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Not having a sh**ty bullpen!

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On paper...I remember all of us saying all these things last year.

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Not having a sh**ty bullpen!

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That's what people thought when we signed Qualls too

gregerson gets a 3 year $18.5 million deal

Neshek gets a 2 year $12.5 million deal with an option year

So we have around 8 mil left to play with? Luhnow said they could go a little over 20 if they thought it would help.. so I'm guessing 8-10 is our number.

I could see things falling in the $22-25 million range of it lets us get two Impact starters. I think were done with the pen unless we can trade Hoes or find a guy we like in the Rule 5 draft. Time to focus on SS/3B.

Among the players the Astros could lose to another team in the draft, outfield prospect Delino DeShields Jr. stands out because of his tools and talent, despite a down year at Class AA Corpus Christi.

Luhnow said he did not think a team would take DeShields, however. He hit .236 with a .346 on-base percentage and 11 homers.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2014/12/09/astros-gm-jeff-luhnow-doubts-delino-deshields-jr-will-be-taken-in-rule-5-draft/#29064101=0

Luhnow sounds confident DeShields won't be slected, or if he is, that he won't stick on a mlb roster all year.

If I'm Delino, I'm not sure I would really appreciate my boss essentially saying that he doesn't think I'm good enough for another team to pick me up. Hopefully this doesn't result in any drama like we saw last summer with the MLB club getting butthurt when Mark had a bullpen session in Houston after his promotion to AA

Pretty good pickups. I don't mind have Neshek, a guy that was selected to the all-star team last year, as a set up guy..... However none of those guys have that much closing experience...

That's a lot of blue

Great signings so far. Need help at SS and/or 3rd now!

Maybe a dumb question...What are those 0-3, 0-2, 0-1 numbers along the outside of the box?

There's talk that the Diamondbacks might select Astros catcher Roberto Pena with the top pick, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Meanwhile, Callis (Twitter link) says it's very possible that someone will take a chance on Delino DeShields Jr. and pluck him from the Astros. Yesterday, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters, including Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, that he did not anticipate a team taking the former No. 8 overall pick.

At least we're optimistic

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At least we're optimistic

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The scheduling her that day part is the furthest thing from optimism.

Just have her throw out the first pitch. I'll volunteer to be the catcher and to keep her company during the game

Most hits in MMP history...Taylor Swift

Rangers pick DeShields with 3rd pick in rule 5 draft

Red Sox picked reliever Jandel Gustave, so looks like we lost two prospects today

The #Astros select RHP Jason Garcia from Boston in the Rule 5 Draft and have traded him to Baltimore in exchange for a PTBNL or cash.

****.

Deshields was not going to be a part of our future. We have fast guys with power. We would always struggle to find a spot for him, and that assumes he pans out and is consintent.

There's a reason he wasn't on the 40 man.

We also lost LHP David Rollins to the Mariners, so we had three prospects taken

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Deshields was not going to be a part of our future. We have fast guys with power. We would always struggle to find a spot for him, and that assumes he pans out and is consintent.

There's a reason he wasn't on the 40 man.

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So trade him. He was a top 100 prospect last year. Get more than $50k for him.

I agree we should have traded him. But we have no idea if there was anything worthwhile in return or if anyone wanted to go that route.

He was a top 100 prospect because of his speed. But speed alone doesn't do much, ask Billy Hamilton. A tweener like Delino who projects to be an average contact hitter with no power and below average patience doesn't really do much for us at this point.

As far as trading Garcia, I'm hoping it was for cash.. cash we can use to sign a corner infielder or Lowrie.

Hate to see DeShields go, but he just didn't have a spot in our lineup

I think I read recently where rule 5 picks were sold for a couple hundred thousand dollars, so not likely enough to help with an impact signing.

Edit: we got $75k for the pick

Cubs selected OF Ariel Ovando from the astros in the AAA phase of the rule 5 draft

So what's the rule again on the rule 5 draft? The player has to be on the team who drafted him 25 man roster?

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So what's the rule again on the rule 5 draft? The player has to be on the team who drafted him 25 man roster?

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Yes, for a full year. If they want to remove him from the 25, they have to pass the player through waivers (where another team can claim him and put him on their 25), then if he clears waivers, offer him back to his original team for $25k (half of the original $50k Rule 5 draft purchase price) or the two teams can work out a trade.

Here's the latest on the Astros from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle

The Astros met with agent Scott Boras to discuss shortstop Stephen Drew and relief pitching, says a source familiar with the conversation. Boras confirmed the meeting took place without naming any particular names, saying "We've had meetings and talked and we have bullpen guys and the infield and outfield guys, so we've had some general conversations. They're kind of in a fluid state on their position players, butwe have some guys that may be some fits there." This is just my speculation, but it's possible Houston could've been looking into Rafael Soriano or Francisco Rodriguez, Boras' two most high-profile bullpen clients.

Boras said that Takashi Toritani is drawing interest from MLB teams mostly as a second baseman rather than his natural shortstop position. As Drellich notes, this would seem to eliminate the Astros from contention since Jose Altuve is already entrenched at second.

Unsurprisingly, Drellich's source said that the Astros' chat with Boras didn't involve Max Scherzer.

The Cubs showed some interest in Jason Castro earlier this offseason, prior to Chicago's acquisition of Miguel Montero from the Diamondbacks.

Wow, surprised to see them still asking about bullpen guys.... I'm completely okay if they brought in Soriano to close, and then we could see a mix of Qualls, Sipp, Neshek, and Gregerson most of the time... With Folty, Chapman, and Fields taking up some garbage innings.

Not asking about Scherzer doesn't surprise me... I would expect him to make around 25 million a year.

4. Cole Hamels, LHP, Phillies The Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers are interested in Hamels. The sleeper team is the aggressive Astros. The Giants may be in if they can't get James Shields. The feeling has been that if the Red Sox would pick up Hamels's 2019 option at $20 million, he would waive his no-trade. The five years remaining on Hamels's deal would be worth $110 million. Would he want an extension beyond that to OK a trade?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/14/major-league-teams-always-wonder-whether-they-did-enough/QZPIQPpUESa8wldXu09OJP/story.html

Good god no

Will the Phillies end up wanting top prospects or salary relief? I don't think they'll get both like they want right now.