I’m a bit terrified by the prospect of a fart analog of the in-game snack chart.
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Nominatable.
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What do you all think about the Chandler article? Do you think there are Valdez trades that could make sense?
I am open to the idea of a Framber trade. Dude’s got the yips. He could snap out of it next April, or never. That means coming up with a #2 starter somewhere.
The idea that we have a tradable cohort of pitchers is loaded with caveats. This was not an area of concern this time last year. Bregman being shopped has to be a diversion or wild thought.
In 2023 all pitchers are risky.
Framber is about as dependable as they come.
And in a down year, his stats were still among the 30-50 best among all pitchers w/ 100+ IP
The team needs him to win
What would you all think of this deal?
Astros get DL Hall, Randy Arozarena, Mason Montgomery
Rays get Colton Cowser
Orioles get Framber Valdez, Jake Meyers, Shawn Dubin
There’s not a chance in hell TB makes that deal, and I don’t think it’s very good for the Astros.
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Spec Richardson cured me of my youthful GM impulses. I let the pros do it and am either warmly surprised or catastrophically despondent at the outcome
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The Astros starting pitching failed them in the second half of last season and the playoffs. They can’t afford to trade Framber without having a suitable replacement in the fold.
They really don’t have a surplus of quality starting pitching after how last season finished. Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez struggled mightily in the second half of the season. Lance McCullers can’t be relied on to give them a full season of innings, and Luis Garcia is out for much of 2024 after having Tommy John surgery. Jose Urquidy missed half the season with shoulder inflammation.
I also don’t see the Rays giving up Arozarena for a prospect right now.
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They’re more likely to move him after the season, but it could be this winter if they get the right offer. They’re trading a frontline SP just because he’ll make $25M next year. Arozarena isn’t making that much but he’s getting more expensive, and their payroll will still be higher than usual after they move Glasnow. I’m sure they’d want immediate MLB value in return though.
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I have no doubt the Rays will trade Arozarena eventually. Like you said, I’m sure they still fancy themselves as contenders, so they would want pieces that can immediately help their MLB roster over a good prospect that has had nothing more than a cup of coffee at the major league level and isn’t considered a generational talent.
If I were the Rays, I’d be trading Glasnow, too. His injury risk is too high to justify giving him $25-$30 million per season. Plus, it’s not as if he has a long track record of dominance. I’d much rather build around strong positional players as an organization because pitchers get seriously injured too often.
There’s a wide, wide difference between wanting to trade a $25M pitcher with 1 year of control vs a $5M outfielder with 3 years of control.
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Yes, you will get a lot more in return for the latter.
For what it’s worth he’s projected at $9M for ‘24, so this is probably his last season in Tampa since he’ll hit eight figures in ‘25.
I keep hearing that the Astros pitching let them down in the end. But people forget, it was the Astros pitching that got them there to begin with. The reality was you had multiple injuries that caused pitchers to have to throw significantly more innings than they had ever thrown. Let’s look at two that pitched great in the first half and faded down the stretch -
J. P. France- In 2021 he threw 114 innings. In 2022, he threw 110 2/3 innings. In 2023, he threw 155 2/3 innings. He struggled in August & September where he threw 44 2/3 innings - you take those innings away and you have where he had capped out the previous two years. The outcome late isn’t a surprise based on his previous limit.
Hunter Brown - In 2021 he through 100 1/3 innings, In 2022, he threw 126 1/3 innings. In 2023, he threw 175 2/3 innings. In Aug & Sept, he threw 44 1/3 innings. You subtract that and he is just a bit above his 2022 innings. The outcome late isn’t a surprise based on his previous limit - though his struggles started a bit earlier than France’s.
(Bielack also saw his number increase from 67 1/3 to 100 2/3 to 135 though he finished the year in AAA - he threw more in MLB than he did in AAA)
We need pitching but let’s not give up on Brown and France like they forgot how to pitch. They just got tired IMO.
While we are on the subject of innings pitched -
Framber threw 198 this year after throwing 202 1/3 last year. His ability to eat innings and keep the team in the game saved the Astros many times this year - he has significant value to this team - it will take a great deal to trade him.
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As frustrating as Framber is at times, his overall value to the team shouldn’t be taken for granted. He’s a top 20 pitcher.
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The correct word may be was.
Spec Richardson probably traded himself from heaven to purgatory.
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From reading archived obits, he had absolutely no regrets concerning his performance negating an entire decade of accumulated team talent assembled by 1968. Set the franchise back a decade and just waved it off.
The comments in this linked article on Chandler Rome’s mailbag from The Athletic address multiple issues going into this week’s MLB meeting.