***Official Houston Astros 2023-24 Offseason Thread*** [Staff Warning - OP]

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Mathguy64
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In reply to Ag_07 • 9:34a, 3/19/24
AG
Ag_07 said:
Anyone kinda think the FO dropped the ball on addressing the starting pitching?

Yeah JV, France, and now Urquidy had ST injuries, but Urquidy has a pretty lengthy injury history and given JV's age I'm a bit surprised we didn't add a starter early on in the offseason.

I don't know maybe they've been trying but it just kinda seems we're scrambling here at the last minute to make an addition with even less leverage.
Dropped the ball? No.

Do we have questions? Yes but so do lots of teams. And at some point this year you get LMJ and Garcia back either to the pen or to start. Urquidy is concerning but I'll wait to see really what that is. Remember Bielak is either here to stay or gone as he's out of options.

I have more concerns about the depth in the pen. The back end Abreu-Pressly-Hader is the best trio in MLB. But the depth in front of them worries me.
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SpaceCityAg05
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In reply to tjack16 • 9:35a, 3/19/24
AG
Yeah, I am much more willing to do that lind of deal with Monty than Snell since there is no QO attached.
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iBrad
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In reply to Ag_07 • 9:36a, 3/19/24
AG
It's probably one of those situations where had we made a move, everyone would be healthy and pitching well, but since we didn't, we're in a tight spot due to injuries.

I'm not overly concerned about the rotation right now. If we can turn around our offensive performance at home this season, I think the offense could carry the team and we can continue to evaluate the staff as the season goes and guys return to the rotation.
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jkag89
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In reply to The Porkchop Express • 9:43a, 3/19/24
52/62 (Got two I wouldn't have gotten when I just typed Roberts for Robin Roberts and as a bonus Sporcle gave me Dave Roberts.

Missed 1962-65, 2001-02, and the starters during the Dark Ages of Astros baseball although I'm disappointed in myself for not at least not thinking of a couple of them.
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Deluxe
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In reply to EastCoastAgNc • 9:48a, 3/19/24
AG
EastCoastAgNc said:

I will not stand for this implicit attack on Blanco's spot in the rotation. Do better Tags!
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Wabs
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In reply to Ag_07 • 9:49a, 3/19/24
AG
Ag_07 said:
Anyone kinda think the FO dropped the ball on addressing the starting pitching?

Yeah JV, France, and now Urquidy had ST injuries, but Urquidy has a pretty lengthy injury history and given JV's age I'm a bit surprised we didn't add a starter early on in the offseason.

I don't know maybe they've been trying but it just kinda seems we're scrambling here at the last minute to make an addition with even less leverage.
Yes, my #3 "offseason wants/needs" on page 1 is a mid-level starter (Sonny Gray type). To me, it's an even bigger need now with the JV and Urquidy news. Now we're in a position where if we do add a SP, we're gonna pay more for it. Should have addressed it earlier in the offseason.
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texasaggie2015
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9:51a, 3/19/24
AG
Yep- they're very active in trying to get one more arm to the rotation. At this point I doubt it would be a big name. I think it would be a veteran guy who can eat innings. Michael Lorenzen comes to mind as someone Houston has been interested in previously.

I can't speak to why Houston has no interest in Montgomery, but it's possible they are and it just hasn't been mentioned to me.
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CFTXAG10
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10:06a, 3/19/24
AG
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RED AG 98
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10:06a, 3/19/24
AG
42. Man I can immediately tell the eras prior to my birth/fandom and when my kids were all young and consumed every ounce of free time.
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Farmer1906
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In reply to Ag_07 • 10:07a, 3/19/24
AG
Ag_07 said:
Anyone kinda think the FO dropped the ball on addressing the starting pitching?

Yeah JV, France, and now Urquidy had ST injuries, but Urquidy has a pretty lengthy injury history and given JV's age I'm a bit surprised we didn't add a starter early on in the offseason.

I don't know maybe they've been trying but it just kinda seems we're scrambling here at the last minute to make an addition with even less leverage.
I have maintained the same stance throughout. We have enough arms. If we add it needs to be someone who will start in the postseason.

If we list our guys from best to worst (subjective throwing it out there)

Verlander
Framber
Javier
McCullers
Brown
France
Garcia
Urquidy
Blanco
Bielak
Arrighetti

If we add, will they be able to beat out anyone in the top 4 or 5? If not, are they significantly better than the guys just behind them? If the answer is no we don't need to add IMO.
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Prosperdick
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In reply to Beat40 • 10:18a, 3/19/24
AG
Beat40 said:
MaxPower said:
AggiEE said:
So I guess we're not interested in Montgomery?
Yeah I don't get it. It kind of concerns me Crane fixates on specific players. Either you need a good starter or you don't. I get chiming in on character concerns but that's not the case here. If anything Montgomery is the safer option because he has more consistently logged innings and doesn't walk a million people.


