Brown isn’t going anywhere. He’s done very well with the hand that he was dealt and the farm is in much better shape.
I am not unhappy with Dana. But he does not have a contract for next year. He has no security. Maybe Crane has already decided to keep him but if Dana knew that for certain there would already be a new contract signed. I think Dana can still potentially lose his 2027 spot with this organization.
In the first 62 games of the season, we saw 13 starting pitchers (10.5%) pitch at least 94 pitches. Three were Astros. We saw exactly one pitch more than 100 pitches. Clearly the Astros (and PHI and SEA) don't buy into the philosophy of easing your pitchers into the season. What could go wrong?
Keep an eye on those teams and be sure to follow this Tommy John Surgery spreadsheet to see how it plays out.
Another consideration is if Crane says make a trade for a closer or this player in particular, Brown might get "fired" if he does not.
Very specific circumstance in mind where you can trade and still one change likelihood of yes/no making playoffs.
A lot is my understanding. Allegedly people say most FO are treating value of guys that get moved at deadline as equivalent to full season more or less now that there’s expanded playoffs.
Let them miss the playoffs again this year and it's going to be a 50/50 chance of Brown being allowed to comeback. Espada will be a goner. Odds are that Crane hires a new GM/Manager in the same time frame.
Well so far we got: Patient Altuve Ruthian Yordan Resurrected Walker Ripken Correa Breakout Cam Cy Brown Resurrected Lance Secret Sauce Bolton Secret Sauce Teng Secret Sauce Weiss Secret Sauce King Secret Sauce Okert Now we need to see: Resurrected Diaz All-Star Pena Breakout Brice Secret Sauce Imai Secret Sauce Burrows Resurrected Javier Vintage Abreu Vintage Hader
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...ueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter All in all a pretty positive injury update on Houston’s injured pitchers. De Los Santos is already out on rehab Pearson facing hitters, up to 96 Hader throwing bullpens Wesneski and Blanco already throwing off the mound No updates on Sousa, Walter, or Dezenzo
I'm not familiar with the protocols. If Hader is throwing bullpens, roughly how far away is he from being ready for prime time?
There is no hard time line. The day after the bullpen Hader and the Astros see how sore he is. I suspect that the Astros will not be aggressive with Hader's rehab. They will be conservative in the rehab, to make sure that Hader is in sound condition before they put him back in the closer slot, since a healthy closer will be needed to get to the playoffs and to advance in the playoffs.
Smith’s homer last night and Walker’s early production are fantastic signs for this team. If those 2 guys can be middle of the order hitters it takes a lot of pressure off of Correa (and Altuve and Pena) and makes more of an allowance for having weaker hitters at CF and C.
Makes sense, but what are the normal next steps after a bullpen (assuming no setback)? Minor league stint? I’m trying to guess whether we are days, weeks, or months away … with the Astros I never can tell, but someone more educated than me probably has some sense.
You forgot to mention Loperfido being a viable major league player. Considering he had an OPS of .879 last season over 41 games, it’s not far fetched that he’s at least an average hitter.
I forgot about Blanco and Wesneki. If they come back we will be in good shape. I still think Crane swings for the fences and gets another TOR pitcher if we are contending at the deadline.
