-astros/. I'm much higher on Diaz than this projection. I think he's a better hitter than Chas going forward and should be counted in the Big 6. Also, that's a good 3rd catcher.
I am counting on more from France & Garcia and much less from McCullers. Garcia could return much sooner than McCullers. Also expect to see Abreu miss a lot of time and maybe be replaced by the break unless he looks like he will outperform this projection.
Abreu's going to start slow because he always starts slow, even when he was good. And unfortunately, there are no good 1B options on the roster or in the minors to replace him. Given salary and lack of replacements, I think his lineup spot is pretty secure next season.
