The Porkchop Express said:

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MaxPower said:

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W said:

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2024 outfield assists for the Astros:

4 - Tucker in 592 innings

3 - Yordan in 421 innings

2 - Jake in 1,145 innings

2 - Dubon in 646 innings in the outfield

1 - Chas in 646 innings also

another area / aspect of the team that Dana needs to upgrade

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Joey Gallo had 14 OF assists in 2021….

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He also had 207 pitcher assists at the plate.

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It's just funny to think we are going to pursue OF assists as if it's an important metric. Tuck is in RF and he isn't going anywhere, Yordan will continue to get time in LF and CFers are notorious for having noodle arms. Dana isn't going to pursue some OF just for his ability to get assists. At some point we are just grasping at offseason straws.

Farmer1906 said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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The number of OF assists doesnt tell the whole story. How many runners attempted to take the extra base on a tag? How many attempted to go 1st - 3rd or score?

If you have 5 assists on 10 opportunities, thats great. 5 assists on 100 opportunities is bad.

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BINGO. Savant has a stat for that. As a team, we ranked 24th in the league.

Here is how it broke down.

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I remember when Dubon would start in CF to prevent runners going 1st to 3rd. Did he lose that ability or never have it to start with?

(I'm not ignoring how bad Chas and Jake were)

https://bsky.app/profile/juleshughan.bsky.social/post/3lanjawnqg224

Test post to see how bsky embeds on Texags. Let's hope for more Brice Matthews homers in the next few years.

Edit: no embed lol, alright. The context is he had 2 homers and 4 ribbies in a winter league game.

Can someone explain to me why we can't convert Yordan to 1B this offseason?

Farmer1906 said:

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tylhair said:

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Can someone explain to me why we can't convert Yordan to 1B this offseason?

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He sucks at it.

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Just as the last 100 times, the answer is going to be the same the next 100 times it's asked as well.

Yall know what I want in the off-season: Pitching first

would love a solid full time 1B and a OF that isn't a black hole (looking at you Meyers)

Farmer1906 said:

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The first base market is actually fairly decent this year, but here is one more name to consider.

Kazuma Okamoto

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Okamoto is a hot name who will probably be of interest to model-driven teams because of his ability to pull the ball in the air.

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Hello Crawford Boxes!

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Is Houston still model driven? Hard to tell, lately

speaking of the lineup...

one thing not mentioned yet...Altuve OPS:

2022 ---> .921
2023 ---> .915
2024 ---> .790

was that just a one year dip? Or will he settle in at .775 OPS going forward?

his best month last season was April. Second best month was June.

fatigue and 153 games played might have been a factor

W said:

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speaking of the lineup...

one thing not mentioned yet...Altuve OPS:

2022 ---> .921
2023 ---> .915
2024 ---> .790

was that just a one year dip? Or will he settle in at .775 OPS going forward?

his best month last season was April. Second best month was June.

fatigue and 153 games played might have been a factor

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This is where OPS makes it look worse than it was because of the over-counting on SLG.

I see 2 main issues with Altuve - Plate Discipline & "Luck"

We saw some major shifts from Altuve on balls not put in play.

• BB% dropped from 10.9% & 10.7% to 6.9%. He went from very good to below average.
• Whiff% jumped from 16.2% to 18.7% to 21.9%. He went from elite to slightly above average
• Chase% jumped from 28.6% to 32.1% to 37.3%. This explains to Whiff%.
• 1st Pitch Swing% & Overall Swing % jump from 38.9%/44.3% to 37.3%/45.1% to 46.0%/51.5%. He got swing happy.

I am sure I got a few eye rolls when they read luck. If you look at the batted ball metrics, it's not bad for Altuve.

• xwOBACON: .367 & .350 to .354. When he made contact it was right in line with his 2 monster years.
• Batted Ball Types - line drives were up, ground balls were down (from 23, in line with 22), and pop-ups were way way down.
• Then you look at how hard he's hitting the ball, and again, nothing crazy. Exit Velo was up, Max EV was in line, LA Sweet Spot was up from 23 and in line with 22, HH% was similar to slightly up, and I could keep going.
• The only blemish was barrel%. He wasn't getting those perfect perfect hits. That means a few monster HRs in 23 happened that didn't in 24.
• He also has a long history of overcoming the odds; meaning he outperforms his expected stats. If we compare wOBA to xwOBA the last 3 seasons he's been +.043, +.062, and +.026. He still does but not by as significant of a margin.

I don't expect Altuve to meet his 2022 or 2023 season. He's going to be 35. The decline is normal. But I don't think it should be doom and gloom either. He had a damn 127 wRC+ last year. He was the 2nd best offensive 2B in baseball and #3 wasn't close. There is reason to believe he can trend back towards his plate discipline #s of 22/23 and he's still hitting the ball the same then maybe he can sneak out one more 130 wRC+ season.

