Final thoughts on 2023 and beyond

Altuve and Alvarez don’t need extra motivation. They are transcendent players. I also have no concerns about Bryan Abreu; he is an elite RP. McCullers has plenty to prove but has always been a gamer when healthy so I have no worries about his motivation.

Bregman, Verlander, Pressly, and Graveman are in contract years.

J Abreu is still going for his first ring. He should be plenty motivated.

Pena, Tucker, Framber, Javier, Montero, and Garcia are established players who I have legitimate concerns about. They've faltered in the past and if I were the GM these are the players I would be looking to trade to upgrade the roster.

Diaz, McCormick, Dubon, Meyers, Kessinger, Singleton, Urquidy, France, and Brown are relatively unestablished players looking to solidify their place in MLB. McCormick, Diaz, and Brown are trying to show they are legit stars. Dubon, Meyers, Urquidy, and France are trying to show they can be core players. Kessinger and Singleton are just trying to show they belong in the majors. For the most part I think this group of players will follow the lead of the veterans.

The Astros need to add a backup C and LF and a RP and a SP who are either veterans desperate for a ring, proven playoff performers, or brash young players who project to be unfazed by playoff pressure. They don’t need hired guns or middling players.

 

An Ace pitcher and some new blood position players would help.

 

What in the wide world of sports are your concerns about Kyle Tucker???

 

LOL.

 

Obviously he is a great player who consistently produces in the regular season. And he’s not exactly a problem off the field; in fact I think he’s probably a good dude. However, I do not think he is someone who will be a major factor in improving team chemistry or motivating other players, and it often appears that he is playing with no sense of urgency. He also was pretty crummy in the playoffs this season (.150/.292/.225).

He was Houston’s best, most consistent player during the 2023 regular season and he’s a borderline MVP candidate. But if another team wants to give up a massive haul (similar to what the Nats got for Juan Soto) for him, I’d be ok with trading him.

 

I think Tucker is just a focused, introverted guy. Nothing wrong with that.

He is among the best regular season players in the game and the team still needs to get to the post season.

He may not be a guy who will rise up and be a ALCS or WS MVP but he has had moments and helped this team before and will again. This post season was just a badly timed slump that snowballed because he cared and was affected by the pressure IMO.

People have infinite kinds of personalities and its not fair or necessary for any player to be what he's not. He does not need to motivate others or actively work to improve team chemistry. That's not in his contract.

And I am very happy with what Tucker is and feel lucky as an Astro fan that he is on my favorite team and I get to watch him for 162+ games every year.

 

So much of next season depends on unknowns that I can't say much except what I would like to see. If Brown is intent upon his own vision for this team he will have to cut salary to make any major changes in direction. If Crane and Baggs make the new manager decision as many are saying they will, Brown is going to be working for a president of operations and will be relegated to the draft and specific details. What I am hoping for is recognition that the Astros are very close to being a championship team as is. I would be perfectly content to fill what few holes we have from within. Pitching is not a big issue in my mind. The rotation could feasibly be 10 deep by mid season and since they can't all start several potential bullpen pieces are already in place. What I want out of a new manager is the willingness to use long relievers for 3 to 4 innings thus limiting the need for depth in short relief pitchers. Our players are already comfortable with the concept and we have some minor league pitchers that can move up and down from AAA to MLB if we do not clog the system up with players that have no options.
Diaz catching seems inevitable. An older more experienced bench catcher will be needed and I can not think of a better choice than Maldonado. He checks all the boxes for an every 5th game catcher and his familiarity with the staff makes him a no brainer so long as he understands and accepts his role. Stubbs and Salazar would be adequate 3rd catchers at AAA but bringing in an outsider if the confidence is not there for those two is a real possibility.
The infield is set for the season with Abreu, Altuve, Pena, & Bregman. Bench infielder Kessinger and minor league depth of Singleton, Wagner, Whitcomb, & Dezenzo feels like plenty of IF depth to me but adding a bench infielder to replace Kessinger would not be shocking.
Hitter duties can be filled primarily by a rotation of Alvarez, Abreu, and Altuve at DH. With Dobon serving as the versatile bench bat who plays all over the field as needed and can DH if necessary.
The outfield seems to be the only place that might be a player short. We are set at the corners. Tucker in right and Alvarez then Melton in left may be the best corner outfielders in the game. I expect by mid season to see Melton taking most of the at bats in left field while Alverez plays DH. Lots of options in CF and on the bench. Chas gets most of the at bats in CF till he proves he belongs there, or failing that on the bench. Available 4th outfielders include Meyers and Leon (time to **** or get off the pot) I believe one of those two get traded in the off-season. There is room for a placeholder in LF and like Maldonado at bench catcher Brantly fits like a well used glove there.

