I think Yuli played left field for us his first year up, but that was so long ago that it might not be relevant anymore.
I don't know what will happen with Verlander, but there's no way the team spends money on a low end starter. They have 6 average-or-better starters as-is without Verlander, and none of them deserve to get benched for a low-end starter that's probably worse than all of them.
Yuli would be fine playing 10-20 games each at 1B, 2B, LF, 3B, and DH. He wouldn’t be a plus defender at all those positions but he wouldn’t be much below average either. I think for him it’ll come down to whether another team is willing to pay him to be an everyday 1B and whether he wants to keep playing if he’s forced into a bench role.
The Abreu signing strengthens our batting lineup to the point where could afford to experiment with rookies such as Korey Lee and Pedro Leon on a semi-regular basis. Something like 35-40% of the games for Korey Lee and 50-60% of the games for Pedro Leon.
Pena isnt moving from hitting second, certainly not now. Altuve (R) Pena (R) Alvarez (L) Bregman (R) Tucker (L) Abreu (R) Benentendi/Brantley (L) McCormick (R) Maldonando (R)
Ehh that is market value for him I think. I always felt it would take more than 2/40. He has finished in the top 21 of MVP voting in 7 of 9 seasons. He has lead the league in total bases twice and he has had an OPS+ of 165, 124, 133 the last three seasons. For comparison Yuli Gurriel has had an OPS+ of 77, 131, 84..... So this is a major upgrade for the Astros line up. Defensively, he has improved a lot over the last half dozen years. His range isn't as good as Gurriel but he makes the plays he is supposed to and is very good on balls in front of him. He is also a longer target than Gurriel. As for his age, that is always a concern but all of his advanced statistics and bat speed are still strong, and he also works a count better than Gurriel.
I can't see the Astros signing Contreras and Abreu and also resigning Verlander. I will say that It is conceivable that the Astros could sign both Abreu and Contreras for roughly the AAV that Verlander could get from LA. If Verlander gets 3/125 (he wants 3/135) and Abreu gets 3/58.5 and they offer Contreras 3/66, that gets them to roughly the same amount as just Verlander in AAV and total dollars. It lets the Astros split the risk over two players, and solves the Astros biggest weaknesses.
Yep. And if we really want to get greedy we could also still see if Conforto would do a 2/30 with an opt out after 1. That would essentially mean we spent 56M on new guys and lost JV, Brantley, Yuli, Diaz, Castro for 56M. I'm almost 100% certain I'd rather have what we have coming in than going out, for the same amount of money.
Am I the only one who isn’t super high on Contreras? I know he’s good at the plate but… I’ve read so much about how he calls terrible games and doesn’t put in the work necessary to be a good catcher. From what I’ve read, a lot of Cubs fans want him gone and want a “real” catcher. @Nook what are your thoughts on him?
I just want to roll with Maldy for another year and try to develop Lee. The main value of Contreras is that he’s a decent bat at the C position. At DH/LF/1B, he’s a 25% K machine who’s a free swinger. I like Benintendi but I would like a power threat. Regarding Bellinger, I’m more forgiving than most. There have been much worse humans on the Astros (like Osuna). I only root for what’s on the front of the jersey, not the back. If we can fix him and he’s a positive contributor, I’m good with him on the team. Altuve, Bregman, etc are professionals, winning will cure it (I’m sure). And I bet Crane wouldn’t go after a FA without first ensuring he wouldn’t blow up the locker room.
https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-abreu-astros-deal The Astros would still like to add another bat in left field but haven’t closed the door on re-signing veteran Michael Brantley. If the Astros decide not to re-sign Brantley, they have an interest in free agent outfielder Michael Conforto, a left-handed hitter who spent the first seven years of his career with the Mets. He didn’t play last season while recovering from shoulder surgery after slashing .232/.344/.384 with 14 homers and 55 RBIs in 2021.
The Astros aren't going to be able to make a decision on Brantley until Spring Training when they can see him in action.
