New year new thread. Looking almost certain Houston is done making trades until July, but here’s one since the Twins look to have had their season destroyed by pitching injuries before it ever begins: Astros get: OF Matt Wallner C Joey Bart IF Mitch Jebb Pirates get: 3B Isaac Paredes Twins get: P Hunter Barco Astros get a really good controllable LH OF bat and a solid 2nd catcher, plus a decent prospect to upgrade their AA infield. Pirates get a controllable all-star 2B. Twins get the Pirates #4 prospect, who is an MLB-ready arm they can plug right into their rotation. Opening day roster: SS Pena 2B Altuve DH Alvarez 3B Correa LF Wallner 1B Walker C Diaz RF Cole CF Meyers Bench: Bart, Loperfido, Matthews, Allen SP: Brown, Imai, Burrows, Javier, Weiss, Arrighetti RP: Hader, Abreu, King, Okert, Pearson, Munoz, De Los Santos IL: Walter, Wesneski, Blanco, McCullers Optioned: Blubaugh, Gordon, Ullola, Teng, Alexander, Dezenzo, Smith, Whitcomb DFA: Salazar
Yeah. Dana Brown laid out a pretty clear picture today. Either the Astros get that ideal LH OF or they get Paredes lots of ABs via prescribed rest for Altuve, Correa, and Walker, and time at DH while Alvarez plays LF. I found it particularly interesting that he gave a range of expected time for our three older guys: 125–145 starts each is the ideal for the season. Honestly, I’m not sure how the Astros would expect to fill so many starts if Paderes was dealt. my suspicion is that they never wanted to trade him, but he may have asked to be traded.
I think the possibility was there during the arbitration process, but once it was negotiated then all bets were off. The Astros pulled him back but was willing to listen to any desperation offers from other clubs just in case.
