2018-2019 Astros Offseason Thread

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

50 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

god hates cleveland

For good fucking reason. 

[huge 3788]

22 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

For good fucking reason. 

Yeah.  Who doesnt?

[TexArcher 37508]

Yeah, we swept the Indians by a combined score of 21-6 because someone took pictures of their dugout.

Eat shit, Cleveland.

 

[tx 3 putt 76351]

Welp, Marwin wrote his good bye to Astro fans. That guy brought a lot to the roster every night. 

Hope he cashes in 

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

5 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Welp, Marwin wrote his good bye to Astro fans. That guy brought a lot to the roster every night. 

Hope he cashes in 

Link?

[tx 3 putt 76351]

 

[Victor Lazlo 1761]

And that’s how you do it. 

Very classy goodbye  

Hate to lose him, but it’s not personal. It’s just business. 

Best of luck to Marwin.

His WS Game 2 home run in the 9th inning was the catalyst that made our World Series Championship possible. 

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by Victor Lazlo

[UTexasFight 9379]

7-2 assist to gun down Bird
Game 2 HR off Jansen
Single through Darvish’s 5 hole
Probably my top 3 Marwin moments





I have the gif on my phone of him blowing the smoke from his pistol after gunning down Bird but appears to be too large to upload to tapa

[UTexasFight 9379]

Kaplan on the Astros FAs
A lot of good stuff here but still more questions than answers

Their uber-talented position player core remains intact, but after the World Series ends free agency will hit the Astros harder than it has in any previous year of general manager Jeff Luhnow’s tenure.

Their list of players set to hit the open market includes two members of their major league-best rotation, their invaluable switch-hitting super utility man and their top two catchers from 2018. Six of their free agents were members of the franchise’s first World Series title team in 2017, and two have been in Houston since 100-loss seasons were the norm.

“It was a tough night the other night on a lot of levels because you’re watching another team celebrate on your field,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said on Monday. “It’s a tougher one when you look around the clubhouse and (realize) the threat of ‘That guy might not be here. Dallas (Keuchel) might not be here. Marwin (González) might not be here.’ ”

When the offseason begins, the Astros will focus most of their attention on filling out their rotation behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole and acquiring a catcher to guide their pitching staff.

They will undoubtedly explore reunions with some of their free agents, but it’s probably not reasonable to expect they will retain more than a couple of them, if any. Keuchel, González and Charlie Morton are their candidates to receive a qualifying offer, a one-year, $17.9-million contract that if declined would allow the Astros to recoup draft-pick compensation if they sign with another team.

Naturally, some reunions are easier to envision than others. Factoring in the expected demand for their players on the open market and the Astros’ needs, let’s run through the seven free agents in order of the likelihood they return to Houston.

Charlie Morton

Here are the most recent comments from Morton, who in the past openly discussed the possibility of retiring to spend more time with his wife and four kids:

“I’d love to keep playing. I’d love to be an Astro. I’d love to be part of this again. But ultimately, it’s not really up to me. It’s not solely up to me. Because I don’t dictate a lot of factors that are going into this. So, we’ll see where we’re at.”

Morton made these remarks late Thursday night at Minute Maid Park after the Astros’ season-ending loss to the Red Sox in Game 5 of the ALCS. It’s far from the first time he’s spoken about his desire to return to Houston, where he revitalized his career.

But Morton has also made it clear he considers his career to be winding down, and his apparent willingness to sign a shorter-term deal combined with his 2017-18 performance should make him attractive to a lot of teams. His value on the open market will never be higher, so the Astros must weigh how far they’re willing to go to re-sign the soon-to-be 35-year-old, even if it is only for perhaps another two-year deal.

The free agency situations of Morton and Keuchel and the uncertainty about Lance McCullers Jr.’s health renders a need for the Astros to acquire at least one starting pitcher this offseason. They could move Collin McHugh back to the rotation after his year as a reliever, but even then their other two spots would fall to unproven options like Josh James and Framber Valdez. Prospects Forrest Whitley, Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas could debut in 2019, but counting on rookies would be risky.

Morton, when healthy, is a proven commodity.

