Nice to "meet " you Todd.
Can you imagine the “butt tag” recaps by every road PBP team and every nationally televised game.
I am glad the team isn’t thinking of moving Bregman back to short.
He is very good at third - as long as he doesn’t injure a leg muscle or two.
They should leave it at that.
If they sign Marte they have a replacement for Brantley in 2023
But still have a crowded OF
By 2023, its hard to imagine at least one of: Leon, Barber, McKenna, Brewer, Barefoot, or Daniels NOT developing to the point of being a 4th or 5th OF in addition to McCormick, Meyers, and Siri.
Hyperbole is my middle name, Todd. Good to see you here.
Bowden says the Astros have “targeted” Pirates OF Bryan Reynolds. Excellent player but hard to see Click backing up the truck to acquire him. Besides he and Starling Marte, also speculates the Astros might be interested in trading for CFs Manuel Margot and Ramon Laureano. The former might be had relatively cheaply from the Rays as he’s just a year away from free agency but on the other hand with Tampa looking to move Kiermaier why would they also move Margot. As far as ex-Astro Laureano, he has 3 years to go until free agency i believe but is coming off the PED suspension (which actually has 27 more games to run) and just had core surgery. The question with either is how much of an upgrade they are over what the Astros already have in house.
I remember Reynolds being mentioned/rumored to Stros prior to last years deadline.
The team really looks to have a very crowded bullpen right now.
How good of a crowded bullpen, of course, can be debated.
If the team goes with a 13 person pitching staff:
Verlander, McCullers, Valdez, L.Garcia, and Urquidy are 5 best starters.
That leaves Odorizzi ( no options) and Javier ( who DOES have options remaining) taking up 2 more spots.
Stanek and Maton each have an option remaining but they have already secured spots.
Montero and Baez do not have options so must be included or traded/released.
That leaves 2 spots
Abreu is also out of options.
There are no lefties on the bullpen and Taylor and Bermudez are the only 2 current options.
That leaves: Bielak, Dubin, Ivey. James, S.Martinez, Paredes, Scrubb, and Solomon.
Whitley and Solis had TJS earlier this year so I am leaving them out of consideration, at least currently.
Mid level veteran starting pitchers are getting snatched up in free agency left and right.
Maybe Click can get a prospect for Odorizzi?
It really feels like he is the odd man out right now.
Odorizzi also probably wants out. His 2023 option has escalators for salary and buyout at 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 IP
He does not look to get many innings in Houston, especially if they are serious about moving Javier back to the rotation.
All of the free agent starting pitcher contracts I have seen so far are for North of $10mil AAV.
Jake is making $5mil in 2022 with $3.25-$6.25 mil buyout of 2023 option.
Player option is $6.5-$13.25 mil based on the IP in 2022 above.
What happened to Railey? Was he deemed too expensive?
Raley’s contract that he signed with the Reds in 2020 coming from Korea gave him a $2 mil option for 2021 ( Astros picked it up) and made him free agent after 2021 season.
I would think he is looking for a 2-3 year deal in the $3-5m AAV.
TY, Jim.
Any ideas whether the Astros will pursue him at the price?
If you are asking me ( as opposed to another Jim) I have not heard anything.
At the risk of making another terribly unfair trade proposal
The Angels are looking for pitching.
Maybe they would trade Fletcher for Odorizzi and a pitcher on the 40 like Solis, Ivey, or Seth Martinez?
Edit: I just saw that Fletcher signed a 5 yr/$26 mil contract last year that has options for 2026 and 27.
That’s pretty team friendly. The Angels might want more for him,
Fletcher for Odorizzi, Bryan Abreu, and Ivey.
If you are talking to snuffy, I ignore him so he is not asking me. If he did, I would see only “hidden reply.”
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Fletcher has one above average hitting season and has played mostly second base and third base.
Why on earth would you trade for him, much less trade three pitchers for him?
No, no, and hell no. Where would he play?
I think I would rather see Pena get a shot to prove himself before I would trade for Fletcher and play him at SS.