I see it as not a lack of hitting but a surplus of pitchers with really good stuff.

Hitting seems so incredibly hard nowadays.

I understand the trade incentive you're proposing but I really don't want to be adding any more IF. OF has been neglected and in need of immediate attention.

Farmer1906 said:

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Fangraphs isn't either.

Playoffs Odds:

• Rangers 62.7%
• Mariners 52.9%
• Astros 38.2%

Win Div Odds

• Rangers 46.1%
• Mariners 32.5%
• Astros 21.3%

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Not to go all Bagwell on y'all, but to me, the 35-24 record over the last 59 games says more than just "this team is hot." It says this team has improved.

I'm sure FanGraphs takes that into account somehow. I mean, a nearly 40% playoff probability means the numbers think our future is better than our past. Their model also incorporates the individual players who have driven that run. But it can't fully quantify the fact that this is a team that has historically tended to turn it on in August and September. Those are things we know are real that are difficult for a projection model to capture.

Or maybe FanGraphs and ESPN are way ahead of me. Maybe they have figured in our ownership/front office's recent ineptitude and know we're not likely to get any better at the deadline. I think if we don't add solid starting pitching and a legitimate left-handed bat, then their predictions are probably right.

Harry Dunne said:

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W said:

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Trammell's OPS up to .776 after his homer tonight

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Our players tend to go on hot streaks when I say they suck, so I'm just here to chime in with Trammell's .414 OPS since this post.

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1.363 OPS and 2 HR in 4 games since this post.

You're welcome.

Hitting/scoring runs - below average
Starting pitching - below average
Bullpen - above average , maybe significantly
Fielding - average to maybe slightly above average

This team isn't really good at anything except holding leads after the 6th inning and still not as good as our major competitor in the Division at that.

Too many holes in the dike to plug imo. Would be happy to be wrong.

More trades!

Pena to Red Sox for Tolle and Duran.



Paredes and Pecko to Brewers for Jesus Made and Joey Ortiz.



Then, a couple AAAA players or a lotto ticket for George.

Lineup would look like this:

2B - Altuve
DH - Yordan
LF - Springer
CF- Duran
1B - Walker
C - Yainer
RF - Cam/Trammell
SS - Made
3B - Ortiz

Bench:
Allen
Vasquez
Cam/Trammell
Wade, Jr.

I'm not sure it gets us much better -- but we get younger and boost the pitching staff. Ortiz can play anywhere -- like Nick Allen, so in the offseason after Carlos gets healthy, you trade Allen or Ortiz. LF would be an issue next year, but you sign a decent FA like Lourdes or Conforto.

Hader's return has made a huge difference

his first game back was game #63

(the Astros were 27-35 after 62 games)

he has 3 wins and 14 saves in 24 appearances

Astros are 21-3 in his 24 games

Astros Bingo Update: 7-29-26
Spreadsheet Link

Reasons to Smile
Welcome to .500, it's been a while.
We won a game last night in which Yordan was 0-fer and Hader didn't pitch.
The Astros are 18-13 since I started sleeping on the giant Astros' pillow my kids got me for Father's Day. You're welcome.

Reasons to Barf
Is Espada saving his job with this late push for the playoffs?

Astros' Flashback: July 30, 1969 Six days after man lands on the moon, the Astros have a launch party of their own. Clinging to a 5-3 lead in the top of the ninth at Shea Stadium against the Mets, the Astros erupt for 11 runs, including two grand slams in the same inning! The first comes by Dennis Menke and the second by Jimmy Wynn. Hilariously, the Mets intentionally walk Wynn to get to Menke for the first slam, then accidentally walk Joe Morgan to load the bases for Wynn for the second. But the team isn't done yet. In the nightcap of this doubleheader, they blast the Mets 11-5 with a 10-run third. It gets so bad that starting pitcher Larry Dierker launches a homer off Mets' youthful reliever Nolan Ryan. "Screw that guy," Dierker says. "We all know who the best young pitcher is."


GOAT REPORT: With 2 hits last night, Jose Altuve upped his career total to 2,466, tying Hall-of-Famer Harry Hooper for 111th all-time. Hooper, who retired when my grandmother was 5 years old, played 12 seasons with the Red Sox and 5 with the White Sox, racking up an insane 160 triples in his time, including double-digits in nine seasons. His career high in hits didn't come until he was 34 in 1922 with the ChiSox when he had a huge season, 111 runs, 183 hits, 11 HR, 80 RBI and a .304 average. Even more impressively, he played in four World Series 1912, 1915, 1916, and 1918 with Boston and won four titles.

And now, the newest sensation, sweeping the nation.


Better Know a Poster
Day 67 spotlight: 1996 aka the best year to graduate from Texas A&M.