Martín Maldonado

The Astros have a gaping hole at catcher, where Max Stassi and Garrett Stubbs are their best internal options. (Stubbs, who has yet to play above Triple A, will require protection from December’s Rule 5 Draft.) Maldonado, despite his issues blocking balls in the ALCS, will be among the top options on the open market.

Though acquired in only July to share time with Stassi and Brian McCann, Maldonado quickly earned the trust of Hinch and the Astros pitchers and was the team’s starting catcher in six of their eight playoff games. Pitchers lauded the 2017 Gold Glove Award winner for his preparation for games, and his cannon arm neutralized potential base stealers.

“(Catcher is) definitely an area of focus for us this offseason,” Luhnow said. “No question.”

Marwin González


(Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports)
González has made himself a lot of money with his performance the last few seasons, a dynamic that could have him in a different uniform next year. What team planning to contend in 2019 couldn’t use a player like González, who can handle every infield position plus left field?

Among the biggest questions the Astros face in the next two weeks is whether to extend a qualifying offer to González, who like Maldonado and Keuchel is a client of agent Scott Boras. González’s second-half and postseason performance this season suggest he might be worthy of one.

Tony Sipp

Sipp probably earned himself at least a one-year contract somewhere with his bounce-back 2018 after two terrible seasons to begin his three-year, $18-million deal. And while that one-year contract certainly could come from the Astros, the veteran left-hander is more likely to end up elsewhere.

With Sipp’s contract off the books, perhaps this will be the offseason when the Astros target another lefty for their bullpen. While Valdez and Cionel Pérez are internal options to fill that role, the team might continue to develop them as starters until they prove they should be deployed otherwise.

Dallas Keuchel


(Kelvin Kuo / USA TODAY Sports)
It has long appeared a fait accompli on both sides that 2018 would be Keuchel’s final season in Houston. The 2015 AL Cy Young winner and two-time All-Star seeks his big payday, and this Astros front office has never signed a starting pitcher in free agency for more than three years and $30 million (Scott Feldman in December 2013).

Despite his regression in 2018, Keuchel will be one of the top starters on the open market regardless of whether Clayton Kershaw exercises his opt-out clause. Keuchel is coming off a healthy season in which he logged 200 innings for the third time in five years and will be 31 at the start of his next contract.

It’s expected the Astros will extend a qualifying offer to Keuchel so they can at least recoup draft-pick compensation in the event of his departure. He could find a home with one of the big-market teams that miss out on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado but saved money in anticipation of signing one of this free-agent class’ marquee players.

Brian McCann

While he’s beloved in their clubhouse, it’s difficult to envision a path back to the Astros in 2019 for the starting catcher on their 2017 World Series title team. McCann will be 35 next season and coming off an injury-marred year in which he had a career-worst .640 OPS in only 216 plate appearances, his fewest since his rookie year in 2005.

As of September, McCann maintained that he wanted to continue to play beyond this season, and he certainly could provide value to a team as a left-handed hitting platoon partner and a veteran leader in a clubhouse. An American League team that could give him some playing time at designated hitter might be an ideal fit. It seems unlikely to be Houston, though.

Evan Gattis

The Astros will look to upgrade at the designated hitter spot from Gattis, whose .736 OPS in 451 plate appearances in 2018 marked his worst in his four seasons with Houston. In his tenure with the team, he provided 96 home runs and a .769 OPS but his lack of a defensive position in 2018 hindered roster flexibility.

Tyler White, who supplanted Gattis at DH in the second half and in the playoffs, might get the first crack at the job in 2019. He will enter spring training having exhausted his three minor-league option years. The Astros could also look to acquire another position player via free agency or trade to absorb at least some DH at-bats. It probably wouldn’t be another DH-only type, though.

 

[Pablo 494]

That Kaplan article is opening our minds to quite a turn-over in the roster.   This will be an extremely interesting offseason and hopefully Luhnow/Crane aren't done cashing World Series merchandise checks.  I feel they expected this team to go back to back, which could lead to an overhauled roster ready to challenge Boston.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Pablo

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

9 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

Huh. He's a useful player and seems like a guy his teammates genuinely like. And yeah, he was obviously a major contributor throughout the club's ascension. 

I'd love to have him as a utility guy, but I am not sad that he won't be in the lineup every day, or starting the most important games in LF. 

He'll do well in FA. 

