Solomons stuff is not as good as Dubins. Solomon’s probably better used as a starter, especially while he has options and can be used as an ad hoc spot starter. Houston’s currently projected AAA rotation: Brown, Whitley, Dubin, Solomon, Abreu, Bielak, Bermudez, and Ivey is absolutely stacked and each of them could contribute solid innings on the Astros next season. Dubin and Abreu project as potential elite relievers who are probably worth giving them 2022 to prove if they can be top SP. Bielak, Solomon, Bermudez, and Ivey are probably BoR or multi-inning relievers. Whitley, Brown, and Solis have legit ToR potential and should be developed as starters until they are either established in the majors or out of options.
I agree that Solomon is better off as a starter, or maybe long reliever if he moves to the pen. Bielak looked much better in the second half, and I can see him potentially building on it next year, though we are loaded. I think we should take advantage of our incredible pitching depth and turn it into something via trade.
I'm not sure Solomon has the endurance and control for starting. He's got a varied arsenal that gives him potential as a long reliever if Astros still want one. That said, his cutter is incredibly interesting in long and/or short outings. It looks like his fastball out of his hand which allows it and the fastball to play well. Once out of his hand, it dives hard giving it some swing and miss as well as being a groundball machine so far. Very small sample, but I would like to see a lot more of that pitch.
I wasn’t the person who replied to your original comment. I think the answer is no, it would have been a bad trade, but the framing provided in the graphic is not the best illustration of why. The fWar and the salary are really the only two meaningful points. They both put up basically the same value, but Tucker’s salary was 30x lower. So the other poster is making a reasonable point in highlighting the salary is the difference, not their respective outputs.
Couple hypothetical trades: Astros get: CF Cedric Mullins SP John Means Orioles get: RHP Hunter Brown RHP Forrest Whitley OF Chas McCormick RHP Bryan Abreu 3B Joe Perez Astros get: RP Taylor Rogers 1B Aaron Sabato Twins get: SP Jake Odorizzi SP Jose Urquidy $4M Resulting roster: 2B Altuve RF Tucker CF Mullins DH Alvarez 3B Bregman LF Brantley 1B Gurriel SS Diaz C Maldonado Bench: Pena, Castro, Siri/Meyers, Jones Rotation: Verlander, McCullers, Valdez, Garcia, Means Bullpen: James, Javier, Montero, Maton, Stanek, Baez, Rogers, Pressly
I've wondered how available Cedric Mullins might be - he is, for Baltimore, an ideal sell-high candidate: a (now) 27-year old rookie who put together a terrific season that doesn't really look like any other season of his, majors or minors.
Oh I agree with @awc713 that it’s an incomplete thought process. That said, I’m glad the Astros didn’t trade him. Tucker has superstar written all over him and he’s on the cheap right now.
I agree it’s unlikely he’s traded. But if Baltimore could get a prospect package like the one I described it probably makes sense for them. Mullins is about to be arbitration eligible and is very unlikely to repeat his 2021 production; also, as an older player with low service time, if the new CBA changes free agency to be based on age instead of service time then his value will take a big hit. Add in that Baltimore has a very good OF prospect in Cowser and would add a very good replacement in McCormick, and that deal makes a lot of sense for the Orioles to me.
Wasn't a lot of Mullins' improvement due to going left hand only? Seems like a sustainable improvement.
No to this deal. If Means is truly being shopped then Click should look into what it would take to get him. What do you think it would take?
I am not that big of a fan of Means, as I think he’s a 2-3 win pitcher going forward which makes him a #3 or #4 on a true contender, so I think his value is inflated from being the only good pitcher on an awful team. I like that his profile seems to complement the rest of Houston’s rotation and I do think he would represent a meaningful upgrade over Urquidy/Odorizzi at the back of the Astros rotation. The most I would be willing to offer is 2-3 of Houston’s 2nd tier prospects. I would go something like Whitley as the headliner plus any 2 of Abreu, Dubin, Solomon, Perez, Siri, or Barber. I don’t think that would be enough tho as some other team that likes Means more would likely give up 2 really good prospects for him.
Right; it's completely disingenuous. You weren't trading for '20/'21 Realmuto; it would've been '19/'20 Realmuto, who made ~$16MM those two years and was extremely value. He may've been the difference between winning/losing '19 World Series. I think it's a trade you win in the short-term, lose in the long-term - much like the Gerrit Cole deal (which didn't involve a player as good as Tucker). (And for the record, I never wanted them to trade Kyle Tucker.)
When I post something like that it doesn’t always mean it’s what I believe. Sometimes it’s to spark conversation. I’m not so sure Realmuto would have been the difference in 2019. The bullpen closing out the last few innings would have done it. That series was there for the taking regardless. Not saying things couldn’t have been different with Realmuto but should have won it anyway. For me that still stings more than 21. I’m still glad that deal wasn’t done if it was ever on the table. Now if you tell me without a doubt Realmuto would have been the difference then yes I do it all day long.
Considering how well Maldonaldo (edit and Churro) played in the 2019 World Series and up to it in the playoffs, starting Tucker over Reddick likely would have made a bigger positive impact than having Realmuto instead of Tucker.
They lost game 1 by a run; they scored 2 runs in games 6 & 7; Chirinos twice batted with 2 runners on in game 7 and was 0-2. There are a million little reasons teams win/lose - but putting JT Realmuto on the '19 Astros makes that great team even better.
