[Official] Astros Offseason

Locks:
C (1): Diaz
IF (4): Walker, Altuve, Correa, Paredes
OF (2): Meyers, Alvarez
SP/LR (6): Brown, Imai, Burrows, McCullers, Javier, Weiss
RP (4): Abreu, King, Sousa, Okert

Firmly In the mix:
C (1 spot open): Salazar, Vasquez; doesn’t really matter
IF/OF (5 spots open): Pena, Allen, Smith, Trammell, Loperfido, Matthews, Cole; Pena starts on IL and Cole goes to AAA
P (3 spots open): Arrighetti, Munoz, Lambert, Roa, De Los Santos, Blubaugh, Teng; I think it’ll be Munoz, Lambert, and Teng, with De Los Santos on the IL and the rest sent to AAA

Dark horses:
IF/OF: Unroe, Biggio, Dezenzo, Whitcomb, Biggers
P: VanWey

 

Why would you think this, he's always been a 5 or 6 inning pitcher.

 

Because he was young and had good stuff. The Astros thought the same thing, obviously. Also, nothing wrong with going 6 innings in today’s game. No reason to believe then that he couldn’t improve enough to squeeze out 1 more inning as he aged.

 

exactly, I've been one of the most vocal critics of Jake, but he's the best OF on the team. That should be very scary for the Stros org. Best we can hope for is Cam and Dezenzo to play like they did the 1st half of last year. Unfortunately that would make the Stros lineup extremely right handed. This is why I've been really wanting Dana to add a LHB OF. I guess it's still possible he could trade for one. The D-Backs seem like good trding partners IMHO. Dana hasn't done a good enough job this offseason

 

Read Nick's post upthread for my response.

Truth is Javier has never been in good enough shape to be more than a 6 inning pitcher and guys that get in better shape as they age are rare. Brown is a 6 inning pitcher who improved to a 7th inning pitcher because he stayed in better shape.

 

They also aren't good enough to overcome their manager like they used to be.

 

Ok. Well, Nick also knows that the Astros signed him for 65 million. Which means they also thought he would improve in that area. I am fine with my own opinions.

Some here never offer opinions or predictions. They just report what has transpired already and pretend they’re so smart.

 

This is a huge problem

 

As long as they've got pitching they should be making trades to fill positions of need using a couple of Blubaugh/Hicks/Ulolla type pitchers. The only untouchable guys IMHO are Frey/Alvarez/Pecko and maybe Janek. Otherwise, use the other milb guys to find a LHB OF.

I'm talking about a Nootbar type OF.

 

I've given many opinions here over the years.

I'm still not a Jake fan BTW,

 

You’re a good poster. I was not referring to you. They know who they are

 

I could have prefaced that as I was suspicious/casting concern when he was first extended. I thought either Javier was really happy to take any sort of guaranteed deal worried about his ability to have a longer career as a starter…. Or the Astros were being made aware that his renewed commitment to fitness and they needed to get out of their comfort zone some.

They just never gave him the same sort of regular young starter regimen/outings/opportunities in the early years… something was always a little off and left out of the public disclosure on his stamina/exercise/arm status.

But if you want to believe in WAR/$ type assessments to see what you’re paying for…if he has a bounce back year this year the Astros will probably get their moneys worth if you combine all his pre-arb/arb/bought out FA years.

 

Absolutely no one complained or even expressed concern over Javier’s extension when it happened.

now look.

lol

 

This may be true, and probably is

But if you are Dana Brown, you can't take that chance. Cause if we don't make the playoffs this year, it's very possible someone else is directing the shots on the retool, rebuild, or whatever the hell you want to call the next step

 

Can we QO an opt out?

 

Yes

 

If he does well he’s gone. 1 year guy. Dodgers will give him 373 million dollars.

 

Astros brass to Imai, "What if we were to tell you that you can have your contract guaranteed for 3 years plus 5 million more and a lifetime supply of churros, but you'd have to x out the player option. Would that be something you'd be interested in?"

 

FYI I’m still not complaining. $65M for a starting pitcher isn’t some massive investment. I’m not sure if it was your intention but you made a comment making it seem like he got paid and stopped caring. Meanwhile, all I’ve been saying is expecting him to be what he was in 2022 and post a 2.50 ERA isn’t realistic.

If he’s a mid to high 3 ERA guy, he’s worth that deal. We’ll find out this season how the deal ends up looking.

 

I disagree. That was an extension they didn’t have to give at the time. The organization had high hopes for him. Also, I asked if others thought that his subpar performance was due to his motivation after he signed the deal. Someone else mentioned that it could be the injuries, I did not argue that, as that could easily be the issue rather than his work ethic or attitude.

But to say that extending someone still deep in team control at 65 million is nothing just doesn’t make sense. He makes 21 million this year and next. The Astros felt very differently about his value at the time than your hindsight today. I imagine that you did too. Also, it actually is realistic to think a pitcher could perform as well as he did at 25 (or close) when he’s 28 and healthy again.

actually he turns 29 in a few days I think