Ag_07 said:

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Those players are going to be playing new positions regardless of Bregman.

So they're showing up to ST knowing very well they'll be playing new/multiple positions.

Hell Altuve has already begun getting reps in LF.

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Am I just wrong thinking or don't baseball players like to get comfortable with the same guys at the other positions on the IF?

gambochaman said:

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-I think they both see action this year. LMJ needs to be in the BP...I think he could be absolutely filthy in short outings. I think his days as SP are behind him.

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I see these posts a lot and I totally get but if you have a history of arm injuries, moving to the bullpen is actually harder on your arm

Breaking: Kenley Jansen to the Angels

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2025

Astros have agreed to a Minor League deal with veteran IF Luis Guillorme, according to a source. The 30-year-old has seven years in big leagues, mostly with Mets. Lefty bat provides some infield depth.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 11, 2025

texasaggie2015 said:

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He claims that Altuve is moving to left so Bregman can play second if he comes back. That's about when I stopped reading.

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Yeah I was just wondering if he had any more info on offers, timing, or guesses at where he signs

texasaggie2015 said:

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gambochaman said:

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-I think they both see action this year. LMJ needs to be in the BP...I think he could be absolutely filthy in short outings. I think his days as SP are behind him.

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I see these posts a lot and I totally get but if you have a history of arm injuries, moving to the bullpen is actually harder on your arm

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this is interesting and I had not thought of that angle. Please tell me more. I figured with his history of injury, pitching less innings would be beneficial.


is it because of the short warmup to live action process?

they didnt call him the professor for nothing

Shorter warmup time and faster turn around. Much different than someone who's been a starter forever.

I would think unpredictable schedule is a factor as well.

Not having the same 4 days in between outings and not knowing when you may get in is pretty rough on someone with as lengthy an injury history as Lance.

All of the above. Plus having to warm up quickly and sit back down. All of those things.

I'd bet that's it. More than a little bit of "get up and warm up quickly" in the bullpen, and I don't see LMJ being good in that scenario.

If it were part of an organizational approach, he'd probably be a pretty good opener...go through the lineup once or so, get 3-4 high-effort innings and be on a schedule to do that.

Marvin said:

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• What do you think the '25 Astros still need?
• What do you think Brown and Crane will do with roster additions, if anything?
• What do you think is the strongest position group (SP, RP, IF, OF)?
• Who are you most excited to see in spring training?
• Yes or no on LMJ or Garcia pitching a live batting practice (at a minimum)?

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An established LH bat for the outfield, likely via trade (assuming Alex is gone). I'm disappointed they haven't already done it.

In terms of free agent signings, maybe someone in the bullpen

Infield followed by SP

Cam Smith, Dezenzo

LMJ yes, LuAce probably not

texasaggie2015 said:

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gambochaman said:

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-I think they both see action this year. LMJ needs to be in the BP...I think he could be absolutely filthy in short outings. I think his days as SP are behind him.

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I see these posts a lot and I totally get but if you have a history of arm injuries, moving to the bullpen is actually harder on your arm

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Is it? I've read research (one example pasted below) that disagrees with that idea- at least, this study of minor league players found that starting pitchers were more at risk of injury than relievers. It did not find a difference in elbow injury rate, but the workload and fatigue of piling up innings as a starter was a significant contributor to bun shoulders and other incidents. It accounted for appearances and innings, so I think it was an apple-to-apple comparison. That said, I doubt these guys considered a hurt starter shifting to a reliever role, and it excluded pitchers who did not participate in full spring training. So, it may not apply to LMJ or Garcia this year, but the general assessment is that starters are more at risk than relievers.

Are you speaking from personal experience, the prevailing webspeak, or backdoor feedback from your neighbor/friend? I don't mean to argue with you, but I am curious what your basis is for that statement.


-- Bullock, G. S., Thigpen, C. A., Collins, G. S., Arden, N. K., Noonan, T. K., Kissenberth, M. J., & Shanley, E. (2022). Hazard of Arm Injury in Professional Starting and Relief Pitchers. Journal of athletic training, 57(1), 6571. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-0262.21

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Greg Maddux gave up a home run to Jeff Bagwell in a meaningless, blow out game...

