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McCurry, 23, was Oakland's 22nd-round pick in the 2014 draft and rode a strong showing in 2015 to the No. 30 rank on MLB.com's list of top Athletics prospects. The Oklahoma State product split the year between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, compiling a 1.86 ERA with 11.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. In total, McCurry has a 1.37 ERA in 91 2/3 innings as a pro (all coming out of the bullpen), although it should be noted that he hasn't been moved through the system all that aggressively and has been more experienced than much of the competition that he's faced. MLB.com notes that McCurry can spot a fastball that tops out at 93 mph on either side of the plate. His best pitch is a curveball, and while his upside is probably only that of a middle reliever, he has a high probability of realizing that potential due to his control and ability to succeed regardless of opponent handedness.

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The Orioles have re-acquired outfielder L.J. Hoes in a trade with the Astros, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Hoes had been designated for assignment last week. Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com tweets that the Astros will receive cash considerations.

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I have a new pitching prospect crush, and his name is Brendan McCurry. He struck out three in a series of increasingly impressive pitches, and his final pitch of the day, his curveball, made me want to marry his repertoire:

What I loved so much about McCurry's performance on Tuesday was that he set up his pitches so well. First, a reminder of what McCurry throws:

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Brendan McCurry closes out. 88-91 (T93) w/ tons of effort shifting 3/4-sidearm slots. 67-71 CB, 70-75 SL, 76-81 CH. Heavy wiggle on FB/CH

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Those velocities are consistent with what the scouts around me were calling out and what Pitch F/X had to say, too. His 1.86 ERA with 82 strikeouts between Stockton and Midland last year should give him a ticket to Triple-A Nashville if he doesn't make the big league club out of spring training.

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Note to self: learn to throw a baseball with my left hand

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• Prior to Colby Rasmus accepting their qualifying offer, the Astros considered making a run at Brett Gardner or a similar type of player to fill the club's leadoff slot, per Rosenthal. Now, however, they'll likely use Jose Altuve there as the primary option again in 2016.

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"We're not constrained by a budget," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "I think we're going to look at what makes sense for the club. We've got players in Triple-A a lot of our fans want to see up here. We've got other considerations potentially through the trade market and free agency, and we just need to consider arbitration players in the context of whether they're the best fit for our team, but it doesn't come down to whether or not we can afford them. We can afford to keep them all if we wanted to."

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This quote is a few days old, but since it hasn't been posted yet.

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"We're not constrained by a budget," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "I think we're going to look at what makes sense for the club. We've got players in Triple-A a lot of our fans want to see up here. We've got other considerations potentially through the trade market and free agency, and we just need to consider arbitration players in the context of whether they're the best fit for our team, but it doesn't come down to whether or not we can afford them. We can afford to keep them all if we wanted to."

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I'm not completely buying into that just yet. The true test will be when it comes time to pay Keuchel, Correa, Altuve, and Springer. Yes I know we signed Altuve to a deal, but it was one of those early deals with no bidding war involved.

This also comes after the fact that Jed Lowrie was traded due to money. Jed wasn't a big contributor on the team and it's not a big loss, but it was a money move to make up for the extra they gave Colby. We lost Jed because of money.

When these guys' contracts are up and other teams are wanting them is where Crane will have to put his money where his mouth is. Until then I'll hold off on the the whole not just a profitable businessman label.

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The Astros are shopping slugger Chris Carter as the non-tender deadline approaches, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). Meanwhile, the club is willing at least to "listen" to offers on center fielder Jake Marisnick.

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It'll be interesting to see how things play out for Houston. The willingness to consider deals for Carter and possibly Marisnick could be related to the team's somewhat unexpected retention of Colby Rasmus, who occupied an outfield job and $15.8MM of salary by accepting a qualifying offer.

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David Price just signed with Boston for 7 years/$217M

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Yeah but Tucker ain't good defensively.

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