[Mez2 4021]

hit the most important homerun in astros history. 

[texashorne 1177]

His grand slam against the Rangers was awesome in 2017.. 

[Snake Diggity 4614]

That Kaplan article makes me think they might QO Keuchel, Morton, and Gonzalez and hope they all decline (although they probably wouldn’t mind if Morton accepted).  3 extra draft picks plus no more intl signing penalty means they could use 2019 as a year to create a wave of potential core players, or at least restock the farm with deadline trade chips.

They may end up just adding a catcher and a starting pitcher and otherwise rolling with what they have.  Still likely a 95 win team and they can always go get what they need at the deadline.

 

CF Springer

3B Bregman

2B Altuve

SS Correa

C TBD

1B Gurriel

LF Tucker

DH White

RF Reddick

bench: Kemp, Stassi, Marisnick

rotation: Verlander, Cole, TBD, McHugh, James

bullpen: F Valdez, Peacock, Devenski, Harris, Smith, Rondon, Pressly, Osuna

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

18 minutes ago, texashorne said:

His grand slam against the Rangers was awesome in 2017.. 

I know his WS homer was his most important, and, as Mez said, probably the most important in Astros history, but that Grand Slam against the Rangers was my favorite Marwin moment, with his outfield assist on Bird being a close second. 

[Mez2 4021]

I want no part of tyler white as our DH next year. 

[Beau Vine 53999]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:04 AM, Jshep34 said:

Hopefully we can make a trip to wpb next year. Next year will be Correa make or break year. Hate to hear news about LMJ. Think Ted could hold down LF if given time. Im not sold on Goldy coming here as a 1 year rental. 

It wouldn't be a 1-year rental. 

[LCHorn 2585]

17 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

I want no part of tyler white as our DH next year. 

Uh, why?

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

47 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

That Kaplan article makes me think they might QO Keuchel, Morton, and Gonzalez and hope they all decline (although they probably wouldn’t mind if Morton accepted).  3 extra draft picks plus no more intl signing penalty means they could use 2019 as a year to create a wave of potential core players, or at least restock the farm with deadline trade chips.

They may end up just adding a catcher and a starting pitcher and otherwise rolling with what they have.  Still likely a 95 win team and they can always go get what they need at the deadline.

 

CF Springer

3B Bregman

2B Altuve

SS Correa

C TBD

1B Gurriel

LF Tucker

DH White

RF Reddick

bench: Kemp, Stassi, Marisnick

rotation: Verlander, Cole, TBD, McHugh, James

bullpen: F Valdez, Peacock, Devenski, Harris, Smith, Rondon, Pressly, Osuna

Gonna need some IF depth if Marwin is gone...

[Planet Houston 4923]

From a fielding/defense perspective, I wonder whether they’ll want Kemp to get back to playing some 2B and to work on other infield spots to help with the loss of versatility. 

Edited October 24, 2018 by Planet Houston

[Mez2 4021]

42 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Uh, why?

because he sucks? he had a great, what 2-3 month, portion of the season? in fairness he did a lot to help us win and had some huge hits for us, but can you really count on him to be a full time DH? he went 3-13 in 8 games in the post season. and sorry but i can't forgive him for not swinging the bat as a called-upon pinch hitter at a pivotal moment in a playoff series. throw out his 2017 season (61 ABs) and use his 2016 and 2018 where he averaged 230 ABs.

his average stat line with a more sizable sample size:

.247 average, .320 OBP, .456SLG, and .776 OPS.  

sorry if i would expect a full time DH

 

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

19 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

because he sucks? he had a great, what 2-3 month, portion of the season? in fairness he did a lot to help us win and had some huge hits for us, but can you really count on him to be a full time DH? he went 3-13 in 8 games in the post season. and sorry but i can't forgive him for not swinging the bat as a called-upon pinch hitter at a pivotal moment in a playoff series. throw out his 2017 season (61 ABs) and use his 2016 and 2018 where he averaged 230 ABs.

his average stat line with a more sizable sample size:

.247 average, .320 OBP, .456SLG, and .776 OPS.  

sorry if i would expect a full time DH

 

He is more or less Gattis with a tick less power but a tick more on-base ability. Probably a slight upgrade. 

