You could argue that by NOT trading in 2021 allowed the Astros to keep Brown and Pena and eventually win the WS in 2022 and have them under control for years to come.
Since the lower levels are loaded, I've got no issues trading top upper level guys for the chance to win championships for the next 2-3 years.
Small sample size but this is what we know: -Pena was ALCS and WS MVP in the playoffs. -Cease has a 10.13 ERA in 2 playoff games advancing no further than the ALDS. Neither are perfect indicators of future output but I'll take the clutch stats of 1 over the other until we see otherwise. This is why I wouldn't trade Pena this year and why he will still be an Astro in a few days.
Love Luhnow and what he built. This team with a few moves can be WS favorites for the next 2-3 years.
Question? What would you guys do if Tommorrow you woke up and this was the Headline BREAKING NEWS: Astros Acquire: Josh Hader, Blake Snell and Juan Soto all one one trade? And not really hurting our main Roster but depleting our minors.
This year the Team is in Free Agency Mode on the way Out and Young Players will be up Next Year. Out Kyle Tucker, Jake Myers, Corey Julks Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford, Luis Baez, Pedro Leon
Something like this is what I envision, maybe a little lighter... and not Monday morning but later on Tuesday just in the nick of time.
https://theathletic.com/4734747/2023/07/30/mlb-trade-rumors-mets-verlander-dodgers/ Justin Verlander did not sound happy on Sunday, just as Max Scherzer did not sound happy two days before. The Mets traded Scherzer to the Rangers faster than you can say “Billy Eppler.” They could do the same with Verlander, following the Scherzer template or taking a different approach. The Dodgers, because of the depth of their farm system, are a more desirable trading partner for the Mets than Verlander’s previous club, the Astros. But like Scherzer, Verlander possesses a full no-trade clause and can effectively pick his next team. He rejected a reported two-year, $80 million offer from the Dodgers last offseason in favor of a two-year, $86.6 million deal with the Mets. The first question is whether Verlander wants out as badly as Scherzer apparently did. Most top-of-the-rotation starters share certain traits. Healthy egos. Intense competitive streaks. Ambitions to pitch on the biggest stages. But that doesn’t mean the personalities and family considerations of those pitchers are the same Verlander and his wife, the model and actress Kate Upton, are the parents of a 4-year-old daughter, Genevieve. How important they consider staying in New York, as opposed to relocating when he has at least one more year left on his contract, is not known. Just eight months ago, Verlander signed with the Mets because he was intrigued by the idea of pitching in the city and joining Steve Cohen’s $350 million machine. That machine is slowing down, and Verlander told reporters Sunday he would be “more open” to getting traded if he senses the team’s commitment to winning next season is waning. The buzz around the Dodgers and Verlander among scouts is growing louder. The match seems obvious, even though the Dodgers likely would be uncomfortable with Verlander’s conditional option that guarantees him $35 million at age 42 in 2025 if he pitches 140 innings next season. But Cohen paid $36 million to extract a top 100 prospect out of the Rangers for Scherzer. Surely he can figure out a way out for Verlander, too. If Verlander is willing. • The White Sox are listening on Dylan Cease and everyone else on their roster. The perception among many in the industry is that Cease and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. remain all but untouchable. But some rival executives see the White Sox’s willingness to entertain offers as an opening, however small. In the White Sox’s view, nothing has changed. They are simply doing their due diligence, staying open-minded, assessing the values of players and what might be possible. A trade of Cease, a 2022 American League Cy Young finalist who is under club control for two additional seasons, would require a massive return. But given the demand for controllable starting pitching, who’s to say the White Sox couldn’t get what they want? Two rentals, right-hander Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo López, brought the White Sox a top 100 prospect from the Angels, catcher Edgar Quero, and a 6-foot-6 left-hander who was a second-round pick in 2021, Ky Bush. A diminished Scherzer and approximately $36 million enabled the Mets to acquire another top 100 prospect, Luisangel Acuña, from the Rangers. The White Sox have signaled they want to compete in 2024 around a core of Cease, Robert, Michael Kopech, Andrew Vaughn and perhaps a few others. They play in the AL Central, the game’s weakest division. But they’ve already traded five pitchers, including one, reliever Kendall Graveman, who is under contract for next season. And at the deadline, the market changes quickly. The pressure on buyers continues to mount as the hours tick away to the trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday. The White Sox figure to listen right down to the end. If someone meets their price for Cease, great. If not, they will simply hold him and perhaps revisit the discussions in the offseason.
The Angels are facing the prospect of ending a six year period with Ohtani and Trout and nothing to show for it. That's going to be talked about 50 years from now. Who cares how bad they are in Trout's mid-late 30s, if they can't even win with a potential Hall of Famer in his prime? They don't have much of a chance to change the narrative, but I can see why they're taking it. If they're going to go for it, they might as well give themselves the best chance to make it happen.
Make it a three team trade with Cardinals. Astros get Carlson and Verdugo, Sox get Maldy and Cardinals get Montero. Skygodz would never be able to get his pants off after that...
Almost feeling like the Astros are at a crossroads. Do they gut the farm to add significant win now upgrades? Or do they stand pat and keep the process of keeping their farm strong? Gonna be an interesting couple of days.
