That lineup looks good, but personally I'd rather sign a true DH, and a trade for a legit SP with multiple years of team control instead of a catcher with only 2 years left of team control if we are trading Tucker.

orrrrrrr

Trade Tucker for JT, and sign Harper....trade reddick for a #5 starting pitcher

Find a way to get Kluber and Realmuto. Only way you have a real chance at winning another WS.

My prediction:

-Sign Cruz

-Trade Reddick in a salary dump type of deal

-Trade for Realmuto IF the Marlins drop their asking price. Otherwise sign one more mid-tier catcher (ie Lucroy or retain Maldy) to pair with Chirinos. I still don't see us including Tucker in a Realmuto deal. Marlins need to get over it if they want to get something for him.

-Trade for a solid No. 3 starter who is currently off the main radar. Don't see us making a big Kluber or Syndagaard splash here. We'll see how Whitley, James and McHugh look in July and make a deadline rental trade if we need further bolstering.

Lineup if Tucker is ready:

1. Springer CF
2. Altuve 2B
3. Brantley RF (he gets the comfy spot I had previous reserved for Harper :-)
4. Bregman 3B
5. Correa SS
6. Cruz DH
7. Gurriel 1B
8. Tucker LF
9. Chirinos/Other C

Lineup if Tucker isn't ready:

1. Springer CF
2. Altuve 2B
3. Brantley RF
4. Bregman 3B
5. Correa SS
6. Cruz DH
7. Gurriel 1B
8. Chirinos/Other C
9. Kemp LF

IceCream14 said:

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I'd deal Tucker, but that's just me.

I'm tired of him being regarded as the next Ted Williams by this front office. Go get me a Major League Baseball player that can help you win another World Series today, not some prospect. I'm reality, he's just that; a prospect.

We need ballplayers. NY, BOS, LA, the juggernauts doubled down on MLB talent. It's time for Crane to tell Lunhow to do the same.

I'm not saying sell the farm, but it's time to go to the market and sell some of your best of the crop.

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This. Just get good return.

It just makes me nauseous seeing Chirinos as our starting catcher when we have the Marlins begging us to send a prospect for the best catcher in the league.

AustinCountyAg said:

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That lineup looks good, but personally I'd rather sign a true DH, and a trade for a legit SP with multiple years of team control instead of a catcher with only 2 years left of team control if we are trading Tucker.

orrrrrrr

Trade Tucker for JT, and sign Harper....trade reddick for a #5 starting pitcher

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Bringing in a Harper would force the teams to let Springer, JV, Cole and maybe even Corea leave over the next few years...

IceCream14 said:

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Find a way to get Kluber and Realmuto. Only way you have a real chance at winning another WS.

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THE ONLY!

Wish Houston would have brought him in for something similar at least.

Guys,

I had a pre-hire drug screening this morning and I had to hold a piss for over two hours. Hence the doom and gloom.

That said, deal Tucker for Realmuto, profit. Then go find a good SP3 and keep Mchugh in the pen.

Beltran is the enemy

ChAg1799 said:

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AustinCountyAg said:

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That lineup looks good, but personally I'd rather sign a true DH, and a trade for a legit SP with multiple years of team control instead of a catcher with only 2 years left of team control if we are trading Tucker.

orrrrrrr

Trade Tucker for JT, and sign Harper....trade reddick for a #5 starting pitcher

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Bringing in a Harper would force the teams to let Springer, JV, Cole and maybe even Corea leave over the next few years...

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Their is already a damn good chance 2 of the 4 listed above will be gone next year no matter what happens with Harper....

Farmer1906 said:

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IceCream14 said:

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I'd deal Tucker, but that's just me.

I'm tired of him being regarded as the next Ted Williams by this front office. Go get me a Major League Baseball player that can help you win another World Series today, not some prospect. I'm reality, he's just that; a prospect.

We need ballplayers. NY, BOS, LA, the juggernauts doubled down on MLB talent. It's time for Crane to tell Lunhow to do the same.

I'm not saying sell the farm, but it's time to go to the market and sell some of your best of the crop.

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This is a bad take.

