Can Donovan play CF or just strictly LF/IF?
***** Official Houston Astros 2024-2025 Offseason Thread *****
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Last: 8 min ago by EastCoastAgNc
Free agency next year is heavy on starters. There's both top end guys and a lot of 3/4 type guys. It's going to be much easier to find an Arrighetti than it is a Donovan. I think we've also demonstrated the strength of this org is developing pitchers. Hitters, not so much.SpaceCityAg05 said:
While Donovan would fit well (and really concretize this new 3 year roster window), you can't give up Spaghetti without have a plan to acquire another arm that is cheap and not a JAG.
Agreed. Spencer's K stuff is outstanding, and if he refines command at all like most young pitchers do after adjustment (lowering the crazy walk rate), he could be a cheap middle to top of the rotation arm for years to come.
I get why STL would ask for him, but I just wouldn't do it. Framber is the only current starter I would listen to offers for.
I get why STL would ask for him, but I just wouldn't do it. Framber is the only current starter I would listen to offers for.
Here are the free agent starters next year:
Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Framber Valdez, Michael King, Clayton Kershaw, Jordan Montgomery, Shane Bieber (player option), Shota Imanaga (club option/player option), Brandon Woodruff (mutual option), Zach Eflin, Kodai Senga (opt-out), Ranger Surez, Chris Bassitt, Nestor Cortes, Jon Gray, Merrill Kelly, Frankie Montas (opt-out), Dustin May, Tyler Mahle, and Nick Martinez.
Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Framber Valdez, Michael King, Clayton Kershaw, Jordan Montgomery, Shane Bieber (player option), Shota Imanaga (club option/player option), Brandon Woodruff (mutual option), Zach Eflin, Kodai Senga (opt-out), Ranger Surez, Chris Bassitt, Nestor Cortes, Jon Gray, Merrill Kelly, Frankie Montas (opt-out), Dustin May, Tyler Mahle, and Nick Martinez.
Abreu was actually 51 when that contract started.EastCoastAgNc said:tjack16 said:
3/60 is good to me
As long as he doesn't plummet and he can produce the way he has the last two seasons he will be worth it
He's gonna play his age 34/35/36 years on this contract. Abreu was playing on his age 36/37/38 seasons for his contract.
he can also play INFWabs said:
Can Donovan play CF or just strictly LF/IF?
This is simply not true.
He was 49.
He was 49.
Love Bregman and what he meant to Houston, but I think it was the right decision for us to move on from signing him to a mega contract. A 6 or 7 year $200M contract would be an enormous overpay and hurt us long-term. His decline over the past few seasons has been significant. I think the 6/156 was already extremely fair and generous on the Astros part. Curious if he manages to get that now that the Astros are no longer in the running.
After the Peredes & Smith trade, Bregman just doesn't fit. We received a quality 3B and a prospect that's likely going to be Peredes replacement in 3 years at 3B. I do hope that if Smith rakes in the minors that he's brought up to the majors quickly and can fill an OF position in the meantime.
So far these offseason moves have been great, IMO. The Tucker trade gave us future talent and existing talent that basically is a wash for Bregman and shores up the middle relief/starter role. The signing of Walker gives us a great defensive 1B with 30 HR potential which is simular to Tucker's HR numbers. Won't give you the same avg or OBP, but the OPS numbers if they maintain in the 800s aren't much lower.
So overall, we haven't lost much from last year offensively right now. Potentially we may be much better if Peredes and Walker do damage on the pull side in Daikan park more than their current numbers reflect.
I'd still like to see an OF move made which would make the lineup pretty dangerous, but I don't know if we'll get any big splashes. Honestly I would be fine with a reliable guy like Gamel. May not give you massive pop, but hits for average and can give you a quality AB that our team desperately needed last season.
After the Peredes & Smith trade, Bregman just doesn't fit. We received a quality 3B and a prospect that's likely going to be Peredes replacement in 3 years at 3B. I do hope that if Smith rakes in the minors that he's brought up to the majors quickly and can fill an OF position in the meantime.
So far these offseason moves have been great, IMO. The Tucker trade gave us future talent and existing talent that basically is a wash for Bregman and shores up the middle relief/starter role. The signing of Walker gives us a great defensive 1B with 30 HR potential which is simular to Tucker's HR numbers. Won't give you the same avg or OBP, but the OPS numbers if they maintain in the 800s aren't much lower.
So overall, we haven't lost much from last year offensively right now. Potentially we may be much better if Peredes and Walker do damage on the pull side in Daikan park more than their current numbers reflect.
