I’ve accepted that Bregman was gone about 3 times this offseason, I’ve made my peace with it.
What I will not make my peace with is not doing ANYTHING to address the worst hitting OF in baseball. If they don’t make a move for an OF bat then the Pressly trade really was only about getting under the tax, at the expense of competing this year. I will not accept that. Go. Get. An. OF. Bat.
Yes, I know, resetting the tax is beneficial but the big penalties don’t come into effect unless they are over this year AND next year. They can easily reset the tax after this year because of the money coming off the books without sacrificing competing in 26. This window isn’t going to last forever and going into the season with the OF as presently constructed is not a serious contender.
I agree that it would be great to get another outfield bat. However, unless we pull off some sort of trade, there really isn’t much left on the free agent market at this point. Not sure that there is one free agent outfielder on the market who I would rather sign as opposed to giving one of our young guys a shot at least until the trade deadline. That is of course we are in the hunt at the deadline.
The team was 49-34 last year without Tucker. Bregman was hitting below .250 for most of the season and we didn’t get much production out of 1st base. If Walker and Paredes hit to their potential, our infield has a shot to be better offensively. Hopefully Chas can regain his 2023 form. If that happens, I’m not as worried as some are about our lineup.
I’ve come to grips with the idea that the window has closed and we’re now in the reset stage. And I’m okay with it. It was a good run, now it’s time to restock. But Brown and his team need to start hitting home runs on their draft picks.
Absolutely it was, and the Astros haven’t hid that fact at all. Have been very open and honest about getting under the line.
I think we start the season with what we have. Our pitching is much better than I think the talking heads and pundits give us credit for, and we hopefully have reinforcements coming with Javier, Garcia and, if we are lucky, LMJ. I feel good about the arms in the rotation and the bullpen.
Is the outfield a problem? Yes, it is offensively, but I think we start with what we have now. If Altuve can play left, with Dubon at second, we are probably a little better offensively. I think Melton will be given every chance to hit his way into the lineup in the spring, but I’m not counting on that. If we stay within striking distance at the deadline, Crane has shown he has no problem going back over the line if it is needed. They will get an outfielder then. If for some reason this team seriously underperforms and is out of it at the deadline, we trade Framber for talent and move on.
Something like a one-year reset, if things go to plan. Still lots of talent on this team and it’s a weak division.
Keep under the tax line this year and go nuts in ‘26 with Abreu and Montero off the books and Framber hitting free agency. Would expect Dubón gets nontendered after this season, Jake or Chas too, if they don’t step up in a big way. Lots of room to spend in FA or take on good players from teams looking to shed salary in trades.
I’m less optimistic about the team’s depth. Fingers crossed with LMJ but even if healthy how many innings can we count on from him? Garcia only throwing off flat ground almost 2 years removed from surgery worries me. And it’s Garcia’s situation that makes me think a meaningful contribution from Javier is a longshot. Obviously I hope I’m wrong on all. Damn…I’m normally a glass half full type guy.
I’m in total agreement with you and I’m ok with it as well. Because of this I hate to see the potential for Framber to walk out the door with nothing but a comp draft pick in return but I get why they are keeping him. I would not at all be surprised to see him moved at the deadline even if the team is in the playoff hunt, especially if LMJ and Garcia are able to make it back to the big club…and if the team happens to strike gold on a guy like Hayden Wesneski (fingers crossed he can become another Astros success story).
If he has a great season and opts out, the Red Sox get a double win, a good infielder and don’t have to pay him as he ages. If he’s average/below-average then that’s not great, but they have more cap space than most.
The problem with this is, who are you going nuts for? Outside of Tucker, the OF FA market is really weak next offseason. I guess you could make trades but that just weakens an already weak farm unless you’re going after bad contracts just to have money on the books which seems like a not great idea. The middle IF market is also weak so even if Altuve transitions to the OF full time there isn’t a 2B worth spending money on. I think spending money to improve the team after this season is a risky endeavor, and I don’t see them doing it.
This is where I’m at as well. I accepted that the next year or two are more about rebuilding than keeping the window open. But the minors definitely need a significant injection of talent. Assuming Houston is in a rebuild, then picking towards the middle or top half of the first round ought to help bring in those types of prospects.