Wabs said:

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Man it would be strange seeing Bellinger in an Astros uniform. But a good kinda strange.

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Oughta put a bright orange trash can next to his locker on the first day

If you are us, is there a way to put out feelers on what Bellinger would think about playing here? In other words, is there a way to find out ahead of time if he really would want to be here so you don't trade for him if he flat out doesn't want to?

I mean Forrest is the very definition of sunk cost

The Athletic grades the trade:

The trade
Astros get: Kendall Graveman, RHP
White Sox get: Korey Lee, C

Andy McCullough: One thing Astros general manager Dana Brown has in common with his predecessor, James Click? Both executives have now made trades for Graveman, who was perfectly fine as a midseason addition to the Astros in 2021. Graveman posted a 1.64 ERA that postseason and parlayed it into a three-year, $24 million contract with the White Sox. In 2023, he is striking out fewer batters and walking more than he did in 2022 (and back in 2021), so the Astros may suffer through some regression. But Graveman does make Houston's bullpen deeper and reduce some strain on closer Ryne Pressly.
Another benefit to acquiring Graveman: He is under contract through 2024, owed $8 million. The cost is a tad high, but the Astros can afford it, especially with Hector Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek all headed to free agency.
Lee was a first-round pick in 2021 and a top prospect before becoming strikeout-prone in the upper minors. He is still quite young, only 23, and still has a solid ceiling. That feels like a strong return for a good but far from overwhelming reliever.
Astros: B
White Sox: A-

Stephen J. Nesbitt: Hold up. Rick Hahn is cooking.
In baseball, the spoils of failure come out in spectacular sell-offs, and that's exactly what we're seeing on Chicago's South Side. In exchange for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lpez, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman, the White Sox have added the Angels' Nos. 2 and 3 prospects (catcher Edgar Quero and lefty Ky Bush), two Dodgers minor-league arms (right-handers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure), former Astros first-round catcher Korey Lee and once-and-future White Sox outfielder Trayce Thompson. That's a pretty remarkable haul for five pitchers who have one good 2023 season and one more guaranteed year of control between them.
As for the Astros, Graveman again fits the bill. He's been all right this year. He's had sustained stretches of excellence like a 16-inning scoreless streak from May 3 to June 9 and then periodic blow-ups, like a three-run outing July 23 against the Twins. He's a sinkerballer with only moderate strikeout rates and declining ground-ball numbers, and his walk rate is higher than ever this year, so he's not returning to Houston at his peak, but better days are probably ahead. Losing Lee could sting one day, but Yanier Diaz has helped clarify the Astros' catching future beyond the Martn Maldonado era. Ultimately, Lee was expendable for the Astros, but he could represent a prominent piece for the retooling White Sox.
White Sox: A
Astros: B

I mean maybe Lee is a MLB player. We saw enough of him that this doesn't feel like a big loss.

It's like you label a guy a prospect and that gets conflated with something more.

F The Athletic

Astros got a MLB reliever
White Sox got a draft bust

Astros A
White Sox F-

Any way Abreu is involved with a trade for Bellinger?

Do Astros have to send out salary?

I wanted to keep graveman before we let him walk to this makes me happy. Now GO GET JV and Bellinger!!!

For a team that supposedly didn't want to rebuild the White Sox sure are unloading a lot of ML talent for prospects.

No. It would make absolutely zero sense for the Cubs to do that.

Yep, I'm not expecting a splash.

CSWendt said:

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I find it hard to believe we will make 2 more moves with one being a splash move. We just don't have the farm system to go get multiple big names, especially given a sellers market. We need to have the expectation of one more move, MAYBE two if they are small, cheap players. Teams can just offer much better prospects than us for guys like JV, Bellinger, Hader, Snell, etc.

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I don't think 2015 or anyone else suggested one was going to be a splash. It's been pretty well accepted for weeks that we are playing in the bargain bin.

We are somewhere around $12 million under the luxury tax amount.

The cynic in me wonders if they're inventing an excuse to have Diaz catch Javi, but that might hurt Maldy's pride even more, so I'm sure this is "legit"

They've been aggressive and they wanted to make a splash for sure. But it's a sellers market and that made it tough.

Graveman deal is exactly what I wanted to see. We gave up nothing of value to us, and got

If both Graveman and Montero can get it going soon then our bullpen woes will be largely over.

Would still like a solid middle rotation SP. I don't think we need an outfielder or a LH hitter, tbh. Kind of a luxury more than anything.

If we end making 2 more moves there will be some MLers on the move.

There's just not enough room

Javier has struggled some. Perfect time to change it up and see how he does with Diaz.

I don't know how anyone could feel comfortable with the squad as is in the playoffs. We absolutely need a top of the rotation SP to content this year. The way Framber has been pitching and lack of experienced depth behind him is terrifying in the playoffs.

Bulldog73 said:

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Yordan feels under the weather, he misses a week. Martin… stop the presses waiting for a Dr.

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My thoughts exactly!

After acquiring reliever Kendall Graveman, GM Dana Brown said the Astros’ remaining priorities for the trade deadline are a starting pitcher and a bat. They wouldn’t say no to another top notch late-innings reliever, but feel the bullpen is in pretty good shape.

— Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) July 28, 2023

Framber, Javier, and Urquidy have plenty of playoff experience. Hell they have more playoff experience and success than JV. Brown has had some now too.

Now they have to pitch better than they are now but experience is one thing we aren't lacking.

It's actually the one thing that makes us dangerous once we get in.

BadAggie said:

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F The Athletic

Astros got a MLB reliever
White Sox got a draft bust

Astros A
White Sox F-

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What's the average length of time to go from drafted to the pros? Lee is 23 and had only 26 major league plate appearances. It's early to call him a bust , imo.

Will he be a perennial all star? I doubt it, but he could be a solid player.