I don’t think the fit is as tight as what they think. I think there are plenty of opportunities for Gurriel to get plenty of at bats on this team if he’s willing to play multiple positions and DH some. Would love to see him back in Houston to finish his career out.
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I would too if Brown wants him back. As much as I like Yuli, I still want Brown to build the roster he and the brain trust think is best for the team.
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I love Yuli but I think they want someone in that roster spot with a bit more middle infield versatility. Pure conjecture, but that would be the only reason that makes sense to me as to why they wouldn’t be more engaged with him (assuming they aren’t).
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Could be. But he can play the corners well, is fine at 2B. Not sure what they plan is with Dubon and Hensley, but they have plenty of coverage around the infield. I’m thinking it’s got to be an issue with playing time.
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and maybe money
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There is a rumor out there that the Astros are talking to Royals about Salvador Perez.
My “friend” says he has not heard anything.
What he did say is the Astros organization is very low on both Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz as a catcher.
He says he has never seen the organization sour on a player faster than they did when Lee was with the Astros last year. They were exceedingly disappointed in him.
They say Diaz simply does not have the willingness to do the mental work the Astros require of a catcher
Apparently the Astros feel their 2023 backup catcher and 2024+ starting catcher is not currently in the organization.
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I suspected that about Lee because of how hard they were trying to find a MLB catcher to pair with Machete. I had assumed Lee had the backup job for sure, but it quickly became obvious the org wanted someone else. Both of those AAA guys must have some trade value.
Perez is expensive for a catcher as he’s still owed $62M over 3 more years with a club option @ $13.5M for a fourth year……but damn he’s a good player that would plug in nicely in this lineup. Would love to have him but I would think Maldonado would not like giving up more playing time….unless due to his health he wouldn’t mind slowing it down some.
If the reports you’ve seen are accurate and the Astros acquire him, he has to play daily for that kind of salary. And you can’t really DH him as that spot likely rotates between Brantley and Alvarez….unless you play Tucker in center, Brantley in right and Alvarez in left,
From what I have read they have looked hard at every catcher who was available and could even possibly be available and struck out over and over.
Maybe its because they didn’t have a GM? Who knows.
But Brown has a track record of valuing strong catchers so it makes sense that this is a priority.
I think (hope?) Lee helped himself enough in his return to Sugar Land that the bridge isn’t burned. I have read that he realized his mistakes and impressed with his work the past couple of months.
Even so I don’t think the Astros feel they can count on him to be the catcher of the future and if another candidate is in the system he is at least 2 years away.
I think they may just rip the band aid off and overpay for a guy like Salvador Perez and hope the price in wins 2025+ isn’t bad.
If you know, what are Lee’s perceived deficiencies?
All I know is that my “friend” posted late last year about how unhappy the organization was with Lee’s performance in Houston.
I would need to look back but I think I remember the 2 biggest issues being his film study and what he was able to identify from it and his reactions behind the plate to offline pitches.
He posted late in the year that they acknowledged his positive attitude and hard work after he was sent back down but nothing about whether they feel those 2 things can be fixed/improved on.
It seems odd to me that Lee’s reactions to offline pitches would have been quite detectable in his Minor League work. Do they not do film study in the minor leagues? I don’t know.
I only know what has been posted 2nd hand so I’m a 3rd hand source lol.
My assumption is that as far as film study, game planning, etc it was a whole new level. Maybe Maldy’s level was head and shoulders over what he was doing in AAA?
Many things could have caused the catching issues - unfamiliar pitchers. More movement on pitches than he’s used to. A nagging type injury that he was worried to report for losing his opportunity. Fatigue due to his past not being fulltime catcher until his final year in college.
Who knows.
I still have hope but what I have read is that he wasn’t what the Astros hoped or expected when he was in Houston.
Maybe he can recover. I hope so.
The thing about Perez is the injury history in the last few years - big injuries and a lot of time off. Would have made more sense to give Vazquez more playing time - especially when we consider the money available for possible extensions for Tucker, Framber and Javier.
Might be better to go with Lee/Diaz until the trade deadline and see if KC will eat more of the contract and watch the leagues’ upcoming catching prospects.
However, if we do get Salvy, healthy — he’d be a pretty good backstop for us I think… along the lines of Abreu (leader) and can slot in - help us with AL Central teams
This would slot in somewhere behind “is a good kangaroo court bailiff” in my priority list.
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Right there with you MM. Was reaching trying to find a reason why we might be interested in Salvy at his current price and injury record. He’s got a good arm, not sure about his calling games and he can GIDP with the best of the aging right handed bats (Machete), but he also has some pop or had some pop.
Would have liked in Houston earlier in his career tbh, not sure now is the time. But honestly, wtf do I know, glad we have a McLovin style GM who can navigate the young/oldies.
These are professional athletes. None of them want to give up more playing time. That’s why the manager decides the lineup.
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A recent post about Maldonado from “my friend”
Maldonado played really hurt the second half of last season and he was seriously considering retirement. The Astros wanted him back. Part of the urgency to get a capable catcher at the deadline last year was in case Maldonado couldn’t play.
Interestingly enough, the best bet of him returning in 2024 is if his body is healthy and relatively pain free. That is most likely to happen if he isn’t catching over 100 games next year.
Yeah, the Astros dual pitching coaches, manager, many players and analytic guys and Putila wanted Maldonado to be involved in either coaching/working with the pitchers in the system or in the front office.
From what I have been told, Maldonado isn’t just a grinder or a leader - he has a very high aptitude for analytics, game planning and even has a very good eye for telling how good a pitcher will be long term.
He was also embarrassed by his bat the last couple years and has said lower body injuries were a big reason why (who knows how true that is).
Maldonado is a weird guy. It wasn’t personal but he didn’t want to lose playing time to Vasquez last season. However supposedly has less of an issue when it’s a guy that has a long track record of success.
Also, I know there are some that have talked about Maldy mentoring Lee or Diaz. Supposedly he isn’t easy to learn from for some guys because he is very competitive and really hard on guys that don’t give 100%.
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Good for him. I hope he stays in the org after he retires.
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