2023 Official Astros World Champs Offseason Thread

[Murfdogg21 4417]

4 hours ago, Js1 said:

What are the odds we offer a Correa Twins type deal to JV? 

I'd like one more year to finish the cloning JV into Hunter Brown's body. 

And what if JV gets hurt or regresses to the average 40 year old, and then opts in to the remaining years at $35M+?
 

I was on the fence about resigning Correa last year, probably leaning more towards signing him. I feel like I’m in the minority this time around for not wanting to resign Verlander for anything more than 1 year $30 or 2 years $50. I want Kate Upton to hang around as much as the next red blooded hetero Houstonian, but you pay for what you’ll get, not what they already gave you. 

[Reese Bennett 3615]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Good thing they put the color key at the top or it would have been difficult to see which pitcher was which piece of the pie. The shades of orange contrasted with the same blue really tie it all together.

[Scraps 13570]

Probably pitch a two-hit complete game shutout against the Astros. 

0.0% chance lol

[UTexasFight 9518]

27 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

Probably pitch a two-hit complete game shutout against the Astros. 

And the rangers would somehow still lose 

[tx 3 putt 77264]

31 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

Probably pitch a two-hit complete game shutout against the Astros. 

in may ?

do not care. This thread would be funny though - fire dusty, fire click, dfa multiple players, why didn’t Whitney start, where’s Leon, hire dusty back so we fire him again ….

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

52 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

You are better than this.

He would have finished 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd among AL 1B in wRC+, wOBA, and WAR last year.

Also had the 2nd best ISO amoung qualified 1B, with the 4th best BB% which is also helped out by his ability to get hit by pitches.

This was also a down year for offense across the board in the MLB. HRs dropped from nearly 6000 to 5200.

That quite frankly shocks me. Didn’t he have like a 740 OPS?  When did first base become a position of wall hitting ninny’s. I’m getting old I guess. 

[TonyTexas 10519]

1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

He would have finished 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd among AL 1B in wRC+, wOBA, and WAR last year.

Also had the 2nd best ISO amoung qualified 1B, with the 4th best BB% which is also helped out by his ability to get hit by pitches.

That would all be great if, you know, he was a first baseman. 

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

1 minute ago, TonyTexas said:

That would all be great if, you know, he was a first baseman. 

Y’all overvalue defense at 1B.  Picking balls isn’t a magical skill only a few can do- it’s like the worst 1B in the league picks 5% less then the best 1B in the league. Any donkey given the right attitude can play passably there. You are probably talking about 10 runs difference between the worst of them and the best of them. I’m sure Contreras would be fine there. If he caught 50 games and played 100 at 1B/DH that would be just fine. 

[Guadaloopy 10996]

6 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Y’all overvalue defense at 1B.  

I bet the Phillies think 1B defense is pretty damn valuable after game 5.

[Mitch Hedberg 2090]

2 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

They’ve got to get some real OF bats and something at either 1B or C, preferably both.

Yordan simply can’t be the everyday LFer.

and much like 2017 when bats up and down the lineup were having career years, the same thing happened with the pitching staff in 2022.

Offense has to be significantly better next year to cover for whatever regression will be coming to pitching next year. 

This.  100 percent.

[HtownHorn 14757]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

That quite frankly shocks me. Didn’t he have like a 740 OPS?  When did first base become a position of wall hitting ninny’s. I’m getting old I guess. 

Nope it was .815, he had a really good year.

51 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

I bet the Phillies think 1B defense is pretty damn valuable after game 5.

and our shitty defensive backup 1B made one of the defensive plays of the playoffs.

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

1 minute ago, HtownHorn said:

Nope it was .815, he had a really good year.

and our shitty defensive backup 1B made one of the defensive plays of the playoffs.

Exactly. 

[TonyTexas 10519]

Contreras gets Q.O. adding the loss of a high draft pick to his cost. 

 

[tx 3 putt 77264]

Someone is giving him a 3 year deal 

[Scraps 13570]

Lol @ Giants giving Joc a QC....doofuses 

[henrygandorf 29194]

what's the latest on conforto?

i know we don't really sign big name free agents, but if there was smoke 2 months ago, there should be smoke now.

[TonyTexas 10519]

8 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

what's the latest on conforto?

i know we don't really sign big name free agents, but if there was smoke 2 months ago, there should be smoke now.

Probably looking at a 1 year, prove it deal in the $15M-20 range. 

[Gut Wagon 8086]

I have no idea what we'll do at 1B. Maybe it's Yuli again. Regardless, it strikes me that without the shift, there will be a greater need for 1B to have some range. We've recently grown accustomed to 1B mainly needing to field throws, but sans shifting, an extra few feet of fielding range could really help. Of course, that then would put more of a demand on pitchers to cover first, which we didn't see quite as much of in the shift era. I don't know if Contreras fits this defensive mold or not.