Current Bingo Score: 4
Place: Tied for 2nd with a few folks
Squares Achieved: Rangers suck, Yordan > 25 HR, Loperfido < 100 games, Correa < 15 HR
Squares Missed: Correa > 15 HR, sips beat Ags

Predicted Astros record: 86-76, just need to finish the season 31-21 (.596) to get there

Squares that look like future wins:
ERA > 3.86
Isaac > 80 RBI
Bregman < 80 RBI

Squares that are technically still humanly possible:
85-89 W
Dodgers < 102 wins
Altuve > .275
Pena < .290

Squares that haven't aged so well:
Yordan < 125 G
Pena > 20 SB

Sousa returned from his injury on July 21st

the Astros are 4-0 in his 4 appearances (since his return)

Rangers RH reliever goes to the IL

Rangers Place Jakob Junis On Injured List https://t.co/JbEh3PZQRa pic.twitter.com/3mMmz0ajkT

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) July 30, 2026

A lot of gnashing of the teeth about our lineup, but the major problem is starting pitching. You can hide some weak links in the lineup but you can't hide the fact that the majority of our SP innings have come from guys who arguably should not even be major leaguers.

I'm not saying our lineup is making anyone forget about the 2019 team and we should absolutely add an affordable bat or two, but some of those innings-eaters guys we have complained about over the years (Peacock, Miley, Urquidy)...I would kill for one of those guys right now. Right now even with Hunter healthy we don't have 3, much less 4 SP I trust in a postseason start.

Ag_07 said:

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I see it as not a lack of hitting but a surplus of pitchers with really good stuff.

Hitting seems so incredibly hard nowadays.

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Positioning has come a very long way, even with the shift banned.

Farmer1906 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I see it as not a lack of hitting but a surplus of pitchers with really good stuff.

Hitting seems so incredibly hard nowadays.

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Positioning has come a very long way, even with the shift banned.

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Also, the type of hitters which teams go after. Very few Gwynns or Ichiros out there

halfastros81 said:

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Hitting/scoring runs - below average
Starting pitching - below average
Bullpen - above average , maybe significantly
Fielding - average to maybe slightly above average

This team isn't really good at anything except holding leads after the 6th inning and still not as good as our major competitor in the Division at that.

Too many holes in the dike to plug imo. Would be happy to be wrong.

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Let's fact-check this post.

10th in Runs
9th in wRC+
10th in OFF
Hitting/scoring runs - below average - FAKE NEWS - we have above average. The offense is clearly better than 2025.


29th fWAR
29th ERA
28th FIP
Starting pitching - below average - FACTUAL - we have been mostly terrible, but some of the worst offenders are gone.


21st fWAR
18th ERA
24th FIP
2nd Saves
29th Holds
Bullpen - above average , maybe significantly - ITS COMPLICATED - Hader has been elite, Okert & Teng have been great the rest have been a mixed bag, including some real stinkers in Weiss, Murray, and Bolton.


16th FRV
11th Arm (OAA)
17th Range (OAA)
25th DRS
Fielding - average to maybe slightly above average - FACTUAL - Avg at best,

redline248 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I see it as not a lack of hitting but a surplus of pitchers with really good stuff.

Hitting seems so incredibly hard nowadays.

---

Positioning has come a very long way, even with the shift banned.

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Also, the type of hitters which teams go after. Very few Gwynns or Ichiros out there

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Yup. Nerds figured out 25 years ago that a walk is about as good as a hit.

Wabs said:

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I could see Dana/Crane trading for both Springer and Scherzer from the Jays. I wouldn't mind it, but it can't be the only move - wouldn't be near enough to be competitive in the playoffs. I honestly think we need to add at minimum 2 outfielders and 1 SP. If we could also add a catcher that would be great, too.

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We aren't adding 4 players at the deadline dude... LOL.

lol of course they are

The Dodgers are Tarik Skubals first preference when he becomes a free agent after this season, per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/O1TkFD2ewt

— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) July 30, 2026

The Tarik Skubal $800MM/10 year contract with $750MM deferred will be signed about 2 days after they trade for him.

Quote:

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If you follow the logic, they use big spending on free agents to upgrade over existing players then trade those players for young talent. Conceptually this would be similar to what I've proposed around trading Pena and acquiring Adames (though Pena is clearly the better of the 2).

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These two scenarios don't sound similar at all...

ruxin98 said:

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Wabs said:

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I could see Dana/Crane trading for both Springer and Scherzer from the Jays. I wouldn't mind it, but it can't be the only move - wouldn't be near enough to be competitive in the playoffs. I honestly think we need to add at minimum 2 outfielders and 1 SP. If we could also add a catcher that would be great, too.

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We aren't adding 4 players at the deadline dude... LOL.

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Why not? 4 doesn't seem too unreasonable, especially if they're not huge names.

2026: 1 so far (Fielder*)
2025: 3 (Correa, Urias, Sanchez)
2024: 3 (Kikuchi, Ferguson, Cabbage)
2023: 4 (Verlander, Graveman, Bligh, Kuhnel)
2022: 4 (Mancini, Vazquez, Smith, Dubon)
2021: 5 (Maton, Yainer*, Yimi, Graveman, Montero)

*minor leaguers

media fun police >:/

The Astros are NOT pursuing George Springer, per source.

— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelV) July 30, 2026

Mathguy64 said:

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The Tarik Skubal $800MM/10 year contract with $750MM deferred will be signed about 2 days after they trade for him.