Would love to see a trade for a guy like Justin Smoak, who wouldn't figure to cost much in terms of prospects but who can DH capably most nights (he hit righties very well).

[runthebone 7932]

49 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

because he sucks? he had a great, what 2-3 month, portion of the season? in fairness he did a lot to help us win and had some huge hits for us, but can you really count on him to be a full time DH? he went 3-13 in 8 games in the post season. and sorry but i can't forgive him for not swinging the bat as a called-upon pinch hitter at a pivotal moment in a playoff series. throw out his 2017 season (61 ABs) and use his 2016 and 2018 where he averaged 230 ABs.

his average stat line with a more sizable sample size:

.247 average, .320 OBP, .456SLG, and .776 OPS.  

sorry if i would expect a full time DH

 

Agree, we need to upgrade DH

[henrygandorf 29174]

we need a guy who's our dh.  not a guy we put at dh because he's the odd man out or we like someone slightly better at some position.  i really thought/hoped that would be gattis this year, but that didn't work out.  i'd rather it not be tyler white next year.  ideally it's a lefty (i don't hate the smoak idea).

i think we extend qo's to those 3 guys.  dk won't take it.  marwin won't get 17mm next year (obv) but i have to think he's looking for 3-4 years so he'll turn it down (unless he tells luhnow he wants to figure out a way to stay, which i don't see happening).  morty i'm not sure about.  does his family live in houston?  i can see him wanting to play another couple years or retire.  i don't see him weighing offers and playing the market, that doesn't seem like his personality.  would be great if he gave us a reasonable discount for having faith in him a couple years ago, but they may be wishful thinking.  either way, with the new rules, we don't get quite the return for those qualifying offers (someone less lazy or more informed can fill us in on what we get now).

as for our rotation, and seeing how baseball has changed, i'm wondering if mchugh isn't helping the team more in his 2018 bullpen role.  i'm also wondering what happens with a guy like peacock, who went from high rated prospect, to ok starter, to awesome reliever, to average reliever left off the postseason roster.  i think he has another couple years of team control, and could be an "initial out getter" or whatever we're calling it, if we choose to go that route.  he still has good stuff, he just needs to figure out where he left it.  sipp is expendable, go find a lefty.

in the current state of free agency (what we want to spend vs who's out there), i'd like to err on the side of not making any huge moves (unless they make goldschmidt happen).  so many big names move around every july these days, i'd kinda like to see what's what around then, and make a move that makes sense.  up until mid oct, our 3 relatively small july moves looked genius.

and regardless of how he looked vs boston, i like maldonado.  what we do at catcher will be interesting.  i would ask jv and cole to weigh in on that as well.

2019 is our last year with our current "window" of players, so it wouldn't surprise me to see our front office get aggressive to respond to "only" getting to the alcs.  it's a nice place to be.

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

19 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

I have the gif on my phone of him blowing the smoke from his pistol after gunning down Bird but appears to be too large to upload to tapa

Got you:

[Guadaloopy 10921]

5 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

we need a guy who's our dh.  not a guy we put at dh because he's the odd man out or we like someone slightly better at some position.  i really thought/hoped that would be gattis this year, but that didn't work out.  i'd rather it not be tyler white next year.  ideally it's a lefty (i don't hate the smoak idea).

I'm not sold on the idea of a full-time DH only.  Despite our flawed recollection, the DH slot was our most productive RBI spot in the lineup last year with 106 RBI (granted 75 of those came from the "full-time" DH, Gattis).  Smoak had 77 RBI in 147 games.  White had 42 RBI in 66 games.  

Say we did have a DH-only player that knocked in, oh I don't know, 130 RBI (Martinez), but didn't have a position or played the same position as the number three (Benintendi) and four (Betts) RBI guys.  What do you do when you play in the NL park in the World Series?

I liked the flexibility that we had with the DH in the playoffs this year and didn't think Gattis should have been on the roster.  Our production problems this year were not in the DH slot.  They were at SS and the corner outfield spots, especially LF.  Tucker figuring it out and Correa having a healthy season would make all of the difference and we wouldn't worry about the DH spot at all.  You could rotate White, Yuli, Kemp, and Tucker in the DH slot all year and combine to have a 1-2 WAR DH, I think.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Guadaloopy

[UTexasFight 9379]

Good discussion on the DH.
I’ll add my $0.02:





F selig

[kevwun 15643]

I would be leery of going in to the season relying on White to produce.  He is not a known quantity at this point because he's really only has one really good stretch.  If it was an aberration, it puts them in a bind for the first half of the season.

