This exactly! Alvarez not getting time at 1B in RR despite Reed and Jones not playing so hot is telling IMO. Luhnow also specifically said in an interview he sees him as someday being a good "MMP left fielder". As I've said, my idea is Smoak to 1B, Gurriel to 3B, and Bregman to SS for the next 5-6 weeks or so (until Correa comes back). Smoak is a big upgrade over White, our primary 1B during the injury bug, and evne though Gurriel is a little faster, and has better contact, Smoak has waaaay more power, and takes more walks.
I'm not going to kid myself and think I know a ton about MLB trades but my eyeballs tell me that we need to acquire two pieces before the trading deadline ends. 1. We need another SP. Whitley will not make it here this year and Corbin Martin isn't going to cut it. Miley and Peacock have done a fantastic job and honestly I didn't think they would have pitched as well as they have. With that said, you add a legit 3rd starter to set yourself for the post season. 2. We need another bat in this line up. I know prior to the injuries, we were one of the best offenses but as we have seen so far, our depth doesn't have a ton of pop. White is awful, Kemp is doing the damn thing at 2b but weak at the plate. I for one am in the let's bring Alaverz up but there isn't a guarantee he will produce at this level. Adding another bat imo is an insurance policy if we lose someone for the year.
On 1, I think Astros try their hardest to get a SP. On 2, Astros biggest problem right now is clutch hitting. I'd like them to add a big bat, but it has nothing to do with current offense.
White has 2 RBIs in the last 7 days. Bregman, Astros RBI leader in last 7 days, has 3. Not a great team showing offensively, but still good enough.
Look, I’m almost always in favor of adding a bat but this is just silly. There’s literally nowhere to put a bat with a healthy team if you want tucker or Alvarez to have any chance of playing. I mean, I guess 1b if league average Yuli hitting 8th in the playoffs is some sort of bridge too far for you. But why waste the capital to make Yuli a bench guy? Springer Altuve Bregman Brantley Correa tucker/Alvarez Yuli Reddick Chirinos I mean- ****- the only way you could upgrade that lineup would be an all star C or RF, or a borderline all star 1B. If neither tucker nor Alvarez is capable of being above average Díaz is a 10 percent better than league average bat, that I suppose you’d hit 8th. None of this could in any rational world be construed as a problem. The only need is an axe type pitcher to slot 3rd in the playoffs. If we are talking about more than that I guess give me a hammer in the bullpen so Will Harris can be my 6th inning guy and joe smith my situational righty. But that’s really quibbling.
Yep. Given the arms without options I don’t even really see room for a reliever. Add a starting pitcher, aim high. Synergaard, Kluber, or Scherzer, with Stroman, Bumgarner, Boyd, Minor, Lynn, or Wheeler as backup options.
I’d probably add one more RP for the 7th inning, but that’s not a necessity before the deadline imo. I like that Harris seems to be Harris again, but still there want someone else.
Lots of people are better than Yuli. That’s what happens when your bat is slightly above average. But if you are hitting 8 in a fully healthy and stocked playoff lineup I don’t see all that much benefit in “upgrading” at all, so unless they are able to move on from Yuli (or Reddick who I know has been good but I don’t trust to keep this up) I see no reasonable avenue nor need to improve the offense. It’s already basically maximized once either one of tucker or Yordan come up and can hit
There’s never a time where another bullpen hammer can’t be used, but yeah, I think we’ve got enough. Literally 3rd ace is only thing that can be improved on this fully healthy team. There are a handful of teams that are in the playoffs who would have a better game 3 starter than us imo.
Astros are good enough at every aspect of the game. Whether SP, a bat, or relief ace, it is all about luxury and just redundancy to reduce injury risk.
If we were just adding him off the street, ok cool But why give up assets to upgrade from Yuli to Smoak? Doesn't make sense to me
My thought was maybe a AAAA pitcher or two (Armenteros, Sneed) and maybe Ferguson (if he can at least be a bandaid in their weak-hitting OF). Part of trades, IMO, is to help clear the logjam. Smoak is just a rental, has power, and helps clear TOR's IF logjam, plus they love our AAAA pitchers (Thornton, Hauschild, Paulino). Armenteros opens up a spot on the 40-man for Alvarez, too. And, as I've said, Smoak is more of a replacement for White (just DFA), and a complement to Gurriel.
Framber, James, Rodgers, and I believe Devenski have options. Smith and McHugh will take two of their spots. It's possible the Astros could add a reliever. However, I see it as a backup to the backup plan if they can't land a controllable starter or a rental starter to be the number 3.
Don’t really see any rental SP. if we go that route I want someone with club control to slide in to Cole’s spot next year so LMJ or Whitley is our 3. Kluber, Thor, Tyler- someone like that.
Astros get: SP Robbie Ray RP Greg Holland Diamondbacks get: RHP JB Bukauskas OF Derek Fisher LHP Framber Valdez