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When does LAD file for bankruptcy again?

If we're going to get a SP, can we please get him here in time to start in Imai's next slot?

Wabs said:

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If we're going to get a SP, can we please get him here in time to start in Imai's next slot?

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I want a CF here in time to start Friday. I don't want to see Spence take another AB. Ever.

Farmer1906 said:

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MaxPower said:

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Here's my all in question for the day, which is really more of a question for Crane and his actual seriousness about the "window never closes" mantra. Assuming you could find a taker for CW as basically a salary dump, would you take Devers and Adames from the Giants? You basically don't have to give up any prospects (unless you want to to get them to take on money). Put Devers at 1B, Adames at 3B, DH Isaac and put Yordan in LF. The only real cost is purely financial and you could probably get them to take on enough salary this year to stay under the threshold with us taking on the remaining years.

One may poo poo Adames but my thought is two fold. First is the Giants may need you to do that to move Devers, who does have some value. The second is in the offseason you would then trade both Pena and Paredes to reload the farm with Carlos taking over at 3B and Adames taking over at SS. I think that keeps you competitive for the next couple years. Those contracts will be sunk money by at least 2029 but if trying to stay competitive while fading the loss of some key players you just hope by then you have acquired guys in the Pena and Paredes trades who are ready to step up with some of our currently very young prospects.

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No, that's 360 M over the next 5-7 years. Devers is more palatable since he's younger, still playing well, and has a slightly lower AAV.

The defense would be worse as well. Pena > Adames, Walker > Devers, Whoever in LF > Yordan.

I think there are probably easier ways to get better without basically sinking any chance of ever signing another FA or extending a player for the next 1/2 decade.

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Maybe, I'd have to see examples that are realistic. We are going to face one factor in the post season that we don't currently have to, which is teams are simply not going to pitch to Yordan with our current lineup. A guy like Devers is going to provide enough of a fear factor to deter that. I don't think anyone else we could realistically get addresses that factor.

Basically there's minor pieces that can be made or acquired for purposes of trying to squeeze in the playoffs. If you're looking into being a contender then you have to think about how good teams are going to attack you in a playoff series scenario. This has been my entire concern all along. I don't doubt we can acquire some players that are just slightly less crappy than the ones we have to get into the playoffs, what I question is whether that actually makes you a contender in any meaningful way.

Mathguy64 said:

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Wabs said:

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If we're going to get a SP, can we please get him here in time to start in Imai's next slot?

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I want a CF here in time to start Friday. I don't want to see Spence take another AB. Ever.

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Yes, I'd take that too. Neither will happen but we can only dream.

Clearing some Triple-A space. Pour one out for JP.

The Astros released J.P. France, source tells @TheAthletic. It had been a struggle in Triple-A, but France just debuting and becoming a part of a big league rotation during his tenure is a win. He signed for $1,000 and nearly quit the sport in 2019 - https://t.co/1A8YyBsjdQ

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 30, 2026

Stolen from Social media.

The Rockies have asked for each of the Red Sox's and Rays' #1 prospects in Franklin Arias and Theo Gillen in a potential Hunter Goodman trade, per @Ken_Rosenthal.

The Yankees are also among the teams with interest in Goodman. pic.twitter.com/Ias8VWrIL5

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 30, 2026

BTKAG97 said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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The Tarik Skubal $800MM/10 year contract with $750MM deferred will be signed about 2 days after they trade for him.

---

When does LAD file for bankruptcy again?

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"Oh we are so sorry BlueCo is broke because that crappy Chelsea soccer team is taking so much money. Let's restructure your media rights. How about if we let you have 50% of all national media money? Would that help? What about counting deferred money at 10% of actual value? And what if the rest of the owners each kick in $10MM/year as a form of revenue sharing to help you pay for all this?"

Good job pointing out my fake news on the offense . Your facts trump my gut feelings. I am surprised

As far as the bullpen goes, I'm basing the assessment on where I feel like they are now moreso than the entire body of work. Sousa looking good , Abreu showing signs of returning to form , Javier a plus add. Hader and Oekert seeming very very solid.

The Reds are drawing significant interest in Hunter Greene, per @Ken_Rosenthal.

Greene has a 7.06 ERA in 4 starts this season, and is under contract through 2028 with a club option for 2029. pic.twitter.com/bBnWnBfqtN

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 30, 2026

The Red Sox are ‘going big’ at the trade deadline, according to @JeffPassan.

Floats Neto, Peña, Abrams, Otto Lopez, and even a Lopez / Liam Hicks package.

He says the Red Sox “are among the teams likeliest to make a decisive move.”

👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/kFj1tsKpG9

— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) July 30, 2026

Would love to acquire Hunter Greene but I doubt we have the prospect capital, even with taking on money

Here's what I'm thinking and I have no idea on trade values and all of that to know if they are legit values or not, but….

Matthews, Descenzo, Janak, Frey, Ullola to Baltimore for Adley and Cowser

Javier, Pecko, and Yanier to Mets for Peralta

Some top 15-20 prospect in our farm for Springer and cash to pay his salary the rest of the year

Or some combo of those guys.