The more I look at this team, the more it reminds me of the 2019 team from an offensive perspective. C) Chironos had the best offensive season of any starting catcher during this run. Diaz should take that and run with it. Infield) There were 4 unquestioned starters. Altuve and Bregman coming off of good seasons and no reason to expect a decline. 1B and SS were manned by players coming off much lesser seasons ( Yuli and Correa 101 wRC+). OF) the 2019 team had 4 OF who got the vast majority of the time: LF: Brantley was all star but not MVP calibur, similar to Chas. CF: the 2 Jakes. Both exceptional defenders who are below average hitting. RF: Reddick was primary starter but in decline. Dependable on the field but merely averagecw/ the bat. Tucker is younger and better across the board. OF) Springer actually had the most PA of any of the OF but split his time between CF and RF just like Chas will continue to do in LF and CF. Yordan is primed to have the 4th most PA in the OF in 2024. That will only be 175-250 PA but like George hecwill play nearly everyday, just not exclusively in one position.
Ehh. No, that’s not the only reason Brown was named GM. Brown was the top candidate in baseball at the time and he rebuild the Braves through the draft and set up their player development system. He was the top scouting director in baseball and the Braves had a top 5 system at player development. Maybe Brown will prove to be bad - I don’t know, but he didn’t get the job because of Craig Biggio.
Dana Brown was dealt a rough hand coming into this organization at this time. It was WS or bust, very little flexibility to make moves and the dynasty was likely near its end regardless of who was at the helm...but you will get blamed. Ultimately his job is to rebuild the farm, I think Crane realizes the handicaps he has put in Brown this first season, financially and personnel wise.
I am a bit more optimistic. With expanded playoffs, the regular season win target is 88-93, not 95-100. Get in, and anything can happen especially if Yordan, Bregs, and Altuve are still on the roster and you have TWO solid starters and one passable starter.
How so? Astros need relievers and that’s really it. Everyone the Astros have been in discussions with are all still in play (Y. Rodriguez, Neris, Hicks, Stephenson, Moore, Maton) wait for the right deal.
NO! WE HAVEN'T SIGNED ALL THE TOP FREE AGENTS! WHY DIDN'T BROWN GIVE OHTANI $800 MILLION FOR 3 YEARS? WHY DIDN'T THEY GIVE YAMAMOTO $500 MILLION FOR 2 YEARS EVEN THOUGH HE'S NEVER THROWN A PITCH IN MLB? ANYTHING LESS IS ABJECT FAILURE!!!!!!!!!!! Is that about right?
I understand the inactivity. This team has 8 1/2 starting position players, 6+ starting pitchers, 2 top leverage relievers, and several more unproven/inconsistent bullpen arms. The holes this team has are filled by journeymen and older veterans looking for a cheap 1 year deal. Those guys tend to be the last to sign. That's why nothing has happened. That said, this team needs an OF/1b to use vs RH pitching more than it needs more pitching help, unless it's a guy more established or they have more confidence in than the current guys who will be thrown at the wall to see who sticks.
This this this this this. if we want to sign Hader or something- cool, but incrementalism is probably dumb and counter productive. Throw all the arms at the problem and see who sticks. It’s only a couple spots and they are low leverage ones at that which need filling. we have 6 good bats and 8 dudes in the arm department if either lance or garcia get healthy- that’s what you need. (JV, Framber, Brown, Javier, Presley, Abreu, Graveman ….). That 8th one can get found during the season or traded for at the deadline.
The player I'm referring to would play LF and DH more than 1B, as I acknowledge that Abreu is the starter. However, Dana Brown has publically stated at least twice this offseason that Abreu will not be playing everyday and keeping him rested and healthy is a major team goal for the season. Brown has also hinted that he does not want Dubon to play much outfield which means that Yordan, Chas, Meyers, and Tucker are currently the only OF projected to make the 26 man roster. With Yordan limited to 50 games or less and only LF this team needs another OF badly. And that doesn't even address Meyer's inability (so far) to hit RHP. Hot take: if this team doesn't sign another OF, then Julks or a rookie OF make the opening day roster.
I don't know that any of this means they need another OF badly. Abreu "not playing every day to keep him healthy" means playing like 145-150 games instead of 162. That's not a place where you invest much in a backup. In terms of Dubon, I imagine that's in reference to him starting so much last year as a primary guy. If Tucker and Chas are playing ~145 games in the OF and Meyers plays 100, Yordan plays 50. That's leave about 50 games for Dubon as a rotating backup - that's less than last year's OF role. There may still be a 6th OF, but I assume its a random nobody rather than anything that they make an investment in. Overall, I think the offense is pretty well set given their financial constraints. Any tweaks I suspect will be on the pitching side.
FWIW I agree that pitching is where they will focus and spend. It's just not what I would do. Where is this team if a position player is injured? There is little to no depth. Abreu? Suddenly Jon Singleton becomes the everyday starter with Kessinger the primary backup. Altuve and Pena have Dubon, so that's solid. Bregman? This would be bad, as Kessinger and/or Hensley would probably need to start. Yordan: Meyers would need to play everyday and those same guys listed before would start probably allowing Abreu and Altuve to DH when they aren't in the field. Chas or Tucker: Dubon would be forced to play the OF when Yordan isn't in LF. Meyers becomes an everyday player. Just bringing in a veteran corner player would prevent that. Ryan O'Hearn and Jose Urquidy make about the same salary. Jose is a SP and has 1 extra year of control so has a bit more value. Astros could get a prospect included. O'Hearn plays 1B and both corner OF, hits RHP very well and is better than average vs LHP. Imagine how much better this team would be if was on the roster for insurance and starting 15 games at each DH, 1b, LF, and RF allowing the starters to have a day off or DH? And he's just one of a dozen similar guys.