Carlos Correa was just a prospect in the spring of 15. Should we have traded him so we could have made the playoffs in 2015?

Alex Bregman was just a prospect in the spring of 16. We could have had a true ace in Chris Sale to lead us to the world series in 17.

In reality, everyone is just a prospect until they're not.

NY has stuck with Aaron Judge (rookie in '17) and traded for prospect Torres (rookie in '18).

BOS has plenty of homegrown in Benitendi, Betts, and Bogaerts.

Their payroll is 168 & 121 to our 84. If anything it means much more for us to do it with developing prospects when we can't go out and pay Price, Stanton, etc crazy rich overvalued contracts.

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The "only way we can win the WS" is a bad take. This is not a bad take, just a take you don't agree with. I'm not sure that I agree with it 100% either, but it is not without merit.

If we can trade Tucker for a guy that makes the difference between winning the WS or not (like JV 2017), then I think we should do it. The hard part is that it's impossible to know these things. Is Realmuto is that guy? Can we can keep Tucker and still be good enough to win it all? Is Tucker going to be the next Christian Yelich or the next Byron Buxton?

It's hard to answer your hypothetical trade questions, because obviously we did end up winning the 2017 WS and there is no way to "sim" what would happened had we made those trades, but winning the WS isn't some sort of blanket justification for not trading prospects for proven players. If any of the guys in the JV trade end up being HOFers, does that mean we should not have made those trades?

I think it's also fair to ask where does Tucker fit in this lineup in the next 2 years.

With the addition of Brantley, Springer and Reddick locked up until 2021 I'm not sure if he has a spot. I think the addition of Brantley has blocked him.

Ag_07 said:

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I think it's also fair to ask where does Tucker fit in this lineup in the next 2 years.

With the addition of Brantley, Springer and Reddick locked up until 2021 I'm not sure if he has a spot. I think the addition of Brantley has blocked him.

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That's why Lunhow is shopping Reddick

Ag_07 said:

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I think it's also fair to ask where does Tucker fit in this lineup in the next 2 years.

With the addition of Brantley, Springer and Reddick locked up until 2021 I'm not sure if he has a spot. I think the addition of Brantley has blocked him.

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And it's easily within the realm of possibility that Tucker has the best season of every OFer on the roster this season

Although Lunhow wants to build this thing for the long haul, and not "sell the farm" for one year, he still has to sell parts of the farm at times. Their is a difference between being competitive (playoff caliber) and then championship caliber.

Right now with the addition of another solid starter and a trade for JT the Astros would be championship caliber. This coming season IMO will be their last run at a World Series title for a couple of years. JV and Cole are most likely gone after this season. Go get it while the iron is hot.....

Even if you trade Tucker it isn't like we are selling the farm. We still have Forrest, Josh James, JB, etc who could* be big parts of the team in a few years.

My point is strike now while you have a legit shot, and then reload up for another big run in a few years.

One player (Tucker) is not going to define the team for the next ten years.

astros4545 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I think it's also fair to ask where does Tucker fit in this lineup in the next 2 years.

With the addition of Brantley, Springer and Reddick locked up until 2021 I'm not sure if he has a spot. I think the addition of Brantley has blocked him.

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And it's easily within the realm of possibility that Tucker has the best season of every OFer on the roster this season

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the same can be said even more so about Springer and Brantley.

AggiEE said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I think it's also fair to ask where does Tucker fit in this lineup in the next 2 years.

With the addition of Brantley, Springer and Reddick locked up until 2021 I'm not sure if he has a spot. I think the addition of Brantley has blocked him.

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That's why Lunhow is shopping Reddick

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Yep. I think at this very second you could make the case for retaining Reddick. Brantley can play some outfield, play some 1B when we move Yuli around and the DH would float between a variety of guys. Keeping Reddick sort of ensures you have a second proven outfielder in the lineup everyday.

If we sign Cruz, the DH spot is locked down, Gurriel is the everyday 1B and Brantley is strictly an outfielder. Plus signing Cruz means an additional ~$15mm added to next year's payroll. Hard to justify paying your third outfielder in that scenario (Reddick) $12mm/year for the next two years, especially when he was awful at the plate last year and we have a few guys who can temporarily man LF for much cheaper if Tucker isn't ready.

