Or have invested in another “guaranteed return” scheme.
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thank you for a (brief) moment of lucidity
Agree - about Brantley, Benintendi and Varsho.
What do you think about a possible Mike Yazstremski with Giants? Loved his grandfather (edit) and he seems to be ready to break out or get better imo.
Dunno anything about him but his name.
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Yaz probably would hsve been available if SF had signed Judge but now they don’t have a replacement.
He’s a solid LF bat that can play all 3 OF spots. Late developer
Age 32 in his 2nd arb year. Made $3.75M in 1st 2022.
K’s quite a bit but walks somewhat offset it and production has fallen each of the last 3 seasons to barely below average .697 OPS/ 96 OPS+ last year. 1.8 bWAR.
I wouldn’t dislike it if not much was given up for him except it would likely mean he takes up the spot that could go to an upgrade.( though admittedly those are going away fast)
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I read that Conforto wants a deal similar to JVs last year.
$21M w/ player option of another $21M.
Crane is OK w the $21M but not the 2nd year in his 100% control coming off the injury.
Even JV had an IP qualifyer.
Just a clarification point.
Mike is Carl’s grandson
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Reading the Astros have talked to White Sox about Grandal
Word is he had shoulder issue last year and Astros think he could be a bounce back candidate
That’s interesting. Switch hitter that’s always had a really high OBP. Only one year left on contract so that should somewhat diminish his value.
I trust Crane and company as well. Just getting a little stir crazy waiting for the next move.
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I always liked Grandal as a player. I have no knowledge/opinion as to his character.
Astros are really casting a wide net to catch a catcher.
They still have hope for Lee. Unhappy with his stint in Houston last year but happy with his return to AAA and how he handled it.
The biggest issue is how much they value the leadership and cerebral part of catching and don’t want a couple of rookies with less than 70 total innings in MLB if something happens to Maldy.
Apparently Diaz is trying to force their hands to move him off of the position to 1B/DH. Word is he loves to hit much more than he likes to play baseball.
Example last season in AAA he decided to not even try to throw out base stealers in AAA. ( according to posts I have read)
How would an internet poster know Diaz thoughts on base stealers? Did he say publicly he does not try?
ETA: If JV’s comments are to be believed, Machete sets the preparation bar up very high. In a post-game interview, Verlander said Maldonado is the most prepared catcher he has been around, and he added “When he comes to the mound to say something, you listen.”
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If the Astros start next season with the current roster they have the best starting pitching, the best relief corps, the best lineup, the best defense and maybe one of the best benches with Dubon, Hensley and Meyers. The only area of uncertainty is back up catcher. Not sure if Crane/Baker are sold on Lee.
As I said before this guy states he has multiple friends within the Astros organization and Now other organizations since they moved on.
He also claims to text regularly with Keith Law
I don’t know the guy from Adam and have tried to be very forthright about that regarding verifiability if his posts but I find them very interesting
He is also very protective of his sources/friends and does not name them. Take that how you will.
He states the Astros feel he is simply not trying to throw runners out and that its because he KNOWS his bat will carry him and he does not like catching.
At Corpus last year he threw out 12 of 36- 33%
Then in Sugar Land he threw out 2 of 26.-6%
He also states that Diaz is very capable physically and intellectually but does not work on mental part of the gane.
Ok, thanks. I agree it is interesting. I think the Astros will demand more from a C.
Not sure I would tell people that
I don’t know who the agent was, but damn, they did him right.
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Was listening to Power Alley today on MLB Radio. They did a deep dive into the AL West team by team. When discussing Houston, most of the talk was about the Astros pursuit of a catcher. The name they mentioned as someone houston should sign was Omar Narvaez. He’s always been known as an offense ONLY type of catcher, but they discussed how since he’s been in Milwaukee, he has somewhat miraculously transformed into one of the better defensive catchers in the sport. Said he graded out near the top in almost every defensive metric. While he had a down year offensively in 2022, he’s a career .258 hitter with a .343 OBP and only strikes out 20% of the time. He’s also a lefty at the plate which we need in our order. They also said that since he’s Spanish speaking that he should fit in well with Maldonado and our pitching staff. He only made $5M with the Brewers last year so he shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Could be an interesting add.
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Lap top died. Jim is an arse at times. I am a drunk. He agrees with less than 1000%. Betcha he would have a beer with me before the game. Sure as doodoo would be agreeing on who we are rooting for