Edited October 25, 2018 by kevwun

[kevwun 15643]

Couldn't go back and edit, but if Tucker still isn't ready, it would really cause problems.  I don't think they should go in to the season with 2 unproven bats in the lineup.  This is their last year of the core guaranteed to be intact and I think they need to go all out for another title.  I think HG is right about how they will approach the off-season.

Edited October 25, 2018 by kevwun

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

2 hours ago, Guadaloopy said:

I'm not sold on the idea of a full-time DH only.  Despite our flawed recollection, the DH slot was our most productive RBI spot in the lineup last year with 106 RBI (granted 75 of those came from the "full-time" DH, Gattis).  Smoak had 77 RBI in 147 games.  White had 42 RBI in 66 games.  

Say we did have a DH-only player that knocked in, oh I don't know, 130 RBI (Martinez), but didn't have a position or played the same position as the number three (Benintendi) and four (Betts) RBI guys.  What do you do when you play in the NL park in the World Series?

I liked the flexibility that we had with the DH in the playoffs this year and didn't think Gattis should have been on the roster.  Our production problems this year were not in the DH slot.  They were at SS and the corner outfield spots, especially LF.  Tucker figuring it out and Correa having a healthy season would make all of the difference and we wouldn't worry about the DH spot at all.  You could rotate White, Yuli, Kemp, and Tucker in the DH slot all year and combine to have a 1-2 WAR DH, I think.

I don't disagree that positional flexibility is a bonus, but you need a solid bat at DH, and White doesn't really provide much help on defense.

The Astros' DH position ranked 8th (of 16) in wRC+ (114) - so, middle of the pack, hitting .243/.308/.480. It's not horrible, but could be better. The rotation you suggest could be fine. 

But Smoak would be an upgrade from Gattis. He has posted OBPs of .355 and .350 the last 2 years, and wRC+ of 133 and 121 (Gattis was 106 and 99). 

TOR needs to make room for Vlad Jr (he's not likely to play 3B in MLB) and I believe Smoak has a year left...he could likely be had for a few lower-level prospects. He's the type of guy that could solidify the DH spot.

I'm not saying Justin Smoak is the be-all/end-all, just that he's the type of hitter that could be a likely upgrade and could probably be had for a minimal investment. 

[ckhorn 208]

14 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Huh. He's a useful player and seems like a guy his teammates genuinely like. And yeah, he was obviously a major contributor throughout the club's ascension. 

I'd love to have him as a utility guy, but I am not sad that he won't be in the lineup every day, or starting the most important games in LF. 

He'll do well in FA. 

He's also a good dude.

[ckhorn 208]

19 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

I don't disagree that positional flexibility is a bonus, but you need a solid bat at DH, and White doesn't really provide much help on defense.

The Astros' DH position ranked 8th (of 16) in wRC+ (114) - so, middle of the pack, hitting .243/.308/.480. It's not horrible, but could be better. The rotation you suggest could be fine. 

But Smoak would be an upgrade from Gattis. He has posted OBPs of .355 and .350 the last 2 years, and wRC+ of 133 and 121 (Gattis was 106 and 99). 

TOR needs to make room for Vlad Jr (he's not likely to play 3B in MLB) and I believe Smoak has a year left...he could likely be had for a few lower-level prospects. He's the type of guy that could solidify the DH spot.

I'm not saying Justin Smoak is the be-all/end-all, just that he's the type of hitter that could be a likely upgrade and could probably be had for a minimal investment. 

Question. I like Smoak, but is he an upgrade over Marwin with the bat. Not even mentioning the versatility he adds.

[ckhorn 208]

11 minutes ago, ckhorn said:

Question. I like Smoak, but is he an upgrade over Marwin with the bat. Not even mentioning the versatility he adds.

Kind of did some research myself. With the exception of 2017. Smoak is kind of the LHH Evan Gattis. I would prefer Nelson Cruz for one year.

