The season isn't over. Even without adding anyone this team has enough talent to win the World Series. That said, its gut check time. This 9 game homestand vs average teams is a great opportunity to get back to where this team was a week ago. There is a lot of baseball left and this team has shown their character before. I can see (and fully expect) Altuve, Abreu, Bregman, Alvarez, and Tucker to play at an All Star level and Framber, Javier, Brown and 4-5 bullpen guys to be unhittable the 2nd half of this season. The other guys like Brantley, Urquidy, McCullers, Chas and Jake along with any new Astros traded for will determine if a 1ST rd bye and home field advantage can be secured. Nobody will want to face the Astros in the playoffs.
You forgot Diaz. I'm still optimistic as well, because at some point I think Crane and Dana will step in and force Dusty's hand.
I feel more like August 17 vibes. Carlos got hurt, they went 11-17 for the month and looked to be circling the drain after being the best team in baseball the first 4 months We know how that turned out. . .
Expect the Athletic to release more anti-Astros stories to help with its clicks... The Athletic announces layoffs and a new approach to its sports coverage https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/06/12/athletic-layoffs-new-york-times/
That is the preference I am sure. They have spoken to guys that are right handed though as well.... and starting pitching. When I was told that they were looking at Bellinger a few weeks ago - I will admit, I raised an eyebrow.
Hypothetically speaking, can you remember another possible trade similar to this? The fans don't like him, and I'd imagine some on the Astros never forgot what he said.
MLB is a business Did The Red Sox or Yankees consider the fans before signing Marwin Gonzalez? And he wasn't even projected to be starter, much less a cog or vital contributor. As long as the players can exist together without killing each other, this is all stuff the media and fans think about but players and teams don't.
He isn't ideal and if he is the only "get" then I wouldn't be happy with him. However he does hit right handed pitching well, his OPS this year was like .850 the last I checked, and he has an OPS around 800 for his career against righties. Also, he hits a fair amount better outside of Oakland, so he has that going for him. If he can play 1st, a corner outfield spot in an emergency - and follows his career average, he should have an OPS north of .825 against lefties ... which is pretty good in this day and age. I wouldn't give up a lot for him - but I don't think he would cost a lot - but he is solid insurance for a team like the Astros.
He has been trying to make a move for at least several weeks. The vast majority of teams have not made a decision if they are buyers or sellers. The Royals are willing to make moves, but their asks have been nothing short of bizarre. The new front office in KC makes moving Perez more likely, but I am not sure how the Astros would handle that at all. Scott Barlow would make some sense, but that is about it from the pitching side. Yainer Diaz has a LOT of power, it really started to show last season. He had a couple homers last season that were over 450 feet and in BP in AAA they said he would deposit them 500ish feet at the end of BP. The Astros are working with Diaz to not swing at everything, to work the count and crush balls - right now he basically swings at everything and it impacts his OBP. You could be right, but I would not assume so. Crane likes both Baker and Brown, and he will side with whomever he believes is right on particular issues. It is quite possible that Crane tells Baker to listen to Brown.
You could be right at some point in the future, but it is a matter of timing. Right now, it does not look like Dusty is managing the team the way Dana wants it to be. I'm not sure what Dana's position is on the OF, but it seems Dana is a big Diaz fan.
Cesar Salazar looks overmatched against big league pitching. I understand Lee needs playing time but I wouldn't mind him being called up for 3rd catcher.
Trade? Not off the top of my head. Gerrit Cole signed with the Yankees and he was vilified before joining them.
It is pretty clear that Brown likes Diaz and Blanco honestly. He has publicly said what his position is - lets see what happens.
Everybody keep voting Yordan and other Astros as All-Stars. Canadians are trying to vote the entire Blue-Jays roster over everyone else.
Explaining it in basketball teams... it is as if the Rockets acquired Jason Terry or Austin Rivers. I don't like going for Bellinger because a hot month doesn't shake the impression of the last three years of him being an AA player getting playing time in the majors.
Yet... there are still the Dusty disciples that are justify the non-sensical Dusty lineups saying the analytics people in the front office determined who will get rest and who plays where...
Didn’t he win an mvp though? Would need to include a basketball player who did that, then fell off, then made a semi comeback.
Dwight Howard? He's making a comeback overseas? Former MVP. Disliked when he was playing for Orlando and LA. Got routinely owned by Yao on the head-to-head matches.
