We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

linkdude said:

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Source: OF Wilberson De Peña, the Florida Complex League Triple Crown winner, has been promoted to the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees' Single-A affiliate.

— Francys Romero (@FrancysRomero) July 27, 2026

Now I'm curious who'll get the jump from champs to Single-A ball for us.

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Anybody else read that as the Tampa Tampons?

Heineken-Ashi said:

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We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

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Depends on the specific moves. If we are just taking on salary dumps then maybe not but depends how bad those contracts are and for how long. It's not like we shop for premiere free agents anyway and most of the free agent money we do spend immediately turns into guys we wish we could salary dump like Abreu, CW and Imai

I get what you're saying, but Abreu wasn't a typical FA. He was an Astro from the beginning and over the last 4 years was absolutely one of the best relievers in all of baseball. His fall this year has been absolutely puzzling.

I'm referring to the Jose version

MaxPower said:

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I'm referring to the Jose version

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Oof. I had completely blocked that out of my Astros history in my brain... I feel like I just experienced some trauma all over again looking at his numbers with us.

Five years ago today, James Click started to rebuild an Astros bullpen that had the league's 18th best ERA. The four relievers he acquired combined for a 2.39 ERA in 52.2 innings over three different postseason runs https://t.co/cEXNmAo0wu

— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) July 27, 2026

insane we fired click.....

Mr.Bond said:

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insane we Crane fired click.....

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FIFY

I feel like Crane is our Jerry Jones.

One of these days I hope we get a 30 for 30 explaining the incredible mental gymnastics it took to go on a run that made Yankees, RedSox, and Dodgers fans weep with jealousy using high end analytics and then decide to fire all the analytics guys and go back to "real old school baseball". You know, the kind of old school baseball where you walk the leadoff hitter with regularity, refuse to hold runners on first base, refuse to return the favor after your guys get plunked

txags92 said:

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One of these days I hope we get a 30 for 30 explaining the incredible mental gymnastics it took to go on a run that made Yankees, RedSox, and Dodgers fans weep with jealousy using high end analytics and then decide to fire all the analytics guys and go back to "real old school baseball". You know, the kind of old school baseball where you walk the leadoff hitter with regularity, refuse to hold runners on first base, refuse to return the favor after your guys get plunked

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It's simple actually. Crane is the hero of his own story. Luhnow, Click, Dusty, Hinch, the analytics guys, they are all NPC's to Jim. Hire somebody, fire somebody, it's irrelevant because Jim "mother effin Rambo" Crane is the one man army making the key decisions.

Spencer Steer, one of the coveted right-handed hitters in this year's trade market, is going on the injured list today after suffering a hand/wrist injury yesterday, and will miss significant time.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 27, 2026

The #Astros signings have been announced. They failed to sign Jack Beck and James Tronstein. pic.twitter.com/xPme0zl2ha

— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) July 27, 2026

I truly believe that this week's games against the Angels and Rangers will determine if we are buyers or sellers. If we go 4-2 or 5-1 we'll be buyers. If we go 1-5, 2-4 we'll be sellers.
Go 3-3 we would still be three games under .500 (treading water) with only 49 games left, but if Arlington has a 2-4 week we could still be buyers. This is a critical week for us.

I think they've been clear no selling is going to happen. It's just a matter of how much we buy.

Heineken-Ashi said:

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We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

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Maybe. If we went and got Bobby Abreu instead of Huff at the deadline, the 2006 Cards never happen and maybe the Astros make a run. The book has not been written yet. And odds aren't in our favor, but the way you act like it's a lock is kind of silly.

Farmer1906 said:

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I think they've been clear no selling is going to happen. It's just a matter of how much we buy.

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Which is nuts to me. If we can't get to at least two games under.500 by the end of this week I just don't see how they can think they can be buyers and make moves that will significantly make a positive difference for August and September.
But i hope I'm wrong. Hoping for the best

If I was a dodgers fan, I'd be so over 2017 by now.

You've won 3 titles in 6 seasons now and are the premiere dynasty in baseball. It would be like Georgia fans still crying over the Tua game in 2017.

The Astros are down, the dodgers are at an all time high. If that doesn't make them move on, then nothing will

BCEDAg said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I think they've been clear no selling is going to happen. It's just a matter of how much we buy.

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Which is nuts to me. If we can't get to at least two games under.500 by the end of this week I just don't see how they can think they can be buyers and make moves that will significantly make a positive difference for August and September.
But i hope I'm wrong. Hoping for the best

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The real problem too is if you wait to deal Pena in the offseason, who is going to give you anything when his only year of control left is likely to be one with no baseball played due to a strike/lockout. You have to make that decision now and rip the bandaid off if you are going to trade him. His value goes down extremely steeply if you wait to the end of the season unless there is some miracle breakthrough in negotiations.

Farmer1906 said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

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Maybe. If we went and got Bobby Abreu instead of Huff at the deadline, the 2006 Cards never happen and maybe the Astros make a run. The book has not been written yet. And odds aren't in our favor, but the way you act like it's a lock is kind of silly.

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No, it's because this team is lacking in all of the areas that are required for even a marginally successful run, and we don't have the ammo to fill those needs at the deadline. I've always watched this exact GM screw up two deadlines in a row while depending on this exact coaching that has proven it doesn't have what it takes.

Reality hurts sometimes. But the sooner you face it, the sooner you can get on the right track.

The writing is so clearly on the wall. The Astros will not be sellers. They will land an OF guy who hits .240 with an occasional homer and maybe a reliever sporting a 4+ ERA, which hopefully costs no more than a couple of AAAA/who-cares prospects. They'll claim "strategic" victory like last year, and then proceed to do the same things with it- nothing.