[tx 3 putt 77264]

Back to the odo trade, we didn’t need smith at all (and wouldn’t have needed odo), but dumping odo’s salary for $1mil was just a damn good astro money ball move 

[TexArcher 37997]

3 hours ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I feel like I’m in the minority this time around for not wanting to resign Verlander for anything more than 1 year $30 or 2 years $50. I want Kate Upton to hang around as much as the next red blooded hetero Houstonian, but you pay for what you’ll get, not what they already gave you. 

This is exactly where I am on this.

I don't mind paying top dollar, for one year.  He did just win a CY and he's a fan favorite and all that.  But, if he wants top dollar for 3+ years, he can go get it somewhere else.  We're loaded with starters that we trust more in October than JV anyway, and we could use that money to sign a very nice 1B instead.

Edited November 10, 2022 by TexArcher

[tx 3 putt 77264]

$30 to $35mil, we are lucky that starting pitching isn’t an area of need. How likely  is it he’ll repeat his 2022 numbers ?

[UTHornFan014 710]

With the qualifying offers for Rizzo and Contreras I think I'd rather see us bring in Abreu on a 2 year deal (and I wouldn't be upset if we tried to bring Yuli back on a cheap deal as a utility type player).

Don't really want to lose a high draft pick signing Rizzo or Contreras

Edited November 10, 2022 by UTHornFan014

[UTHornFan014 710]

Also, I personally wouldn't bring Montero back at the contract numbers that have been thrown around, but I know Dusty and Crane really like him. 

[TonyTexas 10519]

Nice! Yordan and Altuve are Silver Slugger winners 

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by TonyTexas

[Dennis Taylor 18849]

9 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

JV opts out.
 

Wow got out of his feelings pretty quick. Guess that $60M for nothing got us no 'hometown discount ' . Good luck elsewhere and go ahead and start making mid October vacation plans for '23

[TexArcher 37997]

Honestly, I feel like it's for the best.  I like JV, but there's little chance of him being anything other than overpriced starting in 2024 if not 2023.  Best of luck to him, unless he goes to the Yankees or Dodgers.  

[HOOKEM4 5039]

5 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Wow got out of his feelings pretty quick. Guess that $60M for nothing got us no 'hometown discount ' . Good luck elsewhere and go ahead and start making mid October vacation plans for '23

This is exactly why I don't think it is smart to re-sign him. Not out of spite or malice, but purely because I don't believe he will keep this level of play rolling for 3+ years. I don't think we NEED him to win and if we spend what it would take to keep him, it would likely hamstring us on key positions. I love watching him in a stros jersey but it just doesn't seem to make for a good baseball decision.

Edited November 11, 2022 by HOOKEM4

[Gut Wagon 8086]

I assume he opted out to negotiate a better deal with Houston. 

[HOOKEM4 5039]

1 minute ago, Gut Wagon said:

I assume he opted out to negotiate a better deal with Houston. 

That goes without saying, but it is time he is looking for and I don't think it is on his side. From a quality standpoint.

[Scraps 13570]

I assume he opted out to negotiate a better deal with Houston. 

Lol yeah fans get butthurt cause they know nothing.

Will he sign here ultimately? Who knows....but him opting out means diddly poo at this point other than he is going to make more than 25MM next season and he knew it and his agent knew it.

[Dennis Taylor 18849]

5 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Lol yeah fans get butthurt cause they know nothing.

Will he sign here ultimately? Who knows....but him opting out means diddly poo at this point other than he is going to make more than 25MM next season and he knew it and his agent knew it.

Obviously he wants more years and/or $ but the Astros should not do it. 

And nice Jom Mora homage

[TexArcher 37997]

8 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Will he sign here ultimately? Who knows....but him opting out means diddly poo at this point other than he is going to make more than 25MM next season and he knew it and his agent knew it.

It means he wants a multi-year deal that starts with more than $25M next season.  And he'll get it.  None of that is a surprise, though, and neither is opting out.  He was never going to take the 1-year deal here when his leverage will never be higher than after the season he just had.

[rvm96 1643]

19 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Wow got out of his feelings pretty quick. Guess that $60M for nothing got us no 'hometown discount ' . Good luck elsewhere and go ahead and start making mid October vacation plans for '23

Well the over $60 million the Astros paid him was insured for injury so it cost Crane nothing other than putting them closer to the luxury tax

[Mitch Hedberg 2090]

We really need to get the GM situation handled. We’re talking about what we may be able to go get with pitching to trade but we have no idea what somebody may be offering for starting pitching. Let it be known someone may be available and then see who wants to overpay for a starter. Let the bidding begin. He who has the gold makes the rules and pitching will always be the gold.

