and great post. Very informative.

Thanks.

I did a few more for other positions on the earlier pages. I should probably combine them into one.

I'll try to look at pitching next.

Great post, I wonder if the Astros would consider a trade for Goldschmidt, allowing for Yuli to DH 80% of the time and then getting some playing time at 1st?

Thanks Farmer! Great info as always

Arizona would ask alot for Goldschmidt. Even though he would be a GREAT addition to the Astros, would we be willing to throw top prospects into the trade (Whitley, Tucker, Alvarez or Josh James)?

I truly think something is wrong with McCullers. I doubt he'll pitch next season just connecting the dots

Wabs said:

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Arizona would ask alot for Goldschmidt. Even though he would be a GREAT addition to the Astros, would we be willing to throw top prospects into the trade (Whitley, Tucker, Alvarez or Josh James)?

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Right now they have Goldschmidt on a 14.5 M option (assuming it is picked up because DUH). He's a cheap elite player for one more year. I think AZ still thinks they're going to contend next year. The only way I see Paul getting moved is if they flop in the first half then move him before the deadline so they don't get anything.

In terms of LHPs, could Ryan Hartman ever get to where we could use him? He's looked pretty good with the Hooks. I like Kit Scheetz too but he doesn't throw very hard for a reliever and he's just so small.

Think Lances's wife posted on insta that he is having tommy john and was pitching with a torn UCL

The rumors on lance appear to be true...

I bet there will be a lot of Astros talk tomorrow morning...

For the solution to the rotation you've got to look at more than the FAs. Luhnow has shown he's not scared to trade for an arm he wants.

I really like the idea of Sonny Gray. The Yanks wanna move him and if Strom thinks he can work his magic on him and Luhnow thinks he can get him for cheaper than he was 2 years ago then I'm all for it. Gray had a 3.17 ERA away from Yankee Stadium and only gave up 3 HRs with a .223 BAA. Get him out of Yankee Stadium and let him work with Strom, JV, and Cole and I think he can produce what Keuchel gave us this year.

Resign Morton and roll with JV, Cole, CFM, Gray, and let Framber/James/Whitley battle it out for the 5 spot. That way you don't have to move McHugh out of the role he excelled in and he's still there if an arm goes down.

Ag_07 said:

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For the solution to the rotation you've got to look at more than the FAs. Luhnow has shown he's not scared to trade for an arm he wants.

I really like the idea of Sonny Gray. The Yanks wanna move him and if Strom thinks he can work his magic on him and Luhnow thinks he can get him for cheaper than he was 2 years ago then I'm all for it. Gray had a 3.17 ERA away from Yankee Stadium and only gave up 3 HRs with a .223 BAA. Get him out of Yankee Stadium and let him work with Strom, JV, and Cole and I think he can produce what Keuchel gave us this year.

Resign Morton and roll with JV, Cole, CFM, Gray, and let Framber/James/Whitley battle it out for the 5 spot. That way you don't have to move McHugh out of the role he excelled in and he's still there if an arm goes down.

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I 100% agree with this. Buy low on Gray and get big results.

Just adding this to the watchlist

I definitely think it's worth looking into. Only concern I have is the Yanks wanting a lot for him knowing we wanted him a couple of years ago and the track record we've built up with pitchers coming to our organization. If they believe we will help him regain his top form, they most likely won't ask for something cheap from us I believe.

What about trying to get Scherzer? I know the price would be high, but the Nats may be looking at a complete rebuild if/when Harper leaves.

How much would we be willing to give up for Realmuto after Garrett Stubbs had a great '18 season with Fresno? McCann is likely gone and Maldy might stick around since he'll be relatively cheap. Stassi is just not the answer and Maldy was terrible in the postseason on both sides. Realmuto is a huge step up from any guy we have but he'll be expensive. After spring training, Stubbs very well could earn himself a spot.

Wabs said:

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What about trying to get Scherzer? I know the price would be high, but the Nats may be looking at a complete rebuild if/when Harper leaves.

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That is going to cost some serious prospects and you're on the hook for 3 years 87 M.

While he has shown no signs of slowing down it will be for age 34, 35, & 36.

I don't think we're in a place where we want to spend both $ and prospects. If it was one or the other then fine.

rak1693 said:

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How much would we be willing to give up for Realmuto after Garrett Stubbs had a great '18 season with Fresno? McCann is likely gone and Maldy might stick around since he'll be relatively cheap. Stassi is just not the answer and Maldy was terrible in the postseason on both sides. Realmuto is a huge step up from any guy we have but he'll be expensive. After spring training, Stubbs very well could earn himself a spot.

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Here is what I said about it before.

We have almost 21 million coming off the books here. Stassi is just a guy. Stubbs will be given a shot, but ultimately I think we will need to sign or trade for someone. Maybe re-sign Maldonado to a 1-year deal and let him compete with Stubbs. If that works then we'll have some money to use at other need positions (see SP & DH).

If we think Stubbs may be the guy, I think we 100% need to sign another vet like Machete to pair with him in case it doesn't work out. By doing something like this it frees up money on another position. We only have a select few spots where we can really improve and C is one of them. It might be worth it to get JT even if its expensive because maybe we don't see value in any FA that can DH. Maybe we know pitching is going to take a large step back so we overload the offense.

Farmer1906 said:

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Wabs said:

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What about trying to get Scherzer? I know the price would be high, but the Nats may be looking at a complete rebuild if/when Harper leaves.

