Yes on Melton
Schmaybe on Dezenzo
Loperfido I think starts somewhere (1B or corner OF)
Corona I'm not as high on and hope not if only because it means Tucker has been extended

I think Loperfido might be the best of the bunch. He's taking a position. Baez had a super high ceiling too. He's just too young but he's going to shoot up through the system.

The Astros assigned the following players to minor-league camp, per Joe Espada: A.J. Blubaugh, Colton Gordon, Rhett Kouba, Zach Dezenzo, Will Wagner, Miguel Palma, Jacob Melton.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) March 3, 2024

Would have thought they would have kept some of these guys up longer

Wasn't Gordon as likely to get a big league look this year as Spaghetti?

EastCoastAgNc said:

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The Astros assigned the following players to minor-league camp, per Joe Espada: A.J. Blubaugh, Colton Gordon, Rhett Kouba, Zach Dezenzo, Will Wagner, Miguel Palma, Jacob Melton.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) March 3, 2024

Would have thought they would have kept some of these guys up longer

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What non roster invitees are left?

There's is no game tomorrow, next game Tuesday is on TV

Farmer1906 said:

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I think Loperfido might be the best of the bunch. He's taking a position. Baez had a super high ceiling too. He's just too young but he's going to shoot up through the system.

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the youth is why I ignored Baez in reference to next year.

Maybe Loperfido comes up in center first until Melton is ready and Tucker is gone? Or he's mentioned as a 2nd baseman, could be be the next 3B instead of Dezenzo

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I think Loperfido might be the best of the bunch. He's taking a position. Baez had a super high ceiling too. He's just too young but he's going to shoot up through the system.

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the youth is why I ignored Baez in reference to next year.

Maybe Loperfido comes up in center first until Melton is ready and Tucker is gone? Or he's mentioned as a 2nd baseman, could be be the next 3B instead of Dezenzo

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Yeah, I get that. I bring him up because I think he'll eventually leapfrog some of these guys.

I didn't realize how much INF Loperfido played last year. Maybe he's our future Cody Bellinger. Left-hitting athlete in CF and 1B.

Corona is the guy with the worst hit tool. Even with good defense, I think he's lost in the crowd because everyone is good enough on defense.

Damn, didn't think about we could use him at first as well.

Possibly he makes it as the extra utility guy who hits with power and can play first as well as anywhere else

My early guess

Pitchers (13)
1. JV
2. Framber
3. HB
4. Urkeediing
5. Bielak(McC later)
6. France
7. Presley
8. Hader
9. Abreu
10. Whitley/ Coleman/ Martinez/Blanco/Mushinski
11. Javier
12. Montero
13. Sousa

Fielders (13)
1. Diaz
2. Abreu
3. Altuve
4. Pena
5. Bregman
6. Dubon
7. Chaz
8. Jake
9. Tucker
10. Caratini
11. Cabbage
12. Alvarez
13. Hensley/Kessinger/ Julks/ singleton/ Loperfido

Nothing against Bielak, but I kind of hope we trade him this spring to a team w/ injuries. I think we have higher ceiling options to start and pitch long relief.

If Cabbage makes it, I think OF is full with Doobie being able to play there. So no Julks or Loperfido (unless we like his play at 1B that much). I think consistent ABs are more important that getting a bench shot.

I think Kessinger is better defensively Hensley. He might have the edge there. But who else can play 1B? Hensley's versatility might help. With Caratini in the mix, do we lose Singleton at the lefty bench bat?

There is a lot of ways to play it. I'm very interested how Brown & Espada fill the last 2-3 spots on the roster. Remember how shocked we were when Julks & Salazar made the opening day roster last year.

Farmer1906 said:

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Nothing against Bielak, but I kind of hope we trade him this spring to a team w/ injuries. I think we have higher ceiling options to start and pitch long relief.

If Cabbage makes it, I think OF is full with Doobie being able to play there. So no Julks or Loperfido (unless we like his play at 1B that much). I think consistent ABs are more important that getting a bench shot.

I think Kessinger is better defensively Hensley. He might have the edge there. But who else can play 1B? Hensley's versatility might help. With Caratini in the mix, do we lose Singleton at the lefty bench bat?

There is a lot of ways to play it. I'm very interested how Brown & Espada fill the last 2-3 spots on the roster. Remember how shocked we were when Julks & Salazar made the opening day roster last year.

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I agree on Bielak but I think he stays until McC/Luis are back. He has no options so we will have to cut him or trade him.

I think Singleton is done personally and I only listed Julks because he was up last year, I didn't think we ever see him in orange and navy blue again. I listed Hensley for the same reason I think he's firmly behind Grae and may be close to being behind Loperfido

Is Blanco really an option since Ketch reiterated the team's desire to stretch him out as a starter?

And following that up... have we heard anything about France lately?

