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2019 Houston Astros Thread

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thetruth

thetruth 149

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Posted (edited)

From Reddit:

Houston Astros traded 1B Tyler White to Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Andre Scrubb.

Houston Astros traded CF Tony Kemp to Chicago Cubs for C Martin Maldonado.

Houston Astros traded OF Derek Fisher to Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Aaron Sanchez and RHP Joe Biagini (Other pieces may be involved)

Houston Astros traded 1B/OF Seth Beer, RHP J.B. Bukauskas, RHP Corbin Martin and IF Josh Rojas to Arizona Diamondbacks for Zack Greinke and cash considerations ($24 million). (Other pieces maybe involved, though unlikely).

 

Does not include whatever we got for Stassi from LAA. 

EDIT: Also saw online it may have been Brady Rogers, not Josh Rojas. 

Edited by thetruth
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HtownHorn

HtownHorn 14491

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10 minutes ago, WBT said:

It's getting thin.  On the hitter side we still have Toro, Dawson, Lee and Brewer from this year's draft, and Nova but he's pretty far away.

yes, but where are these guys going to play? Most are blocked for the next 3-4 years. When you have a core like the Astros, you got to be flipping prospects for MLB talent.

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GHOSTUSER

GHOSTUSER 361

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13 minutes ago, runthebone said:

Luhnow is a fucking wizard, and Crane is the owner we have dreamed of.

Think if we had Crane as owner instead of the Baylor Baptist rape apologist fuckwad known as Drayton McLane back in Killer B era. Fuck Drayton, fuck Tim Purpura and fuck brick, red and open star logo hats and unis and finally FUCK TAL'S HILL. Just from a fan perspective when it comes to stuffing my fat face and enjoying MMP, Crane has been my hero with adding Shake Shack, Plucker's, Torchy's and getting rid of Tal's Hill. Finally, FUCK THE MCNAIRS AND THE TEXANS. GO STROS!!

Edited by Iconoclast Texan
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thetruth

thetruth 149

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Looks like the return for Stassi is 

Rainier Rivas

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-3, 220lb (190cm, 99kg)

Team: Los Angeles Angels (minors)

Born: June 29, 2001 (Age: 18-032d) in Maracaibo, Venezuela ve

Full Name: Rainier Andres Rivas

Raider Uceta

Positions: Rightfielder and Designated Hitter

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-0, 215lb (183cm, 97kg)

Team: Los Angeles Angels (minors)

Born: January 29, 2001 (Age: 18-183d) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic do

Full Name: Raider Wesly Uceta

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kevwun

kevwun 15664

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3 minutes ago, thetruth said:

Looks like the return for Stassi is 

Rainier Rivas

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-3, 220lb (190cm, 99kg)

Team: Los Angeles Angels (minors)

Born: June 29, 2001 (Age: 18-032d) in Maracaibo, Venezuela ve

Full Name: Rainier Andres Rivas

Raider Uceta

Positions: Rightfielder and Designated Hitter

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-0, 215lb (183cm, 97kg)

Team: Los Angeles Angels (minors)

Born: January 29, 2001 (Age: 18-183d) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic do

Full Name: Raider Wesly Uceta

Two more Yordans.

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thetruth

thetruth 149

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This guy also came back with the Fisher Trade:

Cal Stevenson

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

5-10, 175lb (178cm, 79kg)

Team: Toronto Blue Jays (minors)

Born: September 12, 1996 (Age: 22-322d) in Fremont, CA us

Draft: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 36th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from Chabot College (Hayward, CA) and the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ).

Schools: Chabot College (Hayward, CA), University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), University of Nevada-Reno (Reno, NV)

Full Name: Cal Stevenson

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Seasick Sailor

Seasick Sailor 3747

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Roundtable Reaction to the Astros Blockbuster Trade for Zach Grienke:

 

 

Roundtable reaction: The Astros’ blockbuster trade for Zack Greinke

GettyImages-1153241113-e1564606160522-1024x682.jpg

Just as the trade deadline seemed to be going out with a whimper, Ken Rosenthal broke the news: Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke is heading to the Houston Astros. It’s a huge move for the Astros, who add arguably the best starter who was available, a Cy Young winner and six-time All-Star who is 10-4 with 2.87 ERA, 3.9 WAR and a 7.11 K/BB ratio in 141 innings this season. In the process, they also kept him away from their potential AL playoff opponents, almost all of whom needed a starting pitcher.