I'd still like to see an OF move made which would make the lineup pretty dangerous, but I don't know if we'll get any big splashes. Honestly I would be fine with a reliable guy like Gamel. May not give you massive pop, but hits for average and can give you a quality AB that our team desperately needed last season.
and McCullersAg_07 said:
Yeah I'm not sure I'd part with Spencer.
I really think he could be a stud #2/3 arm in a rotation.
A potential future Framberless rotation of HB, Javier, Araghetti, Garcia could be pretty damn salty.
Wabs said:Yeah, eat a dick sandwich Jeff. No mention in his tweet about the controllable years and prospect we got for Tucker (who probably wasn't re-signing with us any way).EastCoastAgNc said:The Houston Astros have traded their best player, Kyle Tucker, and are letting go of Alex Bregman, who has the most WAR for them since his first full season in 2017. In the meantime, they will pay first basemen Christian Walker and José Abreu a combined $39.5 million in 2025.…
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 20, 2024
Eff off Jeff
And Jeff makes no mention of Springer and Correa not being signed to extensions. And they haven't performed nearly as well as their years with the Astros. Looks like that worked out just fine Jeff.
Not signing Bregman is prudent. He's not 2019 Bregman anymore and has shows significant declines on offense and is sloooww. How many inning ending double plays did he hit into in 2024?
He is one hell of a third baseman though.
He is one hell of a third baseman though.
Correa has been pretty good even with being hurt. 10.7 WAR for $100M so far. Not great but not terrible. Like Bregman he also brings some intangibles. The concern is moreso how he will hold up the remainder of that contract given the injuries already plaguing him.
George has definitely been a bad deal for Toronto and I hate to see it. Favorite Stro from this era.
George has definitely been a bad deal for Toronto and I hate to see it. Favorite Stro from this era.
My understanding from conversations around the Astros is that they don't want to spend over the CBT again this year. So I don't see them signing anymore free agents. They could possibly look via trade, but that seems doubtful.
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) December 20, 2024
After signing Christian Walker, the Astros are a…
Lines up with what Farmer said. I still think if that's their budget then trading Framber for cheap talent and signing one of the FA OF is the way to go.
Keith Law likes the Astros' signing of a free-agent first baseman more than the last one -https://t.co/eYmYqUjZhz
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) December 20, 2024
Maybe Toronto will take Pressly, a prospect or two and some of Springer's salary to send him back to our centerfield.
I've been thinking since Walker was added that trading Framber may be more favorable now.
Given that we can't afford an OFer and if he's gonna walk as well then that with our pitching depth may be the way to go.
Given that we can't afford an OFer and if he's gonna walk as well then that with our pitching depth may be the way to go.
Yep, I still think a Framber trade would be prudent if you find the right return. By playoff time, you hope to add Javier back ibto fhe mix on top of the currently available guys.
Next offseason money is freed up if you need to further bolster the rotation.
I wonder if we could twist STL's arm to give up Donovan for a package around Melton, Whitcomb, and one of Bloss/Gordon/Blubaugh.
Next offseason money is freed up if you need to further bolster the rotation.
I wonder if we could twist STL's arm to give up Donovan for a package around Melton, Whitcomb, and one of Bloss/Gordon/Blubaugh.
Wabs said:
Maybe Toronto will take Pressly, a prospect or two and some of Springer's salary to send him back to our centerfield.
Hmmm...You may be on to something.
And honestly George is being who we knew he was. A VERY streaky hitter and a good OFer was gives max effort but is also injury prone.
He's had some stretches in Toronto where he's been the hottest hitter in the league and where he's been the worst hitter in the league.
I have been and am still in favor of trading Framber. It would net us some more young talent and open the purse for a good OFer. But I'd want to accompany this with signing another starting pitcher, someone like Flaherty or Patrick Corbin.Ag_07 said:
I've been thinking since Walker was added that trading Framber may be more favorable now.
Given that we can't afford an OFer and if he's gonna walk as well then that with our pitching depth may be the way to go.
The Astros can not win a WS without an ace/big game pitcher. Most teams who win the WS have multiple.
The Astros SP depth is a strength but no one but Framber is close to an ace.
You can trade Framber and improve the team for 2026, 2027, 2028. But then you have to go out and bring in an ace next offseason. Those cost big money.
The Astros SP depth is a strength but no one but Framber is close to an ace.
You can trade Framber and improve the team for 2026, 2027, 2028. But then you have to go out and bring in an ace next offseason. Those cost big money.
