If Dana Brown’s public comments mean anything – and you never truly know with GMs – then Diaz seems to be the catcher of the future. And if that’s true, I’m guessing Lee gets dealt at the trade deadline.
(That doesn’t change your point about him needing to play every day; more ABs seems helpful whether he’s the future or trade bait.)
You 100000 percent can absorb Julks if he’s being used as the 4th or 5th outfielder. Dusty choosing to start him makes minimal sense, but what else is new.
Leon’s number are better at a vastly inferior league, sure. But again, he’s not going to change the direction this team is going. And clearly the front office and/or Dusty think highly enough of Julks that Leon hasn’t been called up yet. What you’re doing is grasping at straws/rearranging the deck chairs, and it’s pretty silly.
But at some point, getting the 13 position players who give you the best chance to win trumps development.
Salazar is not one so its Lee, or Berryhill, or some pickup from the recycle pile.
This is the 2023 Astros team, not the 2013 team.
Brown sent Lee back down to get playing time, but now has over 175 g and 750 PA at AAA or MLB level. Working w/ Maldy and the Astros pitching coaches while playing 2 days per week should allow him to help the team while not hindering his development much.
Not to mention that bringing up Leon also means DFAing somebody which tightens the roster crunch even more when you make trades to add major league players. If you’re gonna do that, you better be damn confident you’re getting an upgrade.
Having a spare parts catcher because your backup catcher is a good hitter and you want to utilize that/not end up in a totally fucked position if you need to PH the backup guy is NOT where you want to put someone that you’re trying to develop for the future. That is CRAZY.
Every. Single. Team in the bigs has at least one specialty guy on the roster that either is a bad hitter of bad fielder, but gets playing time when needed in a pinch. Your 13th field player is not going to be a big impact guy, he’s there because he’s the extra part you need in case of emergency/injury.
Pedro Leon is a slightly less good player than 4 of the 5 current outfield pieces, assuming that he can play as well as Julks in the bigs, which is not a guarantee. It’s absolutely crazy to think calling him up is a good idea right now.
They’ve got five of them, but four of them are in major or minor slumps (Altuve, Bregman, Tucker, Abreu) or injured (Alvarez). Abreu and Bregman are showing signs of waking up, and Alvarez will be back after the All Star break. I think you just have to sit tight. Getting a legit bat will likely cost you Gilbert, which seems like a short-sighted decision.
I concede and accept that my logic was faulty and initiated out of panic.
I still feel Leon would likely be better than Julks, and at least give additional defensive value.
However, even if he is, its very unlikely that it is enough to justify the moves it will require - or the waiting time that will be needed to actually see if it works.
It’s simply not time to press the panic button yet in my opinion. They are 3.5 games out of first. Someone is simply going to have to step up. If Bregman and Abreu wake up, they just might weather the storm until Alvarez gets back. I’m more worried about Pressly pitching like crap lately.
Agreed, plus I think Leon brings more value to the organization as a potential trade piece. If I’m right, then better to leave him at AAA and have a team hope he can still perform well in the bigs down the line versus bringing him up…having him struggle and confirming he’s no more than a depth piece for any club that picks him up.