Ag_07 said:

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tjack16 said:

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Was that different when Lunhow and Click were GM?

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Reading the tea leaves and connecting the dots I'd say absolutely not when Luhnow was here and yes when Click was here.

But Click didn't always follow daddy Jim's instructions so he was shown the door.

Are we sure Dana even wants to stick around?

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GM is a significantly higher paying gig than what he held before, and based on the Astros' results with him at the helm he's not going to find another landing spot as a GM right away.

I imagine he'd like to stick around at least until he has something positive to show for his tenure.

What the secondary ticket market looks like for a Tuesday night home game when your team hasn't made the playoffs in 12 years.

Mariners putting out a lot of mixed signals for a team that won the division last year.

Emerson Hancock expected to be traded, per @JeffPassan.

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) July 28, 2026

They have SP surplus. They will be seeking MLB hitting, not prospects.

tylhair said:

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They have SP surplus. They will be seeking MLB hitting, not prospects.

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I'll take one of their starters in exchange for Meyers (and we can just send them all of the highlights of him catching fly balls so majestically)

Silent For Too Long said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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AggiEE said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

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Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

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He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

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He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. It's ridiculous.

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He is. Jerry Jones was also the greatest owner in Cowboys history in 1996. You can both appreciate what he's done and be concerned about where we are now and the future. Did Cowboys fans have every right to be concerned about what Jerry was doing from 2000 to now? Turns out they were completely correct.

tjack16 said:

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tylhair said:

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They have SP surplus. They will be seeking MLB hitting, not prospects.

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I'll take one of their starters in exchange for Meyers (and we can just send them all of the highlights of him catching fly balls so majestically)

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Just make sure it cuts away before he throws the ball to a base.

wehnerhigh20 said:

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So he really is Jerry Jones South

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So does that make Espada Chan Gailey South?

Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

Interesting...Seeing as the data crunching gurus we wish we had back are the ones running things in BAL and here they are looking at a rebuild lite.

How about we trade Imai and Pena for Cal Raleigh, put an insurance policy on him, then send him to knock on doors in the Third Ward at 8 a.m. to promote the Astros' outreach policy in the inner city?

Truly shows you how great what we did organically through the draft really was. Unprecedented success

This highlights what Joe Doyle was saying on the Astros future podcast a week ago. Our strategy was brilliant and all our college guys were solid to great picks. We saved money to shoot shots on HS guys. The question is did we pick the right ones? BA says no (and almost any other draft expert). We have our own scout so time will tell. I don't really care that we overpaid a HS guy. The question is could you have spent $1.5M on two different guys and gotten better overall value?

MLB teams that "overpaid" for players relative to their BA 500 value:

1) Mets - Carson Wiggins | Bonus: $3,464,000 | BA Value: $762,900
2) Cardinals - Rocco Maniscalco | Bonus: $3,200,000 | BA Value: $792,300
3) Astros - Beau Peterson | Bonus: $2,997,500 | BA Value: $632,500… pic.twitter.com/5zfp1HkBEb

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 28, 2026

Mike Elias is no Jeff Luhnow.

tjack16 said:

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houag78 said:

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I will still never forgive Hinch. I was sitting behind home plate about 4/5 rows up (corporate seats), and could see how Zack had the Nats hitters befuddled (except for Rendon's solo Homer). Two hits through 6 1/3 innings with a pitch count of 80. I was in shock when he pulled him. Should have 3 WS titles in the golden era!

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I'll die on the hill of greinke should have finished that inning and then Cole for the 8-9th

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This is our Alamo

MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

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Why would the Orioles want Pena

I wish this could be POTD

Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

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another example of why tearing it completely down and rebuilding from the studs isn't always a sure thing

Could Skubal finally get the Brew Crew out of the DS?

Little too much smoke 💨 pic.twitter.com/Hbd3j9PplV

— Ryan (@BrewPack8) July 28, 2026

Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

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How about? Pipe dream -- I know.

AustinCountyAg said:

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Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

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another example of why tearing it completely down and rebuilding from the studs isn't always a sure thing

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Dunno what that even means. This isn't the 2017-2022 Astros. There are never sure things but what we have now isn't even a good thing so not sure what we are currently have that is worth resisting to keep. If our options were extend Peña or trade him then there's a conversation to be had. However Crane has made it clear that isn't an option. The change you are resisting is 1.5 more years (if we are lucky assuming no lockout) of Pena on a .500 club going nowhere or whatever we might get for him. I will take the calculated gamble that whatever we get bears more long term fruit than whatever we get from keeping him through 2027.

AustinCountyAg said:

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Wabs said:

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MaxPower said:

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Who does Jim want?

The Orioles have had conversations with other teams on Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Colton Cowser, per @JeffPassan

“This young core that they brought together that they thought was going to take them to the promise land just has not performed to the level expected.” pic.twitter.com/Yb2pefJNfJ

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 28, 2026

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What would it take to get all 3 of them? Pena and who?

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another example of why tearing it completely down and rebuilding from the studs isn't always a sure thing

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Given preferences, I don't think a complete tear down would be my first choice, but even that would be preferable to watching HB and Pena leave with nothing to show for it except the rest of the lineup 1-2 years older and slower.

How excited is Jim thinking about the idea of trading him for Mickey Moniak?

Albert Fermin went 2-for-3 with R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB today in the DSL.

