2018-2019 Astros Offseason Thread

[formermav43 4599]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

As most of you know, I’m a huge Astros cheerleader but I’m a little worried . There have been big brain drain in the front office, scouting and analytics. I’m unclear on where Crane wants the payroll this year. Starting pitching, at this moment, looks to be going from a strength to a concern. Catching is a black hole. I welcome anyone who can talk me off the ledge.

 

They made the Cole trade in January. The winter meetings haven’t even happened yet. Your worry is extremely premature.

[TonyTexas 10478]

Its December 6th. Chill the F out.

That’s rich coming from someone who would piss and moan if we were down 2-0 in the top of the 2nd inning to the Rangers in a game in April.

[Scraps 13531]

Uh you got me confused with someone else.

[TonyTexas 10478]

Uh you got me confused with someone else.

You’re probably right. I might have been thinking about Mez. But you don’t need to tell me to chill the f out. All I did was point out concerns that most everyone has considered.

[formermav43 4599]

4 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

You’re probably right. I might have been thinking about Mez. But you don’t need to tell me to chill the f out. All I did was point out concerns that most everyone has considered.

You literally said  “I welcome anyone who can talk me off the ledge.” Isn’t that what he was doing? And now you’re upset?

I think pointing out how early it is is the most reasonable response to make. I don’t understand why anyone would be remotely concerned at this point.

[Scraps 13531]

Lol dudes trippin

[henrygandorf 29174]

there have only been two transactions that have affected the astros (since the diaz move that i like): we didn't sign eovaldi.  we signed chirinos.

while chirinos isn't a big deal, it's a little disappointing if it means we're not going after an actual "solution" type catcher.  and while they gave eovaldi more than i would've wanted us to give, he's a guy we definitely could use.

i'm not on the ledge, but sure, i would like to see less of us "linked" to moves that end up not happening, and more clues on what we're looking to do.  hopefully it'll come out of nowhere like cole.  the next month should be telling.

also, guys like corbin and goldschmidt going to teams that don't concern us, along with seattle's total dismantle project, are net positive for us, and make it more likely we're gonna make moves in july when we have a better grip on our situation.  i'm not worried.

[UTexasFight 9369]

Yeah, I’m very happy we’re going to have our very own Baltimore Orioles in our own division next year in addition to our very own Texas Rangers.

At this point (yes it’s only dec 6 but), it would sure lean that the division race shapes up much closer to 2017 than 2018.
Because of that, I would not expect anything too big in the offseason if a deal doesn’t present itself. That may mean having to overpay in July if there are huge holes to fill then, but I don’t see moves being made just to make moves between now and Spring Training.

[Mez2 4020]

58 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

You’re probably right. I might have been thinking about Mez. But you don’t need to tell me to chill the f out. All I did was point out concerns that most everyone has considered.

To be fair, I bitch and moan when we're losing in spring training games

[henrygandorf 29174]

heyman now has us linked to josh harrison. not sure how i feel about that one. 

[tx 3 putt 76158]

Fuck it, someone start the 2019 - 2030 Offseason Thread !

[Rimbo 25752]

RIP Luis Valbuena.

Died in a car accident.

Fuck.

[tx 3 putt 76158]

damn that’s horrible, too young 

he was a damn solid Astro 

[Fudge Nuggets 19118]

9 hours ago, Storm the Field said:

Real blockbuster relevation here:

 

That about covers it.

[runthebone 7929]

5 hours ago, Rimbo said:

RIP Luis Valbuena.

Died in a car accident.

Fuck.

Wow, that sucks.

 

Jose Castillo, the other person who died in the accident, was an Astro also—15 games in 2008.

Edited December 7, 2018 by runthebone

[Mez2 4020]

Damn, that's terrible news to hear

[LebongJames 1781]

The main addition the Astros can make this year is a healthy, productive Correa. If you get more production out of Springer that would go a long way. 

Dont get me wrong I would love to add another bat and a SP but this team will still be very good with just a little correction from 2018.

Altuve, Bergman, Springer, Correa are as good as any 4 hitters on one team in the AL.

[ckhorn 208]

2 hours ago, LebongJames said:

The main addition the Astros can make this year is a healthy, productive Correa. If you get more production out of Springer that would go a long way. 

Dont get me wrong I would love to add another bat and a SP but this team will still be very good with just a little correction from 2018.

Altuve, Bergman, Springer, Correa are as good as any 4 hitters on one team in the AL.

We will be much better offensively if they stay healthy. In Luhnow I trust. F the off season.