Sorry for the pessimism, but this organization has shown zero baseball IQ to believe anything different.

I'm just here to watch Dana trade Loperfido a second time.

Heineken-Ashi said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

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Maybe. If we went and got Bobby Abreu instead of Huff at the deadline, the 2006 Cards never happen and maybe the Astros make a run. The book has not been written yet. And odds aren't in our favor, but the way you act like it's a lock is kind of silly.

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No, it's because this team is lacking in all of the areas that are required for even a marginally successful run, and we don't have the ammo to fill those needs at the deadline. I've always watched this exact GM screw up two deadlines in a row while depending on this exact coaching that has proven it doesn't have what it takes.

Reality hurts sometimes. But the sooner you face it, the sooner you can get on the right track.

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You can say that but it doesn't make it true. We have a top 10 offense with plenty of power. We have an ace at the front of the rotation that can carry a game. We have a closer we trust that'll go toe to toe with anyone. Do we have plenty of flaws? Clearly. But it's not binary.

Mathguy64 said:

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I'm just here to watch Dana trade Loperfido a second time.

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And I wouldn't be surprised if he traded Joey to the Blue Jays for Jesus Sanchez.

We're plenty spoiled as Astros fans, we haven't seen Mets/Royals level misery and I don't think we are on an unstoppable trajectory there yet. I think the rift on how to avoid a decade of malaise could hinge on the extra playoff spots available now that were not before -- second WC only got introduced in 2012 when we had already sold everything for parts.

You can say it doesn't matter and we won't do anything if we get there, but playoff baseball is dice rolls upon dice rolls. We don't know where our ceiling is, given how thin the margin is between most teams.

Mariners did us zero favors losing 3/4 in Arlington

Outside of a split I think 3-1 Rangers was preferred to anything else. We still control our destiny in the tie breaker whereas we need to be ahead of the Ms.

MaxPower said:

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Heineken-Ashi said:

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We're in 2006 of the "admit it's over" phase. That team performed far better than this one. Maybe it's more 2007. Point stands. Going for it this year will crush the future.

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Depends on the specific moves. If we are just taking on salary dumps then maybe not but depends how bad those contracts are and for how long. It's not like we shop for premiere free agents anyway and most of the free agent money we do spend immediately turns into guys we wish we could salary dump like Abreu, CW and Imai

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Isn't that the truth, Hader excepting (who was a premier FA, but at a position where Crane could stomach the cost).

Marvin said:

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The writing is so clearly on the wall. The Astros will not be sellers. They will land an OF guy who hits .240 with an occasional homer and maybe a reliever sporting a 4+ ERA, which hopefully costs no more than a couple of AAAA/who-cares prospects. They'll claim "strategic" victory like last year, and then proceed to do the same things with it- nothing.

Sorry for the pessimism, but this organization has shown zero baseball IQ to believe anything different.

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This is about what I expect to happen.

I'll say JJ Bleday and Ryan Zaferjahn and it'll cost more than we think but both guys have lots of control.

Farmer1906 said:

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Marvin said:

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The writing is so clearly on the wall. The Astros will not be sellers. They will land an OF guy who hits .240 with an occasional homer and maybe a reliever sporting a 4+ ERA, which hopefully costs no more than a couple of AAAA/who-cares prospects. They'll claim "strategic" victory like last year, and then proceed to do the same things with it- nothing.

Sorry for the pessimism, but this organization has shown zero baseball IQ to believe anything different.

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This is about what I expect to happen.

I'll say JJ Bleday and Ryan Zaferjahn and it'll cost more than we think but both guys have lots of control.

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If it costs any more than Descenzo, Whitcomb, or Cole then we are horribly run.

Marvin said:

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The writing is so clearly on the wall. The Astros will not be sellers. They will land an OF guy who hits .240 with an occasional homer and maybe a reliever sporting a 4+ ERA, which hopefully costs no more than a couple of AAAA/who-cares prospects. They'll claim "strategic" victory like last year, and then proceed to do the same things with it- nothing.

Sorry for the pessimism, but this organization has shown zero baseball IQ to believe anything different.

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Get out of my brain man. I generally don't like to be the guy who is just down about everything, but I have come to expect absolutely nothing out of Astros leadership. I fully expect them to make some meaningless trade that changes not much of anything, but gives them the chance to talk about how shrewd Dana and our pitching lab are that they must have seen something they can fix in (insert middle relief pitchers name here) to make the deal worth it for them. And the OF we get will have gawdy stats in some obscure metric that measures how unlucky he has been and we expect him to really break out when he gets to the Ice Box with that inviting short left field to try to pull all the sliders he can't reach into.

This just sucks. We need some swagger back as a team and there is just nobody there to provide it.

Damn...I get this team isn't anywhere the juggernaut we've been in the past but reading the last page or so you'd never know this team has been playing better baseball coming off winning 5 of the last 6 while leapfrogging a team in the standings.

Just get in and see what they can do when the craziness of the playoffs starts.

Bracketing aside our opinions about whether we should buy or sell, if we assume that the team will actually fall somewhere in the range of buying or standing part, I would propose that we should only target bats.

We don't have the assets to make a substantial pitching upgrade and we already have a numbers crunch among the folks we have. Obviously it would strengthen your team to acquire a premier closer/set-up type arm, but that isn't going to happen. I actually think we have plenty of quality middle relief options, so adding one more to the mix doesn't make sense.

I agree that an addition like Bleday makes a lot of sense since it shouldn't carry a heavy price tag, gives you a controllable player, and adds a guy that isn't heavily platoon-dependent. He is a guy you could quickly plug into the 5-hole in front of Walker to lengthen the lineup.

as expected

Hayden Wesneski is in Anaheim with the Astros, who still list their starter Wednesday as TBA.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) July 27, 2026