I think Monty is the safer option for sure, but his ceiling is much lower.

In my opinion, his last two years, except for the second half of last year, top out at a high end #2. His years before that are a #3. He's wanting a #1 contract. I have questions about who he really is. Is he the guy from before the last two years, is he the guy of the last two years, or is he the guy of the second half of last season? All of those are very different payouts.

I don't think he's worth that what he's currently seeking, I think teams agree with my assessment, and Boras is over playing his hand with Monty.

I'm fine with not being in on him unless the price comes down a lot.
3 card Monty!
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cc10106
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10:21a, 3/19/24
I'm glad we didn't sign Snell to the deal he got from San Fran. Pretty sure we're still in a better position with starting pitching than most teams at this point.
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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10:36a, 3/19/24
Look, league min this year is $740k. I don't see why a minor league invite for Bauer just to check his vibe isn't worth it or frowned upon. If he is still on the top of his game, it COULD be worth it. He isn't perfect and can be an issue but that is why the invite to feel out the situation is something that intrigues me. Dump him IF he is still a cancer in the MLB locker room.

We have had several head cases in the past. Somebody who is in need of an arm and wants to win will end up signing him. Part of me thinks we shouldn't exclude the idea.
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texasaggie2015
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In reply to PrestigeWorldwideAg12 • 10:36a, 3/19/24
AG
Trust me. It's not happening.
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AggieJ2002
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10:37a, 3/19/24
AG
Spring Training has officially jumped the shark! Bring on the regular season!!!!

[Bart Scott] Can't Wait!!! [/Bart Scott]
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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In reply to texasaggie2015 • 10:41a, 3/19/24
texasaggie2015 said:
Trust me. It's not happening.
I understand it isn't happening and the board for the most part is against it... Don't understand the fear of giving a tryout or look.

It will be frustrating to watch him sign somewhere and comeback and have some success.
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Farmer1906
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In reply to PrestigeWorldwideAg12 • 10:43a, 3/19/24
AG
PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:
texasaggie2015 said:
Trust me. It's not happening.
I understand it isn't happening and the board for the most part is against it... Don't understand the fear of giving a tryout or look.

It will be frustrating to watch him sign somewhere and comeback and have some success.
Looks like he's blackballed. I don't think he'll be back.
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Marvin
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10:44a, 3/19/24
AG
You guys who are worrying about the rotation are severely underestimating the resurgence of Framber Valdez. This is a guy who booked five months of effective starts just a couple of years ago. He dropped seven pounds by losing the hair extensions, so he literally doesn't have nearly as much weighing on his mind this year. Look out.

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Beat40
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In reply to PrestigeWorldwideAg12 • 10:47a, 3/19/24
PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:
texasaggie2015 said:
Trust me. It's not happening.
I understand it isn't happening and the board for the most part is against it... Don't understand the fear of giving a tryout or look.

It will be frustrating to watch him sign somewhere and comeback and have some success.
Because of Osuna. That's the reason it's not happening. This organization took their chance on someone who had a bad reputation with women (obviously more than that with Osuna and Bauer isn't convicted of anything to this point) and it ended in flames.

On top of the women stuff with Bauer, his history of being a bad teammate is extensively logged.

His content is fun to watch, but he's not going to be on any team to start the year. I have doubts he plays at all this year at the MLB level.
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Beat40
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In reply to texasaggie2015 • 10:50a, 3/19/24
texasaggie2015 said:
Yep- they're very active in trying to get one more arm to the rotation. At this point I doubt it would be a big name. I think it would be a veteran guy who can eat innings. Michael Lorenzen comes to mind as someone Houston has been interested in previously.

I can't speak to why Houston has no interest in Montgomery, but it's possible they are and it just hasn't been mentioned to me.
If I were to guess - it's simply a value calculation. He's wanting a #1 payout when his ceiling, unless the second half of last season is who he has become, is a high end #2 at most. Snell's ceiling is much higher.



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cc10106
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In reply to Marvin • 10:51a, 3/19/24
Marvin said:
You guys who are worrying about the rotation are severely underestimating the resurgence of Framber Valdez. This is a guy who booked five months of effective starts just a couple of years ago. He dropped seven pounds by losing the hair extensions, so he literally doesn't have nearly as much weighing on his mind this year. Look out.