Dam. Gattis maybe is better.

I'd pass on Smoak.

Edited October 25, 2018 by ckhorn

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

10 hours ago, ckhorn said:

Kind of did some research myself. With the exception of 2017. Smoak is kind of the LHH Evan Gattis. I would prefer Nelson Cruz for one year.

Dam. Gattis maybe is better.

I'd pass on Smoak.

Until the last 2 years, Smoak was not very good. But he was better in both 2017 and 2018 than Evan Gattis, by a lot. 

In 2017-2018 combined, Smoak was tied with Jose Abreu for the highest wRC+ (128) among AL first basemen - and tied for 6th in MLB with Abreu and Bellinger, only 2 points behind Anthony Rizzo. He has a combined .353 OBP over the last 2 years (Gattis's career high is .319 in 2016). 

Speaking of - here is how Smoak compared to Rizzo and Abreu in 2017-2018:

Smoak: .256/.353/.495; 63 HR

Abreu: .287/.341/.517; 55 HR

Rizzo: .278/.384/.489; 57 HR

Again, I'm not saying we should invest in the guy over the long haul; just that, if he is available (he figures to be) and can be had for 2-3 lower-level prospects (he figures to be), he is a guy worth looking at that should provide an upgrade at DH every day - essentially to replace Gattis on the roster. There would not be much risk involved in that sort of deal.

Cruz has been a very good hitter consistently, to be sure -  he turns 39 next year. If you can get Cruz on a 1-year deal, well hell, I'd be fine with that for sure. 

[Snake Diggity 4614]

career wRC+:

Justin Smoak: 105

Tyler White: 112

Evan Gattis: 110

Marwin Gonzalez: 103

Nelson Cruz: 129

 

If they aren’t going to spend the money on an elite bat (which Smoak is not), rolling with Whitey is the best option.

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

1 hour ago, Snake Diggity said:

career wRC+:

Justin Smoak: 105

Tyler White: 112

Evan Gattis: 110

Marwin Gonzalez: 103

Nelson Cruz: 129

 

If they aren’t going to spend the money on an elite bat (which Smoak is not), rolling with Whitey is the best option.

I would argue that what Smoak has done the last two years is more relevant to 2019 than what he did early in his career...and over his last 1200+ PAs he's hit pretty much like Rizzo and Abreu, either of whom I think we'd all be excited about. Anyway...I'm not suggesting it has to be Smoak specifically or that he's a savior, just trying to identify guys that could be inexpensive upgrades. 

All things being equal, I'd prefer Cruz...would be great if we could get him for a year, but he'll probably want more than that. I just don't see Lunhow giving a multi-year deal to a 39-year old DH. 

But, yeah, to your point - White could be capable - he's just more of an unknown because of his limited ABs. I'd be fine with giving him first crack at DH. And that's probably the most likely scenario. 

[FondrenRoad 4378]

On 10/24/2018 at 10:10 AM, Snake Diggity said:

That Kaplan article makes me think they might QO Keuchel, Morton, and Gonzalez and hope they all decline (although they probably wouldn’t mind if Morton accepted).  3 extra draft picks plus no more intl signing penalty means they could use 2019 as a year to create a wave of potential core players, or at least restock the farm with deadline trade chips.

They may end up just adding a catcher and a starting pitcher and otherwise rolling with what they have.  Still likely a 95 win team and they can always go get what they need at the deadline.

 

CF Springer

3B Bregman

2B Altuve

SS Correa

C TBD

1B Gurriel

LF Tucker

DH White

RF Reddick

bench: Kemp, Stassi, Marisnick

rotation: Verlander, Cole, TBD, McHugh, James

bullpen: F Valdez, Peacock, Devenski, Harris, Smith, Rondon, Pressly, Osuna

I'd try to resign Maldonado.  I roll with the exact pitching staff you have listed there, and give Whitley, Bukauskas, and Armenteros a shot at the bigs before I start looking to sign help.  I trade White ASAP for whatever I can get even if its just a pitching machine or a bucket of balls.  There has to be a serviceable fat guy that can hit HRs available somewhere.  I'd even rather just rotate guys in from the farm system until one sticks than have White playing there.  Anybody can stand up there and strike out.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

White is a good hitter.  I’d keep him at DH.  Upgrade catcher.  