Why? To set him up for a HUGE strikeout months later. 😳

This man was playing 4D Chess while everyone else was playing checkers. ♟️🤓 pic.twitter.com/N2znrURgWB

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 11, 2025

Dude was playing 5D chess

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watch the whole show, lots of great stories

That is a great documentary.

Is that study focusing on those who have a history of arm injuries? That's what I'm referring to in this case

texasaggie2015 said:

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Is that study focusing on those who have a history of arm injuries? That's what I'm referring to in this case

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It claimed to account for previous injury. Again, I'm not trying to change your mind. I am curious if you have info that I have not seen- such as it being an organizational belief through your contact.

It probably goes without saying, but Lance becoming a viable part of the rotation again this season would be such a boost. He just seems like the kind of player that can galvanize a team even if he's not a top end starter anymore.

My source on this: More than one guy who has had TJ with big league experience

Could be different for everyone I suppose

texasaggie2015 said:

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My source on this: More than one guy who has had TJ with big league experience

Could be different for everyone I suppose

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Oh, ok. Fair enough.

John Smoltz agrees

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Breaking: Kenley Jansen to the Angels

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2025

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GOOD

redline248 said:

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The study is probably not considering the effect of starting the season as a starter and moving to the pen in the same season. Probably most people with brains would want to avoid that, though I know Houston did it with Blanco. I would be curious how he felt about that, mentally and physically.

However, I see no reason why a starting pitcher couldn't train his body (and mind) to be a reliever as a career transition.

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Agreed, and we know that pitchers get hurt doing something different in-season. That is always a risk come playoff time when you ask a guy to change his season-long routine- starting or out of the pen.

I was only asking Ketch because it was something of a declarative statement and I couldn't tell if he was repeating something from his source or just his opinion. All good!

Marwin is number 1 in my book. That first title maybe doesn't happen without that HR but splitting hairs with Yordan HR

Wabs said:

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Top 3 postseason HRs?

1. Yordan WS Game 6, 2022
2. Altuve ALCS Game 6, 2019
3. Marwin WS Game 2, 2017

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That's my order as well. My favorite is still the Altuve walk off though… Just an iconic moment and it really felt like we were going to cruise through that World Series.

Honorable mention:
- 2022 ALDS G1 Yordan walk off
- any HR from 2017 WS G5
- 2021 ALCS G4 altuve homerun to tie it in the 8th. It was looking dreary to that point facing going down 3-1 in the series
- Burke 2005 ALDS G5

In relation to LMJ or other SP pitching in relief:
I still believe the Astros with their staff makeup should look at an option 3. Finding at least 2 SP who can pitch in more defined medium length (2-3 IP or once through the order) outings. I am looking at guys like LMJ and Garcia. Standard relievers have volatility and unpredictability in usage, and that can be hard to adjust to.

But what if you have a guy that is trained to pitch 2-3 innings every 3 days. And then you have more than one of those.

You can never have enough starting pitching, but it is also difficult to carry enough starting pitchers with roster spots. How do you assemble a roster with enough depth going into a season to suffer 1, 2, or heaven-forbid, 3+ SP going on the shelf? Sometimes, you have enough young arms at AAA ready to go, but even then you run into 40-man issues and the like.

But what if you assemble a 5-man rotation (not 6 in this scenario) with 2-3 leverage multi-inning arms, 2-3 back end relief arms (closer/set-up), and 2-3 middle relief. This allows you to carry 7-8 SP on your 13 man staff.

While your veteran horses (such as Framber) can prepare to go as deep as they can every outing, it allows younger arms to focus on 5 quality innings for load management and to maximize effectiveness. If you get 5 from your starter, you look for 2-3 out of a LMJ/Garcia type to bridge to your end-game bullpen scenario. You use middle relievers to finish innings where a pitcher leaves mid-inning.

In this idea, if you have two guys per trip through the rotation that give you six plus, that leaves only 3 games per trip needing a multi-inning reliever. This allows on average for setting up a swing starter predictability knowing which days he will be used. He gets routine, you get max effort leverage, and he remains semi-stretched out in case you need him to step up into the primary rotation due to an injury.

We have seen it work in the postseason, and I think if it were managed strategically, it could be really effective for both in-game strategy AND roster management.