[tx 3 putt 76158]

We have springer / Verlander / Garrett / Correa renewal contracts in the near future.

i think any move we make will be short term. Cruz makes sense 

Edited December 7, 2018 by tx 3 putt

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

Olney snippet from today:

Spoiler

On paper, Eovaldi seemed like the perfect fit for the Houston Astros, who have a history of taking pitchers with really good arms and making them better. But the Astros never really engaged on the right-hander, leading to one industry theory that Houston is more locked into the trade market than folks realize and looking to pluck one of the best available starters in a swap -- and right now, the best appear to include Kluber, Bauer, Zack Greinke and Noah Syndergaard.

My guess would be Greinke out of these guys - can't see CLE trading either of those guys to a direct AL competitor, and with the Cano trade in the books, don't see the Mets dealing Syndergaard. Greinke could be had for next to nothing (prospect-wise) if the Astros take on most of his remaining dollars, I'd imagine. Or we could send good prospects if AZ will pay for them (by eating $10-20 million). 

[HtownHorn 14446]

3 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Olney snippet from today:

  Hide contents

On paper, Eovaldi seemed like the perfect fit for the Houston Astros, who have a history of taking pitchers with really good arms and making them better. But the Astros never really engaged on the right-hander, leading to one industry theory that Houston is more locked into the trade market than folks realize and looking to pluck one of the best available starters in a swap -- and right now, the best appear to include Kluber, Bauer, Zack Greinke and Noah Syndergaard.

My guess would be Greinke out of these guys - can't see CLE trading either of those guys to a direct AL competitor, and with the Cano trade in the books, don't see the Mets dealing Syndergaard. Greinke could be had for next to nothing (prospect-wise) if the Astros take on most of his remaining dollars, I'd imagine. Or we could send good prospects if AZ will pay for them (by eating $10-20 million). 

Cleveland doesn't care about where they send Kluber with the assets returned are good enough. He's the guy the Astros should target. 3 years of team control, but it will likely take one of Whitley or Tucker. Frankly I'd give up Tucker in the deal. OFs are easy to find.

[formermav43 4599]

I would think the whole point of trading for Kluber would be not having to give up either of those guys. 

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

4 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Cleveland doesn't care about where they send Kluber with the assets returned are good enough. He's the guy the Astros should target. 3 years of team control, but it will likely take one of Whitley or Tucker. Frankly I'd give up Tucker in the deal. OFs are easy to find.

Maybe. But they're built to win now, with Lindor and Ramirez entering their primes and with the pitching depth they have. 

Then again, I am not sure what Cleveland's objective is - they have starting pitching depth, so I understand if they want to swap that to fill holes in the OF or elsewhere. I guess they are trying to shed payroll while remaining competitive, but that's tricky (they'll win their crappy division easily, but they should be looking to remain competitive with HOU, BOS, NYY). Maybe a Tucker-Kluber deal makes sense because Tucker seems more or less MLB ready. 

[HtownHorn 14446]

3 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Maybe. But they're built to win now, with Lindor and Ramirez entering their primes and with the pitching depth they have. 

Then again, I am not sure what Cleveland's objective is - they have starting pitching depth, so I understand if they want to swap that to fill holes in the OF or elsewhere. I guess they are trying to shed payroll while remaining competitive, but that's tricky (they'll win their crappy division easily, but they should be looking to remain competitive with HOU, BOS, NYY). Maybe a Tucker-Kluber deal makes sense because Tucker seems more or less MLB ready. 

Their division is shit, and they understand that all the other 4 teams are doing complete rebuilds, and in 3 years, all will be better than them when Carrasco, Kluber, and Bauer are all FAs. They will have to pay for Lindor and Ramirez as well. So by trading one of their 3 guys, they can probably recover enough in terms of prospects so they can continue to have a competitive team built around Lindor/Ramirez while still winning the division in the next few years.

[WBT 20397]

On 12/2/2018 at 4:27 PM, Scraps said:

In case yall are bored

George had six hits tonight!

[Fozzz 152]

2 hours ago, formermav43 said:

I would think the whole point of trading for Kluber would be not having to give up either of those guys. 

Kluber’s surplus value exceeds the value of Tucker and Whitley individually. 

[Storm the Field 5270]

Rosenthal article today said Cleveland might be looking to attach Encarnacion onto a Kluber or Bauer trade, since he's owed $21M next season. 

Would obviously involve taking on a lot of money, but the prospect cost would drop significantly, and you solve your needs at both SP and DH.

[Snake Diggity 4614]

10 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

Rosenthal article today said Cleveland might be looking to attach Encarnacion onto a Kluber or Bauer trade, since he's owed $21M next season. 

Would obviously involve taking on a lot of money, but the prospect cost would drop significantly, and you solve your needs at both SP and DH.