The Diamondbacks bulk up their farm system with four prospects from the Astros: Corbin Martin, Seth Beer, J.B. Bukauskas and Josh Rojas. In addition, the Diamondbacks will send $24 million to the Astros, with Houston assuming the remaining $53 million on Greinke’s contract.

Here are the initial thoughts from The Athletic MLB’s national writers, along with our Astros and Diamondbacks reporters.

Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic MLB

On July 23, I sent the following text to an Astros official:

“Question for you, given the struggles of (Forrest) Whitley and (J.B.) Bukauskas and injury to (Corbin) Martin (and I know you don’t want to trade Kyle Tucker). How much does all this make things more difficult in trade talks?”

The official replied as you might expect, saying that he was not at all concerned, that the Astros’ system was plenty deep, stocked with attractive players. I thought to myself, “Ok, but the regressions and injuries surely will be an issue for them come the deadline.”

Shows how much I know.

The Astros pulled off their blockbuster for Greinke by parting with two of the pitchers I mentioned — Bukauskus, who has a 5.25 ERA at Double A this season, and Martin, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery. They also sent the D-Backs first baseman Seth Beer and infielder Joshua Rojas while receiving $24 million from Arizona to help cover the remaining $77 million on Greinke’s contract.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Astros further bolstered their pitching by adding right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini from the Blue Jays in exchange for outfielder Derek Fisher, who did not figure into Houston’s long-term plans. In short, it was a tour de force on a day in which two other World Series contenders, the Yankees and Dodgers, accomplished virtually nothing.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has now completed the two biggest trades of the past three years: the Aug. 31 deadline deal for Justin Verlander in 2017 and the Greinke extravaganza. The first led to a World Series title. The second might very well do the same.

After the Greinke shocker, the Astros official sent me back that text I had sent him in July.

What could I say?

Touché!

Jayson Stark, The Athletic MLB

Their Game 1 starter will be the major-league leader in WHIP — Mr. Justin Verlander (0.81).

Their Game 2 starter will be the major-league leader in strikeout rate — the ferocious Gerrit Cole (13.3 K/9).

Their Game 3 starter will be the guy currently leading the National League in WHIP — the enigmatically brilliant Zack Greinke (0.94).

That’s how those terrifying Houston Astros figure to line up in October, after swinging the Deal of the Deadline on Wednesday — with a mere “couple of seconds” to spare before the trade deadline came crashing down, according to one baseball official.

OK, repeat after me: Holy moly! That rotation doesn’t guarantee them another parade, obviously. But look around.

The Yankees went fishing for starters and couldn’t hook even one. The Indians subtracted Trevor Bauer. The Red Sox couldn’t find a single bullpen arm they had the prospects to deal for. And over in the NL, the Dodgers had no more late-inning bullpen dominators on the roster by dinner than they had at breakfast.

So who is better than the Astros — a team chasing its third straight 100-win season, with a roster full of guys who have already been fitted for World Series rings and now a rotation fronted by three of the five best starting pitchers in baseball this year? That answer is: Nobody.

In fairness to the Yankees, Greinke was never going to waive his no-trade clause to go to New York. Madison Bumgarner was never seriously in play. The Diamondbacks stared them down on Robbie Ray and never blinked. And Marcus Stroman apparently was never as high on that Bronx shopping list as we rumor-spreaders made him out to be.

Nevertheless, as one NL exec texted me Wednesday afternoon, here are your prospective ALCS matchups:

Verlander, Cole, Greinke vs. Tanaka, Happ, Paxton.

Whoa. I think I get the message. There are reasonable explanations for why the Astros pounced and the Yankees punted. Nevertheless, we just saw a seismic shift toward Texas in the American League Richter Scale readings. And that earth won’t stop shaking until Halloween.