Trading Reddick will be a challenge though. He's currently a negative value player (production relative to cost) so we'll have to eat some of his salary or give up some prospects if we want to deal him.

I would just hate for us to not be able to move Reddick and Tucker be stuck in AAA and of no use to the ML club while the catchers struggle to bat over the Mendoza line.

Ag_07 said:

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I would just hate for us to not be able to move Reddick and Tucker be stuck in AAA and of no use to the ML club while the catchers struggle to bat over the Mendoza line.

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I agree that if the plan is to sign Cruz and retain Reddick, we might as well include Tucker in a deal for Realmuto. I just kinda think Luhnow will find a way to offload Reddick. We shall see.

Ag_07 said:

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I would just hate for us to not be able to move Reddick and Tucker be stuck in AAA and of no use to the ML club while the catchers struggle to bat over the Mendoza line.

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Can Tucker catch?

Frok said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I would just hate for us to not be able to move Reddick and Tucker be stuck in AAA and of no use to the ML club while the catchers struggle to bat over the Mendoza line.

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Can Tucker catch?

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It's easy, tell em Wash

I respect your post, but in my opinion it emphasizes my point.

You farmed those guys organically and built a WS roster. Those guys are on the same roster NOW. They're in or entering their prime NOW.
Ted could give you an immediate return for a known commodity who's just entering his prime.

If we hadn't won a World Series, I'd keep him. But we have, and the time is now to bolster the roster you have, not wait on Ted who may or may not pan out in 2-3 years when half the current core is gone.

Frok said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I would just hate for us to not be able to move Reddick and Tucker be stuck in AAA and of no use to the ML club while the catchers struggle to bat over the Mendoza line.

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Can Tucker catch?

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Probably as good if not better than playoff Machete

Everyone here is on win now mode and willing to give up the farm for guys that are due regression years.

No thanks. I'd rather not make another move than give up any of our top 3 prospects. We will be competitive and playoff caliber for the next three seasons at the least. And this FO has shown they know how to maintain a top tier team.

But go ahead, go full Drayton McClain. Don't whine if we end up doing a fire sale in less than 5 years and suck again.

I see no reason to trade Tucker now. At least finish the off-season build and see where you are in the summer. Nobody except the Astros will run away with the division so do t panic just yet.

The question people have to answer is this:

Do you want to be the Cardinals, Mariners, or Marlins?

Whichever you prefer is how you will construct your trades.

Winning the world series is just so difficult and it just comes down to the hotter team at the moment. Boston showed that in this year's ALCS. They were a historically great team but our bats went silent, Cole wasn't the same as he had been in the regular season, Maldy couldn't block a single ball, almost all of Boston's runs came on two outs, and David Price was finally nails in the postseason.

Even when you have the right guys, it's very unpredictable. I don't think you trade Tucker for Cruz when Cruz's bat could also go silent in the postseason or at any other point. If we're in the win now mode and Cruz doesn't pan out with us, we traded away one of our best prospects for him. If Tucker doesn't pan out in the bigs, we lose nothing other than his draft spot.

rak1693 said:

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Winning the world series is just so difficult and it just comes down to the hotter team at the moment. Boston showed that in this year's ALCS. They were a historically great team but our bats went silent, Cole wasn't the same as he had been in the regular season, Maldy couldn't block a single ball, almost all of Boston's runs came on two outs, and David Price was finally nails in the postseason.

Even when you have the right guys, it's very unpredictable. I don't think you trade Tucker for Cruz when Cruz's bat could also go silent in the postseason or at any other point. If we're in the win now mode and Cruz doesn't pan out with us, we traded away one of our best prospects for him. If Tucker doesn't pan out in the bigs, we lose nothing other than his draft spot.

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nobody is trading Tucker for Cruz. not to mention Cruz is a FA.....it would be Tucker for Realmuto

Marvin said:

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Nobody except the Astros will run away with the division so do t panic just yet.

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that is a very ignorant statement to make. especially when we are talking about baseball