IN!

The moves I would make:
Sign JV to a team friendly deal for 3 years (3rd is mutual option)
Sign Uncle Mike to a low 2 year deal
Pick up Mancini $10M option
Trade Garcia - I think Urquidy is better suited to bounce to pen and back, throws a lot of strikes and can eat innings
Let Diaz go - as noted there are other cheaper utility options
Trade Meyers - Chaz has earned it and Leon could come up later
Let Montero go - Maybe we can use a trade piece to bring someone back with control. We have success finding undervalued relief guys
Let Will Smith go
Give Yainer Diaz a shot mixing in a C and 1B
Toughest call for me: Letting Yuli go. My heart says bring him back on a team friendly one year deal, my head says there are better options. However, he does still take balls at SS and 3B, so maybe he replaces Diaz and he is the late defensive replacement at 1B?

TREX01 said:

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I would be wary of trading any pitching. Lance's elbow is prob a ticking time bomb so having the reinforcements to cover that hole is very important. Also no guarantee that Brown makes the leap this year. It could be 2024 before he realizes his potential. We have the coin to make everything work with our staff this year and go get an outfielder/1B.

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I'd be fine keeping all seven. It's a huge strength to know that you'll almost always be rolling out a guy who can give you 6.

To the extent we shop Garcia/Urquidy, I think we can be really picky.

But if we do deal one of them, it opens up a few other possibilities of how to determine the 7th guy:

1) sign a cheap FA vet who wants a ring
2) open a spring training competition among the young guys to win the spot

Deluxe, thanks for another kickoff to the offseason. In the spirit of your last paragraph, a few words about myself: my name is Bill, class of '87. I generally post on texags about Astros baseball, my incredible Texas A&M memorabilia collection, and random made up haikus. The thing I am best known for here on this forum is being the jackass that originally accused Tucker of lollygagging. I was shouted down, mocked and I eventually ate my plate of crow.

I truly love this forum, the quality of interaction, farmer's stats based take, tjack's lucky holey blue jeans, Mathguy's TOFA, etc., etc. Getting to hang out here with you all is genuinely one of the great pleasures for me on a daily basis. Thanks to each and everyone of you that make this forum the best.

Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

I don't like Mancini being the answer at 1B, at least as the 1A starter. Yes, he's probably the cheapest option but I'm really concerned about his bat. Don't mind keeping him as a backup, but 1B would be my #1 priority this offseason. Rizzo or Bell.

Click got a passing grade this year for the Trade deadline. I like giving him one more shot at knocking it out the park.

Ag_07 said:

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Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

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I think that could be an option. Mancini is more the everyday guy and Yuli fills in at other positions to keep guys fresh during the regular season.

Ag_07 said:

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Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

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Yuli has pretty much been 1B exclusive. He makes so sense to me playing all over the diamond.

I think we need to use a heads and not hearts this offseason. Bringing back everyone and running it back might work, but I think there are moves to make to get better just in case things don't work out like last year.

Farmer1906 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

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Yuli has pretty much been 1B exclusive. He makes so sense to me playing all over the diamond.

I think we need to use a heads and not hearts this offseason. Bringing back everyone and running it back might work, but I think there are moves to make to get better just in case things don't work out like last year.

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I believe Bergman might have said that Yuli takes practice at SS and 3B every day, so I was going off of that.

Interesting. I think the Contreras thing was overblown. I'm sure all kinds of deals get nixed all the time that we don't hear about for many reasons. Click obviously did an incredible job of building out the pitching staff, but he needs to do better with position players. His big signings in free agency were Robel Garcia and Niko Goodrum. That's not gonna cut it this off-season. Pinching too many pennies there.

I was never a fan of the idea of hiring Stearns. The trade of Hader to San Diego was on him. He's also given out that awful deal to Yelich.

3B Paul 97 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

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Yuli has pretty much been 1B exclusive. He makes so sense to me playing all over the diamond.

I think we need to use a heads and not hearts this offseason. Bringing back everyone and running it back might work, but I think there are moves to make to get better just in case things don't work out like last year.

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I believe Bergman might have said that Yuli takes practice at SS and 3B every day, so I was going off of that.

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His primary position in Cuba was 3B

Exactly what I'm thinking

Mancini is not a sub-200 hitter like we've seen. I'm sorry I just don't see that becoming the norm for him. Pick up his option and let him settle in and get everyday reps as a prove it type deal.

This way you phase out Yuli in his old age but you keep him around as a veteran leader and to assist in helping his fellow Cuban transition to 1B when Mancini leaves.

I think it could work pending the FO evaluates Yuli and they're comfortable with his ability to play other positions.

That got off page 1 in a hurry. Nice post Deluxe. Can't wait til pitchers and catchers report. Won't be long.

BMX Bandit said:

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Here is the current money status for next year. $233mm is luxury tax number.

arbitration figures are what spotrac estimates for next year.
(min) $720,000 is minimum salary
(2022) means that is what they made last year
(est) is my WAG on what they got
..

$143,144,882 so far,

but this does not include:

Verlander 25,000,000 player option (he will get $40mm is my guess)
Mancini 10,000,000 mutual option
Smith 13,000,000 team option (don't see us picking this up)

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Ok, so conservatively speaking let's call JV 35 and Uncle Mike 10.

That puts us at 188 and about 40 mil bellow the luxury.

I think that's plenty of room to play around with 1B and maybe a BP arm or two.

If we resign Brantley I'm not sure we really need more OF off the bat. If things don't work out we can always revisit at the deadline.

Or...Brantley is the answer at 1B and you for for a younger OF.

Still waiting for a Paul wall world series song

I think we have to value defense more at 1B than what Brantley could bring to the position. Yuli saved a lot of runs over there.

Catchy little diddy.

I think you only keep one of Yuli and Brantley with Yuli being relegated to spot duty if he resigns. I think the grind got to him big time this year and his resurgence in the playoffs was a product of the extra rest at the end.

I'd also be all in favor of signing Vasquez and relegating Maldy to spot duty so we can start that transition as well.

Farmer1906 said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Still waiting for a Paul wall world series song

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Farmer1906 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Is Yuli an option to play the role of Diaz utility man role?

Can he play LF, 3B, 1B, and possibly 2B and SS well enough?

If so pick up Mancini's option to play 1B and sign Yuli to a cheap deal to fill in wherever and be the first bat off the bench.

Let him work with Yordan throughout ST and the season to groom him to take over 1B.

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Yuli has pretty much been 1B exclusive. He makes so sense to me playing all over the diamond.

I think we need to use a heads and not hearts this offseason. Bringing back everyone and running it back might work, but I think there are moves to make to get better just in case things don't work out like last year.

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I agree. Unfortunately some difficult decisions have to be made. Yuli is prob #1 on that list. I hate to see him go but I'd rather bring Brantley back.

In.

Quality OP. Time to bask in this glow for a bit.