Plus Javier and Brown will bounce back.
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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10:52a, 3/19/24
I am confident that a team trying to compete this year will have another arm or two go down for an extended amount of time and will try to get him in the mix.

It's a cheap and dang good arm. Somebody will try their best to ignore the crap that comes with it.
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The Porkchop Express
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In reply to RED AG 98 • 10:53a, 3/19/24
AG
RED AG 98 said:
42. Man I can immediately tell the eras prior to my birth/fandom and when my kids were all young and consumed every ounce of free time.
My kids were born in 2012 - combine that with the black hole of no TV and the team being terrible in that time period and I was just throwing out ever pitcher we had in 2011-2014 and managed to get 2 of them.
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AustinCountyAg
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10:58a, 3/19/24
FWIW Bauer looked good in his start against that minor league team a week or so back. Will be interesting to see what he does against the yankees coming up.
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PoppaB05
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In reply to Farmer1906 • 10:59a, 3/19/24
AG
This x100

No team starts the year without some pitching injuries. Look around the league at what teams starting rotations will look like to start the year. We are fine. It's one thing to go after someone like Snell but the last thing we need is to waste money on a 5th - 6th level starter. Did we learn nothing from Odorizzi? Brown, Blanco, and Bielak will be fine until we get the Calvary back. Plus pitching is completely unpredictable. Who thought JP France would be a playoff contributor last year at this time? We still have a solid top 3 with JV, Framber, and Javier once they get healthy and I think Brown makes a leap this year.


We are fine
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CFTXAG10
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11:03a, 3/19/24
AG
I want Air Spaghetti to get a shot at the back end of the rotation. Kid is nice.
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Farmer1906
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11:06a, 3/19/24
AG
Last year we were 5th in wRC+. If you break it up to 1st half (Yordan & Tuve limited) vs 2nd Half (full strength + more Diaz PT) it paints a better picture for 2024 IMO. Fangraphs has us projected at 31.0 Batting WAR which is good for 3rd in baseball.

1st Half - 99 (15th)
2nd Half - 127 (2nd)

The offense is going to be good, very good. We just need the pitching to be above average. Last year we won 90 games and the division with a 3.94 ERA (8th), 4.31 FIP (17th), & 15.2 WAR (14th).

We did that without JV for half the year, McCullers for the full year, and Garcia & Urquidy for a huge chunk. As of now, we should expect to have more innings from JV, McCullers, & Garcia. France & Brown got a taste of a season in the bigs. I think the odds are we perform better in '24 vs '23 pitching-wise. Fangraphs has us projected at 16.5 pitching WAR which is good for 6th in baseball.
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tjack16
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11:18a, 3/19/24
AG
For those who have made the Boston trip.. is the tour of Fenway before the game worth it? Going for the Friday and Saturday night games when the Astros make the trip
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All I do is Nguyen
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11:21a, 3/19/24
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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In reply to All I do is Nguyen • 11:30a, 3/19/24
All I do is Nguyen said:


Camel toe replica
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DrZ
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11:32a, 3/19/24
AG
I don't know what that is but it looks like the sculpture Marie made on "Everybody Loves Ramond."

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Farmer1906
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In reply to tjack16 • 11:34a, 3/19/24
AG
tjack16 said:
For those who have made the Boston trip.. is the tour of Fenway before the game worth it? Going for the Friday and Saturday night games when the Astros make the trip


It's fine. Best part is getting up on the monster.
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JABQ04
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In reply to Deluxe • 11:35a, 3/19/24
AG
Deluxe said:
Does anyone want to pre-reserve Maldy for when we trade for him in July?


When we trade kessinger for Maldy then I'll die on that hill. Also, that brings up a question, if our player gets traded or sent down do we inherit the player that they are replaced by?
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The Porkchop Express
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11:35a, 3/19/24
AG
I can't figure out if that' a real object or some sort of AI creation of a statue. Is that a person standing in front of it? Is it 900 feet tall?
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The Porkchop Express
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In reply to JABQ04 • 11:36a, 3/19/24
AG
JABQ04 said:
Deluxe said:
Does anyone want to pre-reserve Maldy for when we trade for him in July?


When we trade kessinger for Maldy then I'll die on that hill. Also, that brings up a question, if our player gets traded or sent down do we inherit the player that they are replaced by?
No you have to root for them until their baseball career is over, or one of you dies.
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