Nola back to the Phillies for 7/172
Lynn to Cards for 1/10
Braves also signed reliever Reynaldo Lopez to a 3-year deal for $30M with an option for a 4th year. Heâs only 30 next year, so not a great comp for Neris, but itâs at least the first data point for reliever salaries in this market.
Thatâs a shame. I kind of liked the Astros facing him.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto posted today. I would love for the Astros to sign him but I know they wonât because of the luxury tax. Best pitcher posted since Darvish.
There has been ample discussion on the backup catcher situation and the backend of the bench. But the actual pressing and real need this team has imho is starting pitching. If they can land 2 solid starters I could give zero fucks if Maldy is on this team or not.
To those that track this stuff, who should the Astros be targeting? Is Yamamoto realistic?
Itâs very unlikely they go after any of the big money guys. I saw a report that the Blue Jays may be ready to move on from Manoah, Iâd be very interested in him if the Astros can get his head right.
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I could get behind that. Seems like a perfect Astro project. Dude has a great arm.
Given the clubâs history, I think Cuban RHP Yariel Rodriguez has to be one of the more realistic free agent starters for the Astros.
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The biggest off-season acquisition this team needed has been addressed in the promotion of Espada. Now if he can fix the Astros home struggles, he has a ready made 100 win team.
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Its interesting to me that this team has:
1 catcher that that has finished a season on an MLB roster.
7 infielders that finished the year on the MLB roster.
4 outfielders that finished the year on the MLB roster
6 relief pitchers that finished the year on the MLB roster
6 starting pitchers that finished the year on the MLB roster.
But 2 more starting pitchers has to be the priority?
Of: France, Brown, Urquidy⌠on which can you really rely?
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Yeah I think thereâs gonna be some faith placed in Framber and Javier to have better years and JP/Hunter to progress with lessons learned.
Put another way: any starting help may be more on the Wade Miley end of the spectrum.
What vintage of Miley are we looking at?
It may have to be a blend.
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Miley was great for 5 1/2 months before falling off a cliff.
Who is this years Miley?
Severino? Flaherty? Giolito?
This make me uncomfortable. No guarantee that Framber gets his head right. Some guys never recover from the âyipsâ. Javier has always seemed to get better results than his stuff would suggest. I realize this is a minority opinion, but I donât see much headroom for him.
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I would think all three would be open to a one year deal with the right team to help them get back on track with the chance to cash in on a long term deal a year from now if successful. Houston would have to be towards the top of the list in terms of teams with a track record of helping pitchers get the most out of their abilities.
I think my personal ranking of those three would be Flaherty, Severino, Giolito. Flaherty had good stuff last year that improved throughout the season, but he kept getting in big trouble in the first inning. Heâs awfully young and has quite a live arm still and just a few years ago was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Severino canât stay on the field and Giolito I just have a hard time believing in.
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As we try to get the gas fixed at my in-lawsâ so we can cook Thanksgiving dinner, the Twins are reportedly looking to offload Christian Vazquezâs salary ($10M each in â24 and â25). Iâd take him back in a heartbeat but those numbers probably donât fit within the limited room under the tax line the Astros have.
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Maybe the Twins will eat a little of that salary.
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