[Guadaloopy 10921]

22 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

I'd try to resign Maldonado.  I roll with the exact pitching staff you have listed there, and give Whitley, Bukauskas, and Armenteros a shot at the bigs before I start looking to sign help.  I trade White ASAP for whatever I can get even if its just a pitching machine or a bucket of balls.  There has to be a serviceable fat guy that can hit HRs available somewhere.  I'd even rather just rotate guys in from the farm system until one sticks than have White playing there.  Anybody can stand up there and strike out.

Have you ever heard of this thing called “recency bias”?   Maybe give it a look. 

White had some huge moments for the team this year and one really visible moment of failure in a key spot.  

Carlos Beltrán watched strike three to end the ‘06 NLCS.  By your logic, he probably should have given up on baseball at that point.

 

[FondrenRoad 4378]

5 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

Have you ever heard of this thing called “recency bias”?   Maybe give it a look. 

White had some huge moments for the team this year and one really visible moment of failure in a key spot.  

Carlos Beltrán watched strike three to end the ‘06 NLCS.  By your logic, he probably should have given up on baseball at that point.

 

Maybe.  I have just never really liked White as a hitter even when he had a pretty good streak going.  Don't know why.  Maybe its his stance.  I think those "huge moments" were luck, but either way, we will probably get to see him have another shot at it this year.

[Jacob McCandles 202]

Maldonado named GG finalist. Would love to keep him and add a great bat at DH

Key question for lineup is whether Hinch and Luhnow think Tucker is ready to be the everyday LF

 

[kevwun 15643]

He is going to be given every chance to win the job during spring training.  He's past the point of AAA doing him much good.

Edited October 25, 2018 by kevwun

[henrygandorf 29174]

tucker should be given every opportunity, and assuming the rest of our lineup is healthy and hitting, we can afford to be patient.  unfortunately, the combination of his slow start and the state of our lineup did not line up properly this past season.  until he gets 500+ ab for multiple seasons and hits .210, i'm going to assume he's on his way to being a solid contributor at the very least.  having him rake at aaa does nothing for him or us.

[HtownHorn 14485]

If you get Smoak, he is your 1b, and Gurriel would move to DH.

[kevwun 15643]

I haven't seen Smoak play recently, but Yuli is well above average at 1st.  Is Smoak really as good or better there?

Edited October 25, 2018 by kevwun

[APMP 685]

I haven't seen Smoak play recently, but Yuli is well above average at 1st.  Is Smoak really as good or better there?

Yeah I haven't looked at any metrics but my eyeballs say Yuli is a good glove at first. He's aging but still has those hot corner instincts from his early days.

[Pablo 494]

I love Yuli, but how old is he really.   This post-season for him was a real disappointment compared to last year.  Maybe he never recovered from the hamate bone injury.

Hoping he goes back to his leading the league in RISP batting average next year and can produce in the playoffs.

White, what a tough call.  I knew he was going to be irrelevant during the post-season.  I feel like he feasted on shitty pitchers and never produced against real pitching.  

I don't know that he's the DH of our future, but he sure tears up AAA.

Tucker is such an enigma.  He destroys AAA and still hasn't hit one home run in the show.  Hopefully he WINS the LF spot without question and allows us to buy a real DH or something else beneficial.

[ckhorn 208]

27 minutes ago, Pablo said:

I love Yuli, but how old is he really.   This post-season for him was a real disappointment compared to last year.  Maybe he never recovered from the hamate bone injury.

Hoping he goes back to his leading the league in RISP batting average next year and can produce in the playoffs.

White, what a tough call.  I knew he was going to be irrelevant during the post-season.  I feel like he feasted on shitty pitchers and never produced against real pitching.  

I don't know that he's the DH of our future, but he sure tears up AAA.

Tucker is such an enigma.  He destroys AAA and still hasn't hit one home run in the show.  Hopefully he WINS the LF spot without question and allows us to buy a real DH or something else beneficial.

Really? God I hate the off-season.

[Pablo 494]

Just now, ckhorn said:

Really? God I hate the off-season.

Hey, me too.  F the off-season.

[Mez2 4021]

In American years, Yuli is like 32, 33.

In Cuban years, he's 63