Astros want to get it done and made a second formal offer to Hader and his agent.
The offer is less than what Diaz got and that has been an issue with Hader.
The agent has tried to get Texas, Philadelphia and Dodgers to increase their offers.
Told that Hader doesn’t have a massive market yet in part because of velocity concerns and walk rates, coupled with some elite teams wanting to spend for players that play every day.
Rangers and Dodgers and Baltimore and Chicago have other areas of interest above Hader at this point.
Agent may wait for Snell, Montgomery and a bat or two to sign and see if that warms up the Hader market.
Astros response is they need a decision soon.
Other odd thing I was told is that Rangers and Dodgers think it could be a smoke screen by both Hader and Astros to force the Rangers or Dodgers to overpay for Hader.
I think the real smoke screen is Brown continuing to say (as he has all offseason) that they aren’t looking to do much more in the way of FA acquisitions. There has been other rumors of us being involved/interested in other players in Hicks (believe this because we were rumored to be after him at the deadline last year) and the Cuban pitcher that went to Toronto (believe this as well because well, he’s Cuban and we seem to like going to that well of talent).
You are correct. Before yesterday’s news connecting the Astros to Hader, there was a report earlier this week Neris was seeking a three-year, $50 million contract.
Hector Gomez is way, way off the mark a lot of the time. He was adamant that Correa and the Astros were in the process of hammering out a deal a couple years ago. It wasn’t true at all.
Agreed. I think the report from Heyman is a lot closer to Neris’ real market/request. Gomez is the one who started the three-year, $50 million rumor, and he’s not very credible.
I cannot read the minds of the Rangers and Dodgers, etc.
What I can say is that signed Hader is very much a Crane type move.
Crane wanted Verlander after Luhnow passed on the first trade deadline - and the Astros ended up with Verlander.
Crane wanted Verlander resigned, so he took over negotiations from Click - and he resigned.
Crane wanted Greinke - and Greinke was an Astro.
Crane regretted losing Hader in trade - he then pushed Brown to get him at the deadline last year. The Astros were going to get him until the Padres took him off the market.
When the World Series ended, the Astros preliminary checked in with Hader.
Now Crane has made two offers for Hader.
Does it mean the Astros get Hader? No, Crane wanted Bryce Harper and did not get him… and he eventually lost out of Verlander to the Mets before trading for him again - but we do know that when Crane wants something, the Astros end up making good faith attempts, and over 50% of the time, Crane has gotten who he wants.
Remember back in 2015 and 2016 when we talked about the window being open until maybe 2019 then all the stars would depart via free agency? 2020 if we were lucky? Yeah, pitchers and catchers report in 8 or so weeks for the 2024 season and the window is still wide open.
Thats the true genius of Luhnow. Maybe the league caught up to him and he got out at the right time, but his legacy is one of impressive wonder.
The talent he identified assembled and developed is amazing. He wanted to build a winner without a window that can sustain greatness and it feels like he did.
Keuchel and Morton left just as the international FA pitchers were about ready. Tucker was ready to replace Reddick, Chas replaced Springer, Jeremy replaced Carlos. It wasn’t always seamless but there was always someone to replace the leaving player.
The exception has been RPs that for some reason have always needed to be brought in. But because all other holes are filled the resources were there to get them.
Its been 4 years since he was fired and the team is as strong as ever.
Click’s contributions can’t be overlooked though, he rebuilt the bullpen and got Yainer Diaz as a throw in. His 2020 draft looks bad, but it looks like the 21 draft has 5-6 players on the cusp and the 22 draft has some promise.
And now Brown has a chance, but it is all still built on the foundation Luhnow laid.
The genius decision to not sign Brady Aiken was/is Luhnow’s magnum opus, IMO.
The math on Hader’s deal has to do with Graveman. The fact Graveman rolls off after next year likely made this decision much easier. Crane wants to win but the Astros have a budget.
Besides Lunhow and the Astros’ front office’s ability to identify talent, the real key to the Astros’ success is their player development system. They continue to find ways to churn out quality big leaguers who are nowhere to be found on top prospect lists. Chas McCormick and J.P. France come to mind. Jose Urquidy was not a top prospect but became a valuable rotation piece, and Framber Valdez needed a lot of work to harness his stuff before he became a Cy Young caliber pitcher. Look at what they’ve done with Luis Garcia, too.
I’d also say James Click did a good job of identifying talent. Getting Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton for Myles Straw is the most obvious example.
Getting Diaz and Maton for Myles Straw won’t go down as the best trade in Astros history—there are obviously a couple others that’ll never be beaten—but what a fucking heist.
Agreed. My top four trades in Astros’ history would be the Verlander trade because it led to the first World Series in franchise history, Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen, Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields and the Randy Johnson trade in 1998.