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That is going to cost some serious prospects and you're on the hook for 3 years 87 M.

While he has shown no signs of slowing down it will be for age 34, 35, & 36.

I don't think we're in a place where we want to spend both $ and prospects. If it was one or the other then fine.

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I think it's worth at least a call. However, you know if word gets out that the Nats are willing to shop Sherzer, you'd have the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox interested. I think all of them would be willing to "sell the farm" to get him - much more than the Astros would be willing to. I just would love to see JV, Cole and Scherzer as our rotation....

If you are willing to buy Schertzer at age 34-36 you might as well stay with Keuchel at ages 31-33 and then 34-36.

Of course the right answer is paying for ages 34-36 is a crap shoot

Quote:

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I just would love to see JV, Cole and Scherzer as our rotation....

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That would be sweet, but like you said, doubt the we throw all that it would take.

Wonder if the Mets will be listening to offers for DeGrom. He has two more years of team control remaining. He'd cost us 2-3 elite prospects but acquiring him would come with the double benefit of keeping him away from the Yankees.

Looks like a farewell post from Marwin

https://instagr.am/p/BpTAYYYAPLa

Have negotiations even began

Yah

I don't think that means anything at all

agsquirrel97 said:

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will we swap Correa and Bregman to try and ease the load on Correa's big body by getting him out of the middle of the infield?

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I sure hope so. It makes too much sense not to

That and moving Lance to the pen after he returns from TJ but that's a discussion for another day.

I think Lance to the pen would have been a serious discussion already. but coming off TJ it seems like an absolute certainty.

agsqui said:

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?

(My projected everyday lineup)

Kemp

Bench
Tucker

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If Tucker is on the bench in place of Kemp you might as well leave him in AAA.

I think Tucker will be fine next season. Give him some time in spring training and he'll be another year older. He's only 21 at the moment. He won't make the starting rotation but I think he'll make the Opening Day roster. And if Marwin is leaving, you'll probably need him.

I tend to agree with the general premise there.

As much as it pains me to say, committing ~$15mm/year to a utility player (albeit a valuable one) for the next four years just isn't practical. Hinch will lose some roster flexibility next year but we can generally replace him from within (Yuli/Kemp as backup 2B, Bregman backup SS, JD/Yuli backup 3B). Those options certainly aren't as appealing retaining Marwin, but we're talking about ~$15mm/year in savings and the front office is adamant about contending for the long term. And let's not forget that Marwin was worthless at the plate this year for 3/4th of the season. I could be wrong, but I don't think he's coming back.

Neither is Dallas Keuchel IMO, unless he's massively rejected by the market and would return at an insane discount... which seems highly unlikely because he might be the best pedigreed pitcher in this FA class. I think the writing has been on the wall with Keuchel since we acquired Cole. Over the next few years, we're likely going to delve out 4 long term contracts to position players worth ~$25mm/year or more and it seems unlikely that we'll be able to give more than one starting pitcher a big money, long term deal. Cole is that guy for us. He has better stuff than Keuchel and (knock on wood) has been more durable in his career. And I think Keuchel is struggling a little to find his place in the new world where high velocity, sharp breaking ball pitchers thrive and pitching into the shift is imperative. I'm not trying to knock the guy. He eats innings and can usually keep you in the game, but he doesn't seem to be worth elite money at this point.

Barring a trade for Realmuto, which I also think is unlikely because we won't give Miami what they want in terms of prospects, I agree that we'll likely try to find a couple cheap veterans who can manage the staff and hit a few dingers out of the 8 hole. Maybe two of Maldy, Lucroy, Ramos, Weiters and Butera. Even with our depth problem here, it still wouldn't surprise me to see us trade Stassi this offseason. He seemed to fall out of favor with Hinch/the pitching staff VERY quickly midseason.

IMO, the glaring hole in our team during the ALCS was a middle of the order, RBI guy. It's like we had a good 1-3 in the order, and then a bunch of 7 hole hitters. Correa started to come around a little in G4 and G5, but by then it was too little too late. I really like the idea of trying to snag a thumper on a short term deal. Then if Correa hits like he can, Yuli and Reddick become 6 and 7 hole hitters again, instead of 4 and 5 hole hitters where they are miscast. Nelson Cruz seems like the ideal fit. Maybe Josh Donaldson would consider us on a one year deal and try to go for his big money deal next year (though I think Donaldson will want to go somewhere where he can play 3B). Could be some trade candidates out there. But I agree that we'll be looking hard to spend some short term money on a thumper DH.

Overall, I'm trying to keep my expectations low this offseason. I like the way the roster is forecasted over the next 8-10 years. If we have Altuve, Springer, Bregman, Correa and Cole ultimately locked in, we can mix and match around them. Some years will be better than others but we'll have alot of bites at the World Series apple. Unfortunately, locking in those five guys is going to cost us ~$125mm/year minimum over the long run and I don't see Crane as a guy who will push too deep into luxury tax land. The cost of maintaining the roster within those parameters is the flexibility to retain guys like Marwin and Keuchel when they come due.

I suppose there's a case to be made that we have Bregman and Correa signed cheaply for the next couple years, Springer and Cole won't cost us much in 2019, let's go big and make a run now. Trade Whitley, Alvarez and Perez for DeGramm. I'm fine with that approach too. I just tend to think our management will error on the side of long term sustainability. That means keeping most of our prospects as reinforcements when guys ilke Marwin and Keuchel walk. Could be wrong.

Anyway, just my two cents.