Zach Buchanan, The Athletic Arizona

This trade is momentous for the Diamondbacks all by itself — Greinke is an ace, an ageless wonder and also the highest-paid player in team history by a long shot. That the Diamondbacks are receiving more than $50 million in salary relief along with four prospects (most of whom are notable, but none of whom are without their detractors) changes the face of the organization.

But the Diamondbacks also made three (three!) other trades in the final hour-plus heading into the deadline. They traded away their preseason top prospect in Jazz Chisholm for rookie starter Zac Gallen from the Marlins. They acquired Mike Leake — and his contract, heavily discounted by the Mariners — for a non-prospect. They traded Triple-A catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Braves for cash.

It will take time to determine just what this all means for the organization. They’ve thinned their shortstop and catcher depth in the short-term, freed up a significant amount of money and added to the farm system. They bought and sold at the same time, preserving their chance at the wild card. We’ll have to wait to find out how successful they were, on both counts.

Jake Kaplan, The Athletic Houston

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow managed to pull off another blockbuster without giving up his top prospect. In Greinke, the Astros got a Game 3 starter to slot in behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole and push Wade Miley to a Game 4. They also set themselves up for a Verlander-Greinke-Lance McCullers 1-2-3 in 2020 and 2021, if they’re not able to re-sign Cole in the offseason.

Though the Astros held on to Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley, they paid a steep price to land Greinke. Martin, Beer and Bukauskas are arguably their next-best three prospects, and Rojas is a potential super-utility player who can play in the majors soon. Combined, they represent a prospect package arguably better than what the Astros sent the Tigers for Verlander on Aug. 31, 2017, and definitely superior to what they dealt to the Pirates for Cole on Jan. 13, 2018.

Marc Carig, The Athletic MLB

The Astros have faced criticism for offenses like taking the soul out of the game because of their reliance on analytics. But when it comes to improving their team at the trade deadline, they sure have some old-school tendencies. While much of the league was hugging its prospects at 4 p.m. ET, the Astros pushed four of theirs onto the table for Greinke.

No doubt, the farm system takes a hit. But the addition of Greinke (and Aaron Sanchez in a separate deal) makes the Astros favorites in the American League.

This also makes it twice now that the Astros have outmaneuvered the Yankees in the race for an impact arm. It was in 2017 when the Astros pulled off a waiver trade to land Verlander, partly because of what the Yankees called financial constraints. This summer, it was clear that both the Astros and Yankees needed pitching reinforcements. Again, it was the Astros that moved the needle, with the Yankees relegated to the sidelines.

That’s not to say that the Yankees should have acquired Greinke in particular. But the situation demanded action, and on multiple fronts, they passed. The Astros answered the call, and they’ll probably be rewarded for it.

Eno Sarris, The Athletic MLB

Zack Greinke is 35 and his fastball averages under 90 mph. Here is the complete list of other starters that can say both of those things:

  • Jason Vargas
  • CC Sabathia
  • Adam Wainwright

Apologies to the crew, but none of those guys are getting the prospect haul that Greinke returned from the Astros, despite his new team owing him another $53 million after the conclusion of this season. Maybe I’m just saying that because Beer was involved.

The key to Greinke’s longevity has been constant innovation in an already wide arsenal — he added a power change to a plus slider, and this year has been using the slow curve more often as this season has gone on. But another key is his command. He has top-10 overall command in the big leagues (by Command+), and the only other qualified starter with five pitches with plus command by that stat is Masahiro Tanaka.

The way Greinke thinks about baseball is the way the Astros coaching staff thinks about baseball, too. If anyone can keep this machine chugging its way to Cooperstown, it’s the Astros. 

 

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Seasick Sailor

Seasick Sailor 3747

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As if that wasn’t enough, the Astros further bolstered their pitching by adding right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini from the Blue Jays in exchange for outfielder Derek Fisher, who did not figure into Houston’s long-term plans. In short, it was a tour de force on a day in which two other World Series contenders, the Yankees and Dodgers, accomplished virtually nothing.

 

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Fozzz

Fozzz 152

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That was a bold and smart deadline for the Astros.  Obtained a controlled ace and the only top 100 prospect they gave up just had TJS.  I think Greinke was a fair trade but they fleeced the Jays.  Between this and the Stroman trade, I would be livid if I were a Jays fan.  

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