Starting a thread for trade rumors and news…
Dylan Cease is Astros’ “dream acquisition”?
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Thanks for doing this.
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That’s a Jon Heyman rumor, so apply the appropriate mountain of salt.
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Regarding Cease, all I’ve seen this year is his early season performance against the Astros where he was all that, much like last year. But, overall, his stats this year are down. Anyone follow him well enough to provide some explanation.
But he has the type stuff to be Cole 2.0 with Stros helping hand.
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My dream acquisition would be Marcus Stroman. I have always been a fan of his
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My " friend" posted the Astros are interested in Rockies closer Pierce Johnson
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I also say this ad nauseum: pay no attention to stats! The scouts and evaluators do not.
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Big velo, high spin rate but also gets hit very hard and walks are a major issue
I get this, to an extent, but he’s obviously had some bumps this year relative to last year and I was just curious. You know, if anyone had eyes on him this year and could provide some insight.
Velo is down by a little over 1 MPH, slider is not breaking, either vertically or horizontally as much as last year. He’s not walking quite as many as last year but he’s getting hit much harder, likely due to the first 2 points.
Fastball velo is still good this year but not elite
Slider has been a bad pitch, movement wise, and he uses it 40% of the time.
My untrained guess, he needs a mechanical adjustment. I can’t see another way to explain losing movement without losing spinrate and usually when velo goes down, movement goes up(if spin is about the same) not down.
Just 2 cents from a guy who hasn’t watched him closely and doesn’t know anything.
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Don’t get me wrong, I’d do back flips if we could acquire Cease, but the Sox have already said he’s off the table and a key part of their future. Yes, they could change their mind but…:
Giolito intrigues me the most followed by Stroman and Lorenzen. Giolito gives you 6 every time out and is solid across the board statistically. He’d be even better with our defense behind him.
While I think the cost of trades will lock us into the rental market, Brown has been quoted once, as saying, they are looking at players with term. If the White Sox do go into sell mode and Cease is off the table, you might could get Michael Kopech. I’ve always kind of liked him and thought he had decent stuff, but he has got knocked around this year. We might could fix what ails him if we got him in our system and had our defense behind it.
Giolito is my first choice though.
The stuff you say here I trust the Astros to fix. If they can improve JV, and he said they did, they can improve this guy. If he has not thrown well, maybe the price will not be so high.
I have not seen him pitch at all so I know less than you.
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I was watching the Orioles broadcast last night. The color commentator, who I’m pretty sure was Ben McDonald, said that all aging pitchers these days agree that if you want to rejuvenate your career, you go to Houston or LA.
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No on Lorenzo for me. He is always hurt.
Lorenzen would not be a significant upgrade on France or Blanco. Stroman would be my top choice if the Cubs decide to move him, with Giolito second. Stroman is a bulldog on the mound, and he embraces the big moment. Best case scenario, Brown finds a reasonable deal to acquire both Stroman and Bellinger, solving two needs with one trade.
I’d be happy getting either Stroman or Giolito, though.
I can’t stress how much I love Stroman. I wanted the Astros to sign him when he was a FA and I would love for them to trade for him and immediately extend him. As you say, he’s bulldog.
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Stroman reminds me a lot of Roy Oswalt in the way he doesn’t back down from anyone when he’s pitching. That’s the kind of player I like to have on my team.
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Whoever they acquire I just hope it’s someone who’s thrown a full season’s worth of innings before. Even a middling starter who can handle 180+ innings can help this team down the stretch. The bullpen is already taxed. Blanco and France are going to blow way past their career highs and may be gassed by September. Brown too. It’d be good to be able to skip those guys every now and again, give the bullpen a break, and hit the end of the regular season in better shape.
Lorenzen doesn’t have that workhorse history I want to see. Stroman’s done it before if they want to make a bigger splash. On the lower end, Lance Lynn or Jordan Lyles can at least gobble up some innings. Thank goodness Urquidy is on his way back but I still think they need another dependable arm to take the ball every fifth day—even if it’s someone they might leave off a hypothetical postseason roster.
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That’s probably why I’m drawn to him. Oswalt was my favorite pitcher when I was a kid/teen. I love that mentality.
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