I love what this is saying, which is that GM's don't give a damn about the emotional/(fan based) perception/marketing side of deals. They will do any deal if it helps the team. That said, Darvish hasn't been Darvish lately.
I'll admit to also being on the Britton bandwagon. Hell, I might be driving it. I still think that he has elite talent, and sure there is no guarantee he returns to his dominating form, but I'm willing to gamble a prospect or two that might not ever succeed at the MLB level. These question marks only give us more leverage. There is merit to the idea (my opinion). You might not agree with it, and you might stay as far away from Britton as you can, and that is perfectly fine, but that is just an opinion. Whatever the Astros decide, I hope it works out well for us.
I'm all for getting more lefty talent for the pen. But automatically instilling him above Devo or Giles in the highest of leverage situations is not necessarily for sure. He's been very inconsistent in all appearances thus far.
The Chicago Tribune put out an article this week that the Cubs are trying to trade for Mike Minor. https://sportsmockery.com/2017/07/cubs-interested-trading-pitcher-mike-minor/ Now, there is a lefty reliever who would cost a lot less in prospects than a big name like Britton or Hand. He's kept left-handed batters to a .123 average this year and righties to .239, with a 2.31 ERA this season. He used to be a starter and often comes in for multi-inning assignments. This is the kind of guy who would work well for the Astros. / I don't see that we have to deplete the farm to make key upgrades such as Minor replacing Musgrove or Sipp. The Royals are generally seen as buyers so I'm not sure if they could be induced into moving Minor, but they need help in the OF and at DH so maybe Kemmer or Teoscar get the job done. They would really like to have a right-handed starter but I think Martes is too precious to give up.
Verlander doesn't improve the playoff team unless 3 or 4 guys are injured. I'm not really concerned about planning for that any more than I would be for planning for in case Aluve, Correa, Springer, Reddick, and McCann get hurt. They don't need to improve the pitching core at all - they are the best team in the league despite having half their core missing much of the season. If they can improve the front end of the pitching, that would be nice. Getting a Verlander does not and probably actually hurts the team. This "gotta make a move" desperation is silly. It's one thing if you're going out and getting stars (Chapman for the Cubs last year, as an example0. It's another if you're just cycling through names for the hell of it.
Sure, I wouldn't immediately make that move, but I would be trading for Britton with the hopes of getting the dominant version, that would eventually move into the closer role, preferably in September, prior to the playoffs. And I would hesitate to make him the very valuable Andrew Miller, use in the most highest leverage role (like getting the 3-4-5 guys out in the 7th), only because I think it would keep him healthier and more mentally prepared this year to know the 9th inning is his.
Relieved that we didn't? If we acquired him, I would be holding my breath until he breaks again. Like Yao Ming redux. No, thanks. Also, the last couple times the Astros faced Yu, they got to him a bit.
If they can work out the money, I'm thinking our best option is Verlander/Wilson. Trade Fisher, F. Perez, Musgrove and one of Teoscar/Martin/Laureno/Cameron for Verlander and Wilson. Keep Martes/Tucker/Whitley I don't see anyone outside of the Dodgers having a better offer than that and they don't need Verlander.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/32055/yu-darvish Not sure what you mean here. Yea, he got blown up on July 4th One bad outing in June.
trust me, I live in the dallas area. nobody around here believes this has been a vintage darvish year. not saying he's been awful, but he hasn't been what people are accustomed to,
Perhaps lights out to dimmed considerably Not saying I advocate trading for him. But id rather have Darvish than McCullers right this moment. Come playoff time? Who knows. If Lance can regain his May form (0.99 ERA), then go Lance! Less than vintage Darvish is still arguably better than anyone we got not known as the Beard
It's silly to think this team is as optimized as it can be. They've survived in large part to a very potent and comeback oriented offense. If Fiers or Peacock start to struggle, it wouldn't be all that surprising. If Keuchel, LMJ, or McHugh get hurt or can't be as effective as their best, it's not surprising. The "don't do anything, we are the best!" analysis doesn't really ring true for me. Especially since anything short of a World Series is a dissapointment at this point.
ya. I agree with you in principle. i just don't know if I'd want to ship off a bunch of prospects for him. I wouldn't be devastated either way.
One of Moran Bregman or JD Davis won't be here after the trade deadline. They can all play, and you're just reaching a point of diminishing returns holding onto all three. If it's Bregman then you're obviously aiming for a deGrom Stroman level ace. If it's another guy then maybe a reliever or a Sonny Gray.
You do detect my sarcasm, right? But on a serious note, I get that even the Arlington locals are down on him at present (most of the year).
