Damn.

RIP Luis V

That is absolutely horrible news. So sorry for his family and loved ones.

Damn. Always loved watching him flip that bat. Even as an Angel.

Ugh. RIP Luis

Bat flip competition with the saints

Damn. Valbuena was always fun to watch play ball

Wow, really sucky news on Valbuena.

Damn RIP Bat Flip King. I was there for the 3 Run walkoff against Oakland. Probably the most memorable game I've been too

Also I'm seeing other reports that make this story more nefarious as in the rock that they hit was more of a boulder that's intentionally put on the roads to rob people

Boiling Denim said:

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Damn RIP Bat Flip King. I was there for the 3 Run walkoff against Oakland. Probably the most memorable game I've been too

Also I'm seeing other reports that make this story more nefarious as in the rock that they hit was more of a boulder that's intentionally put on the roads to rob people

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Me too. I went to go watch Mengden pitch. I was hoping for a 1-0 Astros win, but Mengden gave up a bunch of runs and then the Astros bullpen blew the lead in the 9th setting up the Valbuena moon shot into the upper deck in right.

Was a fan, even when he was with the Halos. Seemed like a good teammate, good dude. RIP

RIP Valbuena

Rip Valbuena

My goodness, RIP Valbuena

very sad news

Teams will put a stop to it. It just shows how safe our roads are compared to what else is out there. Rocks in the road to be robbed? What a crazy way to live.

Yeah, I can understand wanting to go back to your mother country; but being rich and in Venezuela right now doesn't sound safe.

n_touch said:

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Teams will put a stop to it.

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Lot of guys doing this are FAs (as were Valbuena and Castillo).

They're not on teams and looking for a place to play and keep tuned up.

FightinTexasAggie08 said:

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Yeah, I can understand wanting to go back to your mother country; but being rich and in Venezuela right now doesn't sound safe.

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Being a human being in Venezuela right now is not safe and you're right, even more dangerous if you have nice things.

If you want to appreciate our country and how great it is, travel a little bit.

Not sure how I forgot Castillo played here 4 years.

Sad story

RIP Valtron

Quote:

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The Rays are interested in free-agent righty Charlie Morton and have had initial conversations with his representatives, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

While Morton would normally seem a pricey target for the perennially budget-conscious Rays, the Tampa Bay organization likely has more spending capacity than most would expect.

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Quote:

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Morton, however, aligns with what Topkin reports to be a desire by the Rays to add a short-term boost to their rotation. The 35-year-old has made clear in the past that he doesn't expect to continue his playing career more than a couple of years, given a preference to spend time with his growing family sooner rather than later. The Astros did not issue a qualifying offer to Morton, which rated as a surprise, but they've reportedly made a one-year offer to him since the season ended.

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WelchAg said:

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If Morton plays anywhere other than Houston this season, I will be incredibly disappointed in either our organization or Morton.

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I'm not if he wants a multi year deal. The dude is a complete certainty to miss significant time to injury, it's only going to get worse as he gets older.

If we wouldn't pay him 20 million for 1 year I would be pissed, I would be pissed if we gave him 50,000,000 for 3

going back to Goldschmidt and Eovaldi...they serve as a subtle reminder that the Astros are not a $200 million payroll organization. There are some limitations.

and if the plan is to resign Cole and JV after the 2019 season...some caution is required

W said:

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going back to Goldschmidt and Eovaldi...they serve as a subtle reminder that the Astros are not a $200 million payroll organization. There are some limitations.

and if the plan is to resign Cole and JV after the 2019 season...some caution is required

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This. The Red Sox aren't going to lose a guy over a few million dollars or an extra year added to a deal. Lunhow knows he has to spend his available money more conservatively than the teams with unlimited payrolls.

Jake Kaplan is doing a Q&A on the Athletic and was asked a bunch about possible FA or trade options for starting pitching and outfielders. Robbie Ray, Grienke and then Justin Bour were ones he said to keep an eye on. He didn't say anything specifically was imminent but more so that those are the type of players we could be after that are available. He also said Morton and Happ are the FA pitchers to keep an eye on (obviously). He also said he thinks catcher is done being addressed and that he thinks the staff has a pretty high level of confidence in Stassi.

I had forgotten about the 3rd-strike-esq. call on strike 2 that one time

Man that's heartbreaking. The bat flip on the walk was awesome though.

Always seemed like a good guy who really did enjoy playing the game. Lots of big smiles

Sad situation all around

RIP Valbuena