He’s hitting .346 with 8 doubles, 5 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a 1.066 OPS over 36 games this season. #Astros

— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) July 28, 2026

Part of the grim truth of "tear it all down and rebuild" is that has a really low success rate. What happened from 2017-2022 is one of the greatest runs in modern-baseball history predicated by a fantastic combination of GM, manager(s), tremendous talent assessment, player development, trades/signees, and an enormous amount of luck.

We can rebuild with the best intentions, the best decision-makers, and pick the can't miss draft picks and still wind up much more like the Orioles than our run of a decade ago. It's one of my main reasons to go ahead and go for it this year while the playoffs are still in limbo.

MaxPower said:

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How excited is Jim thinking about the idea of trading him for Mickey Moniak?

Albert Fermin went 2-for-3 with R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB today in the DSL.

He’s hitting .346 with 8 doubles, 5 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a 1.066 OPS over 36 games this season. #Astros

— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) July 28, 2026

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Sad part is I went looking for 1B that are 35 or older on active rosters since that seems to be Jim's fetish. Unfortunately, we already have the worst hitting of the three choices and the other two are Freddy Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt and we can't afford either of them. Though overpaying for them does seem to be his style...

CharleyKerfeld said:

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Part of the grim truth of "tear it all down and rebuild" is that has a really low success rate. What happened from 2017-2022 is one of the greatest runs in modern-baseball history predicated by a fantastic combination of GM, manager(s), tremendous talent assessment, player development, trades/signees, and an enormous amount of luck.

We can rebuild with the best intentions, the best decision-makers, and pick the can't miss draft picks and still wind up much more like the Orioles than our run of a decade ago. It's one of my main reasons to go ahead and go for it this year while the playoffs are still in limbo.

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But here's the deal…this team making any kind of post season noise is completely and utterly unrealistic. We could get Skubal and Soto and this team still wouldn't be able to compete in the playoffs. So why give up the future for no chance? And if we have no chance, why hold on to a guy like Pena who has next to 0% chance of resigning here? Get value out of him while you can. Hope is not a strategy, but yet that's what it looks like the organization is planning.

Jake Rogers DFA'd from Detroit, last piece of the first JV trade. Could be someone to pick up if we move off of CV or Yainer.

Javy Baez recalled. Jake Rogers DFA’d pic.twitter.com/6H23naSPnp

— Chris Castellani (@Castellani2014) July 28, 2026

superaggie73 said:

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CharleyKerfeld said:

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Part of the grim truth of "tear it all down and rebuild" is that has a really low success rate. What happened from 2017-2022 is one of the greatest runs in modern-baseball history predicated by a fantastic combination of GM, manager(s), tremendous talent assessment, player development, trades/signees, and an enormous amount of luck.

We can rebuild with the best intentions, the best decision-makers, and pick the can't miss draft picks and still wind up much more like the Orioles than our run of a decade ago. It's one of my main reasons to go ahead and go for it this year while the playoffs are still in limbo.

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But here's the deal…this team making any kind of post season noise is completely and utterly unrealistic. We could get Skubal and Soto and this team still wouldn't be able to compete in the playoffs. So why give up the future for no chance? And if we have no chance, why hold on to a guy like Pena who has next to 0% chance of resigning here? Get value out of him while you can. Hope is not a strategy, but yet that's what it looks like the organization is planning.

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Hope was our offseason strategy when we were hoping that the same basic lineup being 1 year older and fresh off of multiple season ending injuries would be better than last year. That has gotten us to under .500. I don't want to see what carrying it out for another 2-3 years gets us.

Astros in July. It's been a rough month for most of them



If you're counting at home, that's 4 or 5 regular starters batting below .200 for the month.

Joe thinks the guy at #9 on that list should be batting 4th.

And for some inexplicable reason the guy at the bottom of the list keeps getting starts in CF.

Our "best" OFer has a WAR of 0.0. We but have a surplus.

it's a 3-person lineup

then hope for walks and hit batters from the rest

W said:

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it's a 3-person lineup

then hope for walks and hit batters from the rest

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They have to stop swinging if they want to get walked. Yainer gets walked on nearly every AB if you count all the pitches he swings at that are out of the strike zone.

W said:

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it's a 3-person lineup

then hope for walks and hit batters from the rest

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Ironically the Esock HBP only worked to score a run because Suzuki was scared of Yordan and Barry Bonds' him to load the bases and move a man into scoring position.

CharleyKerfeld said:

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Part of the grim truth of "tear it all down and rebuild" is that has a really low success rate. What happened from 2017-2022 is one of the greatest runs in modern-baseball history predicated by a fantastic combination of GM, manager(s), tremendous talent assessment, player development, trades/signees, and an enormous amount of luck.

We can rebuild with the best intentions, the best decision-makers, and pick the can't miss draft picks and still wind up much more like the Orioles than our run of a decade ago. It's one of my main reasons to go ahead and go for it this year while the playoffs are still in limbo.

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The real question is whether a rebuild is avoidable. My answer is no it isn't. I look at the farm talent and the pending free agents and see no way this team isn't a "rebuilding" team by 2029 one way or another. Maybe there's a needle we thread where we extend all the right guys, sign the right free agents and have several consecutive unbelievable drafts but that seems like much more of a fantasy, head in the sand outlook than the group who says get ahead of the rebuild by getting started now.

BTW, I don't think you need to sell everyone. If all we traded was Pena I could get behind that. That, to me, is smarter than waiting until the 2027 offseason with Pena saying adios off a .500 season and staring at one more year remaining of HB and Yordan thinking, "Holy eff what are we gonna do?"