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/xFJQIwV4fw
Mark feinsand doing an AMA on Reddit.

Early notes:
- Soto likely signs by the end of winter meetings
- Tigers have interest in Breggy, wouldn't be surprised to see JV go back there
- Breggy is 50/50 to sign with Houston

EastCoastAgNc said:

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https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/xFJQIwV4fw
Mark feinsand doing an AMA on Reddit.

Early notes:
- Soto likely signs by the end of winter meetings
- Tigers have interest in Breggy, wouldn't be surprised to see JV go back there
- Breggy is 50/50 to sign with Houston

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Plouffe predicted Breggy to DET in the last episode of Talking Baseball.

Astros related answers.

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Given Detroit's success this year, I would expect them to be pretty aggressive this offseason. That's not to say they're signing Juan Soto, but I wouldn't be shocked if they're in on a number of the top free agents including Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and some of the starting pitchers. But to me, getting Tarik Skubal signed to an extension should be among their top priorities.

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Quote:

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Alonso's market should be solid, as he's one of the top power bats on the market. His chances to return to the Mets probably hinge on what happens with Soto; if the Mets give Soto the $500-600 million deal that is being projected, that may spell the end of Alonso's time in Queens. If he leaves the Mets, I could see the Yankees, Giants, Mariners, Astros and Blue Jays all being potential landing spots. I actually wrote about Alonso's free agency today, so check it out: https://www.mlb.com/news/pete-alonso-contract-projections-predictions-free-agency

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I'd say it's 50/50 that Bregman remains with the Astros, who will have another big free-agent decision next year when Kyle Tucker hits the open market. It's difficult for me to see Houston signing both of them to long-term deals, so if the Astros bring back Bregman, it could be a sign that they don't think they will be able to do the same with Tucker. Verlander could also come back, though I won't be shocked if A.J. Hinch tries to bring him to Detroit; Hinch was Verlander's manager in Houston, and Verlander started his career with the Tigers, so going back to Detroit would be a nice full-circle way for the future Hall of Famer to finish his career.

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Farmer1906 said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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Fifteen notable MLB players who could be traded this offseason - The Athletic

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5. Luis Robert Jr., CF, White Sox

The White Sox claim they want to build around him, but let's be realistic: Luis Robert Jr. will turn 28 next August, he's already halfway through his prime years and will be a free agent after the 2027 season. His trade value is high and the White Sox need to take advantage of it. If they can get seven solid-to-great prospects for both Crochet and Robert, their rebuild timeline could be expedited by two to three years. The Phillies, Red Sox and Astros make a lot of sense as trade partners for Chicago.

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I've mentioned this a few times over the last couple years, but Dana likes Luis Robert a lot.

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It would make a bunch of sense. Unload some prospects for LuBob who's under control for 3 more years. Trade away Tucker to recoup those prospects. Resign Breggy. The window stays open.

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Yes please

Farmer1906 said:

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The first base market is actually fairly decent this year, but here is one more name to consider.

Kazuma Okamoto

Quote:

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Okamoto is a hot name who will probably be of interest to model-driven teams because of his ability to pull the ball in the air.

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Hello Crawford Boxes!

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Isnt he not available til 2026?

MaxPower said:

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It seems that if we had the prospects to get that done it would have already occurred.

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Probably correct, but as proposed I say yes, please.

So where in the hell are the Rays going to play this year? Minor league park?

Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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It seems that if we had the prospects to get that done it would have already occurred.

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Probably correct, but as proposed I say yes, please.

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3 way

We send Tucker to PHI and an arm to CHI
CHI sends us LuBob
PHI sends CHI prospects

Farmer1906 said:

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Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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It seems that if we had the prospects to get that done it would have already occurred.

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Probably correct, but as proposed I say yes, please.

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3 way

We send Tucker to PHI and an arm to CHI
CHI sends us LuBob
PHI sends CHI prospects

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Don't see how you are basically getting 3 years of LuBob for 1 year of Tucker.

MaxPower said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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It seems that if we had the prospects to get that done it would have already occurred.

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Probably correct, but as proposed I say yes, please.

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3 way

We send Tucker to PHI and an arm to CHI
CHI sends us LuBob
PHI sends CHI prospects

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Don't see how you are basically getting 3 years of LuBob for 1 year of Tucker.

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The arm is someone like Spaghetti.

Dana Brown didn’t want to discuss what the Astros will do if Alex Bregman signs elsewhere. Here are some thoughts and names he may consider at third base if that happens - https://t.co/mgTA1KbeiQ

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 13, 2024

Moncada is a name I've heard come up a couple times

texasaggie2015 said:

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Moncada is a name I've heard come up a couple times

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Didn't we learn our lesson form the LAST ChiSox infielder we signed?