 

I like it.  Say Encarnacion is $15M underwater, Kluber has $55M in surplus value, giving them an aggregate ~$40M in value.  I think Tucker and a 3rd tier pitching prospect like Armenteros would get that done pretty easily.  I’d be cool with that.  Maybe throw in Tyler White and have Cleveland eat $5-10M.

Edited December 10, 2018 by Snake Diggity

[runthebone 7929]

Like I said for an earlier proposed deal, might as well include AJ Reed and offer to pay for his food

[Snake Diggity 4614]

1 minute ago, runthebone said:

Like I said for an earlier proposed deal, might as well include AJ Reed and offer to pay for his food

Ha.  If/when Houston adds another position player, either White or Kemp will no longer have a roster spot, and since they are out of options, it makes sense to try to include them in a trade.  Reed is essentially out of hope as far as his future in Houston, but he still has an option remaining so he can be stashed in AAA (and is more likely than White/Kemp to pass through waivers if DFA’ed).

[tx 3 putt 76158]

Damn, we should have traded AJ after his big year in the minors. A wasted resource 

[Snake Diggity 4614]

There are plenty of examples of bat only prospects who followed Reeds basic trajectory and still ended up having big league success.  In the short term, guy like Luke Voit, Ji-Man Choi, and Peter O’Brien all were good prospects whose stock fell after initial big league struggles, but at age 25-27 project to be everyday big leaguers in 2019.  He just needs to dominate AAA and either hope a 1B/DH in Houston suffers a major injury or a rebuilding team makes it worth Houston’s while to give him up.

[Scraps 13531]

On 12/6/2018 at 9:38 AM, Scraps said:

Eovaldi hype is overrated

Sorry to rehash, but just saw this tweet.  

Blind FA starting pitcher resume from 2018:

Player A) 111 innings, 3.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 8.2 K/9. 28 years old.

Player B) 110 IP, 3.76 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.2 K/9. 30 years old.

Player A... Nathan Eovaldi. Player B... Trevor Cahill.

 

Therefore we just need to sign Cahill and we will win the WS!

[ckhorn 208]

2 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

There are plenty of examples of bat only prospects who followed Reeds basic trajectory and still ended up having big league success.  In the short term, guy like Luke Voit, Ji-Man Choi, and Peter O’Brien all were good prospects whose stock fell after initial big league struggles, but at age 25-27 project to be everyday big leaguers in 2019.  He just needs to dominate AAA and either hope a 1B/DH in Houston suffers a major injury or a rebuilding team makes it worth Houston’s while to give him up.

Or lose about 40+lbs

[Player 4575]

Flights and hotel booked for Yankees series in June. I know Scraps said previously that he'll be there. Who else is going?

[Scraps 13531]

Sweet...when I start getting beat down you can come save me 

[Storm the Field 5270]

Some obligatory "no news to report yet but I have a deadline" stories from the Winter Meetings: 

 

 

[Storm the Field 5270]

Glad to see that in that article that Tucker is up to 205, and trying to get up to 215. 6'4, 190 is just too damn lanky.

[Fozzz 152]

Reed's biggest problem is that he just didn't really improve last year.  His DRC+ at Fresno has been almost exactly the same from 2016-2018.  White made a big jump in performance in Fresno this season and deservedly got the PAs at 1B/DH when they became available.  

[Snake Diggity 4614]

I think it’s significant that Crane has given the luxury tax as his expected payroll ceiling.  That’s much higher than most of us expected.  A $190-200M payroll gives them a ton of flexibility.

[Fozzz 152]

Yeah, that's what, $60M of payroll flexibility if Crane is being serious?  

[henrygandorf 29174]

we're obviously getting harper.  maybe machado too.

[Mez2 4020]

36 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

we're obviously getting harper.  maybe machado too.

you kid, but i think we make a serious play for harper with an opt out option after 4 years

Edited December 11, 2018 by Mez2

[henrygandorf 29174]

5 years ago, i would've said you were crazy.  but with this group, nothing would really surprise me.

while watching mlbn in vegas, they go from story to story, and the one team that just never gets mentioned is the astros.  we're quiet.  too quiet.  maybe something is up.

[Mo Horn 8795]

57 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

you kid, but i think we make a serious play for harper with an opt out option after 4 years

We won it all two years ago and came close this year. I have no problem if our only off-season move is to use all available cash on Harper. He makes us better offensively and we keep all our prospects. There's no way he doesn't rebound this year. 

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

You guys are getting me excited with this Harper talk...

[Mo Horn 8795]

110 mph

[Storm the Field 5270]

 

Yaaaaawwwn.

[Scraps 13531]

Talks out there saying we are targeting Brantley

 

 

Shocking news i know

 

Cutch off the market...went to Philly

[Cooder 37]

110 mph

Dr. Andrews on line 1