Pretty legit for a guy that wasn't even a top 4 AL ROY candidate.

Deluxe said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Gotta take Bags don't you?

That's a tough really good question.

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Agreed. Harry's original question was a good one.

I'd probly lean Bags too but very tempting to roll dice with Yordan.

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It's not even a question for me. I would always take the guaranteed HOF career for Yordan.

Bagwell's age 26-32 seasons were absolute monsters. In those 7 years, 5 were OPS over 1.000 and the other two were 0.981 and 0.894.

Those types of seasons for Yordan, with the current window the Astros have would be downright ridiculous.

There is no probably for me in the scenario of would you take Bagwell's numbers for Yordan.

Framber did make this one tho.

SP #top10rightnow on @MLBNetwork. I had 31 guys in consideration. So yeah, I wanted Strider, Cease, Max, Webb, Wheeler, Castillo, Fried, Manoah, etc. But I wanted these guys too.

Nola>Sandy? Better K%, lower BB%, 92% of IP, longer track record. I had SA 3. So.. really good. pic.twitter.com/QZ4aK71rEg

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) February 2, 2023

We'll isnt that interesting. I wish it was coming from a better source tho. Bob did drop this last week tho.

The Kansas City #Royals have been busy on the trade market, and still have a couple of more deals they are lining up now. Stay tuned.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 24, 2023

Farmer1906 said:

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We'll isnt that interesting. I wish it was coming from a better source tho. Bob did drop this last week tho.

The Kansas City #Royals have been busy on the trade market, and still have a couple of more deals they are lining up now. Stay tuned.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 24, 2023

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Salvy to the Astros?

Thoughts on Salvador Perez:

We weren't willing to pay Contreras 85.5 M for 5 years (until age 35), are we sure we want to pay Salvy 62 M for 3 (until age 35)? Because of his cost, either KC will need to shoulder some of it (unlikely) or the prospect cost will need to be much lower.

As for Salvy the player, he's got a closet full of Gold Gloves, but he's declining on defense. He took a pretty big step back from 21 to 22, but I believe he dealt with some injuries to his hand and eye. He's a dead pull hitter and hitting at MMP would mean more HRs. The shift ban should help too, but also hurt. He had a bunch of dink hits to RF last season.



My concern is that's more money allocated for '23-'25. '25 is when we need to pay Altuve and/or Bregman. My other concern is that's another aging bat. Between Abreu, Brantley, Altuve, and Salvy it would be 366 M between the 4 guys over the next 3 years.

Ultimately, it a huge upgrade from Maldy and make us even more of the favorite to repeat.

Forgive me if this has been previously discussed, but has anyone figured out the situation with watching games this year. I switched to YouTube TV in the offseason and wondering if I need to purchase a separate subscription (Fubo or other option?) to watch all the local broadcast games. TIA for saving me doing the research time if you've already done it.

Good stuff. Like most of these convos, it depends on what we'd have to give up. I'd feel much more comfortable giving the catching keys to Salvy than Contreras.

Salvy's skills behind the plate might be in decline, but I don't think he'd ever need to catch more than 80 games + playoffs. In 2023, he'd timeshare with Maldy and DH as Abreu/Brantley rest. In 2024+, he could timeshare with whoever emerges between Lee/Diaz. That could help keep him fresh.

I've been a longtime advocate for getting our Maldy transition underway asap. Our development system identifies pitchers based on their stuff, not their ability to read hitters in live action and sequence. Having a savvy catcher back there that our young horses can rely on is critical. Salvy can definitely be that guy.

Agree about the $$ though. Assuming we re-sign Bregs, we might be deep in the tax in 2025. Crane might be cool with that though. Then shift Salvy's $$ to Tucker in 2026.

I think your only options are Directv, Xfinity, Directv Stream, & Fubo. Fubo is the cheapest option. Fubo doesn't have the Turner channels so the NL playoffs will be hard to watch in 2023. AL don't be back on Turner until 2024.

Farmer1906 said:

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Here is @MLBNow's full #Top10RightNow 👇

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/BOYcqLWZJh

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 2, 2023

No Framber
No Javier
Not even Nola, Cole, Gallen, Cease, Beiber, or Manoha.

This is a hard list to make.

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It really is. And Scherzer has flamed out in post-season due to arm fatigue two years straight now. He's past his prime and probably entering the steep part of the downhill slope.