[Murfdogg21 4417]

20 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Honestly, I feel like it's for the best.  I like JV, but there's little chance of him being anything other than overpriced starting in 2024 if not 2023.  Best of luck to him, unless he goes to the Yankees or Dodgers.  

I hope he does go to NYY or LA and eats up $35-40M of their salary for ‘23 and ‘24 while Father Time proves the Astros were right to spend their money elsewhere. 

[tx 3 putt 77264]

I'm a pass on Rizzo ..'

.

[tx 3 putt 77264]

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

There is a decent chance JV is really really good for the next 3 years. That’s inconsequential to us as we don’t need another really really good pitcher in the regular season to get to the playoffs. 
You re-sign him if you think he’s essential to your playoff goals. I’d argue he probably isn’t. Let him walk, Brantley walk, Yuli walk, Montero walk, and you should have about 80M to spend up to the tax line to get a high quality 1B bat, a high quality OF bat, and a really solid #2 catcher. Your lineup is then 8 deep again and you still have 6 quality SP and Presley, Abreu, Stanek and Abreu as high quality leverage bullpen arms. 
this isn’t particularly hard or confusing. 

[tx ind 7013]

I know it's drunk and disorderly spending but imagine if you could get Judge for 5 years.

Edited November 11, 2022 by tx ind
redistribute JV's $'s for it

[ChickenSandwich 9844]

3 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There is a decent chance JV is really really good for the next 3 years. That’s inconsequential to us as we don’t need another really really good pitcher in the regular season to get to the playoffs. 
You re-sign him if you think he’s essential to your playoff goals. I’d argue he probably isn’t. Let him walk, Brantley walk, Yuli walk, Montero walk, and you should have about 80M to spend up to the tax line to get a high quality 1B bat, a high quality OF bat, and a really solid #2 catcher. Your lineup is then 8 deep again and you still have 6 quality SP and Presley, Abreu, Stanek and Abreu as high quality leverage bullpen arms. 
this isn’t particularly hard or confusing. 

I think you lose all of those at the same time you could lose some clubhouse mental toughness. 
 

JV makes the staff better and more confident. Young studs are studs. WS window is now. Sign him and leverage  your pitching depth for better pieces than available in FA

[henrygandorf 29194]

15 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There is a decent chance JV is really really good for the next 3 years. That’s inconsequential to us as we don’t need another really really good pitcher in the regular season to get to the playoffs. 
You re-sign him if you think he’s essential to your playoff goals. I’d argue he probably isn’t. Let him walk, Brantley walk, Yuli walk, Montero walk, and you should have about 80M to spend up to the tax line to get a high quality 1B bat, a high quality OF bat, and a really solid #2 catcher. Your lineup is then 8 deep again and you still have 6 quality SP and Presley, Abreu, Stanek and Abreu as high quality leverage bullpen arms. 
this isn’t particularly hard or confusing. 

and neris.

[tx 3 putt 77264]

 

[TexArcher 37997]

18 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

WS window is now.

I think the WS window is the next several years.

At the end of last season, when some were questioning if our window was over, I said we were 5 years into a 10-year window.

Now, hell, I think I might have undershot it.

We're not in a position to have to mortgage future depth to try to squeeze out one more ring.  We're in a position to try to turn this into a very long dynasty with a bunch of rings like the Spurs.

[tx ind 7013]

5 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

Throw Tucker that cash plus some extra $’s and extend him.

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

10 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

and neris.

See- forgot about him.  It’s stupid how much high quality pricing this team has. The idea of paying a Montero $8 or 12 M is quite frankly insane to me. The idea of giving JV 40 seems silly to me as well too. Much rather give JV 40 than 2/24 or 3/30. 

[tx 3 putt 77264]

6 minutes ago, tx ind said:

Throw Tucker that cash plus some extra $’s and extend him.

 

michael connor on the radio today said he's a $200mil player. he also felt this year's free agent list was weak 

Edited November 11, 2022 by tx 3 putt

[Wulaw Horn 19145]

Contreras for 18M, Abreu for 18M Hanniger for 12M- all on 2 or 3 year deals. That’s 48M way better spent than JV and Montero. It’s just a big need on the one side and an absurd surplus on the other. 
 

jV- 25, Diaz- 5, Yuli- 6, Brantley 16 +28M that was unspent equals 80M. I spent 48 that’s leaves you 22M for extensions and arb raises. 

[tx 3 putt 77264]

BUT FIRE DUSTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Amos Moses 795]

They’re not giving up a draft pick for the pleasure of watching Contreras underperform. Let’s put that one to bed please.

But I’d wholeheartedly agree with Abreu and Hanniger.

[tx 3 putt 77264]

6 minutes ago, Amos Moses said:

But I’d wholeheartedly agree with Abreu and Hanniger.

 

at the right price. if they can get brantley and yuli back for 1/2 price, do it