Stretching him out as an option to be a starter is still gonna allow him to be long relief if needed

Zack Wheeler and the Phillies have agreed a three-year deal that will pay him the fourth-highest annual average salary among starting pitchers in baseball history. The contract details @TheAthleticMLB: https://t.co/zoLhojGpnG

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 4, 2024

He's getting those JV, Max type deals. But he's probably a safer bet than them since he's 33, not 38-39.

Farmer1906 said:

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He's getting those JV, Max type deals. But he's probably a safer bet than them since he's 33, not 38-39.

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3 years is a long time, specifically when it's in addition to this year. He's had health issues in the past and pitchers are inherently higher risk. Think at that AAV I'm only doing two years, maybe with a vesting third year.

What's interesting about this offseason is the middle class free agent. It seems clear owners will pay top dollar for studs. However, they are giving long years for those solid, above average types. For us, we typically like shopping in that price range and I can't help but think there's a market inefficiency there. I could see us interested in guys like Adames, Verdugo, Teoscar, Torres or Christian Walker next offseason. The last two may seem odd but maybe you can dump Abreu. Adames specifically is someone I like. Think he's an upgrade over Pena, so you could either trade Pena or Adames could be your 3B with flexibility to backup SS.

Farmer1906 said:

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He's getting those JV, Max type deals. But he's probably a safer bet than them since he's 33, not 38-39.

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He's never going to get the 7-year deal, so get as much money up front as you can at 33, in my opinion.

AustinCountyAg said:

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everytime I read Zack Wheeler's name I cant help but think of Astros great Dan Wheeler

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i feel like Dan Wheeler threw at Barry Bonds one time and got a huge ovation.

Beat40 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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He's getting those JV, Max type deals. But he's probably a safer bet than them since he's 33, not 38-39.

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He's never going to get the 7-year deal, so get as much money up front as you can at 33, in my opinion.

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I'm sure Philly would have given him 7/126.

that being said...

the Phillies could be one of those teams (if this season or the next goes south)...

where a smart club picks off one or two of their veteran players for the final year of his contract

Farmer1906 said:

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Beat40 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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He's getting those JV, Max type deals. But he's probably a safer bet than them since he's 33, not 38-39.

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He's never going to get the 7-year deal, so get as much money up front as you can at 33, in my opinion.

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I'm sure Philly would have given him 7/126.

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Ha. I'm sure.

Red Five said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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AustinCountyAg said:

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everytime I read Zack Wheeler's name I cant help but think of Astros great Dan Wheeler

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i feel like Dan Wheeler threw at Barry Bonds one time and got a huge ovation.

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I'm almost positive that was Russ Springer. I looked it up and Russ hit Bonds in a game in 2006 at MMP.

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Good call.

Thinking about Chappy. I completely forgot (or never knew) that the As offered Chapman a Braves-like deal back in 2019 - 10 years 150 M. It would buy out 4 years of control and add another 6 taking him through 2029.

Chapman has made 35 M in his career. He's guaranteed another 54 M if he doesn't opt out of the Giants deal. That means he needs another 3/61 M deal to "break-even" with what Oakland offered. I am extremely confident he won't get that offer at age 35.

And it gets worse. The Blue Jays supposedly offered him 6/120-125 M during the season. With the 35 M he's already earned another 125 M would put him at 160 M through 2029.

I predict he will to get his ~19 M this year with the buyout then sign another deal around 3/50. Then he'll sign short-term deals around 10-12 M per for a few more seasons and end up just short of the 150 M the As offered. If all goes well he'll have cost himself a lot of stress, moving around, and 20-30 M over his career. If he plays poorly this season, then he may end up costing himself 50-75 M in the long run.

sucks for Chapman, but happy to see Boras get screwed

Farmer1906 said:

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I may be higher on them. I think they're probably the 3rd best team in the NL. At worst, they're clearly ahead of Miami, Padres, Mets, and a handful of others fighting for the last wild card.

With the 1-2-3 punch of Wheeler, Nola, & Suarez is nasty in the postseason. Plus all that postseason experience.

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This plus MLB is becoming NBA-ish. If they go south they can deal some of these guys, eat some salary and get valuable prospects. The Mets got Acuna and Gilbert, who will likely be starting at 2B and CF by year end (with star potential) plus other young pieces who make up their 4th, 8th and 12th ranked prospects. They basically completely remade their team selling off recent big money deals or vets in their last season of a contract.

Farmer1906 said:

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I predict he will to get his ~19 M this year with the buyout then sign another deal around 3/50. Then he'll sign short-term deals around 10-12 M per for a few more seasons and end up just short of the 150 M the As offered. If all goes well he'll have cost himself a lot of stress, moving around, and 20-30 M over his career. If he plays poorly this season, then he may end up costing himself 50-75 M in the long run.

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All worth it not having to play the majority of your career in shltty Oakland.