Farmer1906 said:

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Here is @MLBNow's full #Top10RightNow 👇

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/BOYcqLWZJh

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 2, 2023

No Framber
No Javier
Not even Nola, Cole, Gallen, Cease, Beiber, or Manoha.

This is a hard list to make.

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I'm ok with this list as the top 10 regular season pitchers.

Farmer1906 said:

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I think your only options are Directv, Xfinity, Directv Stream, & Fubo. Fubo is the cheapest option. Fubo doesn't have the Turner channels so the NL playoffs will be hard to watch in 2023. AL don't be back on Turner until 2024.

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Mrs. Marvin and I have Fubo, and then I pick up Sling basic for October to cover the Turner games.

Marvin said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I think your only options are Directv, Xfinity, Directv Stream, & Fubo. Fubo is the cheapest option. Fubo doesn't have the Turner channels so the NL playoffs will be hard to watch in 2023. AL don't be back on Turner until 2024.

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Mrs. Marvin and I have Fubo, and then I pick up Sling basic for October to cover the Turner games.

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I have started doing 6 months of Fubo & 6 months of YoutubeTV. Similar products. Youtube covers the postseason and MLB TV without paying extra (oops!) and Fubo has AT&T for the regular season.

I would expect someone like Lee would go to the Royals in the trade.

does anyone know is youtubetv still negotiating with MLB network, or is it for sure gone for the foreseeable future? trying to decide if I should cancel it now and switch to fubo or wait it out

Haven't heard anything about Salvy on my end but let's see what I can find out

mAgnoliAg said:

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My dad shook Altuve's hand at IAH an hour ago.

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And he's 2 rows behind my parents on the plane

I didn't realize how bad Salvy's defense had declined the last few years. Like Farmer said, maybe part of it is injury related. And maybe he could improve if he has to catch 80 games in a 1A/1B situation.

If we think his defense is salvageable and we see him as our main catcher post-Maldy, I can talk myself into it. If deal for him thinking he's going to be DH and backup C post-Maldy (like a less versatile version of Contreras), meh. I don't think that's worth $20 mil/year and trading prospects for.

I do think there's something to be said for the game-to-game intensity uplift going from one of the worst franchises in baseball to the best. For example, was he giving 100% max effort on every ball in the dirt in August when the Royals were 25 games back? The effort expectation level in Houston is much higher and I think a dude like Salvy can raise his bar.

We have the BUTTRAY now!!!!1

07ag said:

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Not a fan either. Keep spending, Crane.

agproducer said:

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I would like the addition of Salvy, but here's where I have an issue -- I worry we are getting too many aging players.

Abreu is no spring chicken. Neither is Brantley. I'm worried they will fall off a cliff statistically. I think if we start adding any more aging stars and trade off younger pieces, we may eventually be left with the Tim Purpura Astros.

I don't think Crane would let it get to that, but maybe it's my BAS coming out in Astros form.

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This is an understandable concern. Not sure I'd include Brantley in that mix because he's only on a 1-year deal, but having $70 million committed to Abreu (36), Altuve (33) and potentially Salvy (33) for three more years isn't ideal.

Relative to the late 2000s when we brought in guys like Lee, Tejada, Pudge and Kaz to plug gaps, we have a much better collection of young talent today and possess the best pitching staff in baseball. So I'm not too worried from a "deja vu" perspective.

It'll be interesting to see how Abreu, Altuve and Salvy perform in their mid/late 30s though. You might be right that it's not worth tacking on Salvy at this point. Lessen the decline risk on our roster. As it relates to Salvy specifically, I can tolerate a little bit of offensive decline if he's solid behind the plate and guides our young arms.

yes, this is the issue with too many Bagwells and Reggies in the front office.

they love veteran players -- love the old guys

W said:

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McInnis said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Here is @MLBNow's full #Top10RightNow 👇

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/BOYcqLWZJh

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 2, 2023

No Framber
No Javier
Not even Nola, Cole, Gallen, Cease, Beiber, or Manoha.

This is a hard list to make.

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It really is. And Scherzer has flamed out in post-season due to arm fatigue two years straight now. He's past his prime and probably entering the steep part of the downhill slope.

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and when did Rodon become a top 5 pitcher? oh, since he signed with the Yankees I guess

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His last two years have been pretty elite, no?

Edit: added stats

He's pretty damn good, man. Very well could be top 5 when he's healthy.

I'd prefer Melendez for Maldy to groom. His bat is legit. Defense has a ways to go but scouts seemed to like him in the minors.