Bloss is in Toronto, call Click up for a 3 way, I guess
tylhair said:
The Astros can not win a WS without an ace/big game pitcher. Most teams who win the WS have multiple.
The Astros SP depth is a strength but no one but Framber is close to an ace.
You can trade Framber and improve the team for 2026, 2027, 2028. But then you have to go out and bring in an ace next offseason. Those cost big money.
Blanco and brown were excellent last year and could easily make the jump to ace level this year
Who was the Dodgers ace this year?tylhair said:
The Astros can not win a WS without an ace/big game pitcher. Most teams who win the WS have multiple.
The Astros SP depth is a strength but no one but Framber is close to an ace.
You can trade Framber and improve the team for 2026, 2027, 2028. But then you have to go out and bring in an ace next offseason. Those cost big money.
Blanco was such a nice surprise...Glad we have him in our back pocket ...tjack16 said:tylhair said:
The Astros can not win a WS without an ace/big game pitcher. Most teams who win the WS have multiple.
The Astros SP depth is a strength but no one but Framber is close to an ace.
You can trade Framber and improve the team for 2026, 2027, 2028. But then you have to go out and bring in an ace next offseason. Those cost big money.
Blanco and brown were excellent last year and could easily make the jump to ace level this year
Is nobody interested in taking Pressly? Seems like an obvious move for Houston to make right now.
Yammammoto and Jack Flaherty are big game pitchers. Much more "ace" than hunter brown or ronel blanco.
Also, I think you can get away with less strong starting pitching when you have the greatest hitter alive and three other league MVPs in your lineup. Not sure we are built in the $400M Dodgers model.
Also, I think you can get away with less strong starting pitching when you have the greatest hitter alive and three other league MVPs in your lineup. Not sure we are built in the $400M Dodgers model.
Sher Thing said:
Is nobody interested in taking Pressly? Seems like an obvious move for Houston to make right now.
I'd love to see HB make the jump to ace level. He has definitely flashed.
I think we know Blanco is likely to regress in 2025.
It would be smart for the Astros to not build the team around "maybe one of the other guys will suddenly become great"
I think we know Blanco is likely to regress in 2025.
It would be smart for the Astros to not build the team around "maybe one of the other guys will suddenly become great"
Honestly even with Framber we're not realistically competing for a WS.
We're still going to be in dog fight in meh division and MAYBE add some pieces at the deadline to try to make a deep run.
I think we're in the same spot with or without Framber.
We're still going to be in dog fight in meh division and MAYBE add some pieces at the deadline to try to make a deep run.
I think we're in the same spot with or without Framber.
No they aren't. Flaherty was back to 2023 garbage in the playoffs. Yamamoto was able to go more than 4 innings once in the playoffs after being injured half the year. Give me Hunter.
So what are we doing here? why bring in aging Christian Walker if you are punting 2025?
The front office has to stick to a consistent strategy. Based on the return targeted in the Tucker trade and the Walker signing, we are attempting to retool and try and win in 2025-2028.
I don't think the Walker signing makes sense if you trade Framber.
The front office has to stick to a consistent strategy. Based on the return targeted in the Tucker trade and the Walker signing, we are attempting to retool and try and win in 2025-2028.
I don't think the Walker signing makes sense if you trade Framber.
Framber's value has been as a regular season horse. He hasn't been a postseason "ace" for us.
I actually think the Astros personnel suggests we should evolve our model. Assemble a 5 man rotation of quality arms that can go through the order twice (5-6 innings) and then have three arms in the bullpen that are swing guys (looking at you Garcia and McCullers) that are responsible for going through the order once (2-3) innings.
Then you have 3 back of the pen traditional closer/set-up types, and 2 firemen/middle relievers used to transition between the other pieces (Tayler Scott, Maton type guys).
I actually think the Astros personnel suggests we should evolve our model. Assemble a 5 man rotation of quality arms that can go through the order twice (5-6 innings) and then have three arms in the bullpen that are swing guys (looking at you Garcia and McCullers) that are responsible for going through the order once (2-3) innings.
Then you have 3 back of the pen traditional closer/set-up types, and 2 firemen/middle relievers used to transition between the other pieces (Tayler Scott, Maton type guys).
MaxPower said:
Give me Hunter.
This
In 3 years worth of postseason pitching (16 IP) HB has pitched to a 1.65 ERA with 10 hits, 2 HRs, 6 BBs, and 16 Ks.
Dude shows up in big games
The Dodgers also have spent money on Glasnow and Snell. They won without a former Cy Young winner last year (again with a $400M roster) but they know it isn't smart to build a team without one.
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