 

This is mostly reasonable.

I prefer a 6 man rotation to your long relief idea. It's not clearly feasible to do nothing, as a bullpen is reduced to 7 if there are 6 starters. I also do not think it's productive to plan or expect long relievers to pitch into the 7th inning regularly. As a general rule long relievers are not as good as short or leverage relievers and should be kept to the early or middle innings, IMO.

As for the outfield, I dont understand your inclusion of Melton. He may very well end up a starting OF for quite some time but there are at least half a dozen more likely than him to wear an Astros uniform in 2024.

 

I think we should tap the brakes on trying to diagnose people from our living rooms, as well as reading too much into very limited postseason results.

Honestly, your post - and any concerns - should have ended with, "Obviously he is a great player." The end. Kyle Tucker is a borderline MVP candidate. Those don't grow on trees.

Now, to your second point, yes: if a team wants to throw extremely valuable pieces at us, the Astros should listen - especially if he refuses to sign an extension. But it's almost certainly going to make us a worse MLB team in '24 and '25.

 

If we arent going to “diagnose players from our living rooms” then why do message boards exist? I don’t think anyone with the Astros is reading my post and taking it into any kind of consideration. There are no experts on this board, everything is an unqualified opinion or pure speculation; but that is ok because it’s all just for fun.

My comment was more to highlight my perceived difference between Tucker and say Altuve or Alvarez. Theres virtually no realistic scenario where I think Houston should entertain trade offers for Altuve or Alvarez; both of those guys are transcendent players who appear to be the heart and soul of Houston’s winning culture. Contrast that with Tucker, a great player (who put up better overall numbers than both Altuve and Alvarez this season) who doesn’t appear to be a heavy contributor to the intangibles of the team.

It’s fine if you disagree, and think Tucker’s lax demeanor is only surface level or fan perception, and that he belongs in the virtually untouchable group of core players, but instead essentiallytelling me to shut up is silly.

 

Next season will be dependent on Verlander defying father time and Framber getting his head on straight. I'm confident out of Brown, Garcia, Urquidy, Javier, France and McCullers, we have a solid 3 and 4 starter for the playoffs.

I'm not concerned about our offense at all, now that Maldy is at best going to be a reserve and Chas being the full time starter.

In the offseason, we just need to find some relief pitchers that can replace Neris's production. Hopefully Montero will get his mojo back. I also think one of our starters can become a relief guy by the playoffs. If McCullers is healthy, I would love to pair him and Javier who gets tired up for a game.

 

Sure - but discussing what we see - no matter how informed it may ultimately be - isn't the same thing as trying to discuss what we can't and never will see. Making any declarations about a player's mental state - absent them providing any insight - is silly.

How in the world would you know this???

Again, how do you know his demeanor is "lax"? Are you in the clubhouse? On the bench? Are you attending practices? Do you have quotes or insights from those that have?...

Everyone is different. And whatever you *think* you see is almost certainly not indicative of that player's commitment, effort or desire. I really dislike any discourse in this particular realm. Unless a player is knowingly disruptive, or has a history, I think we should assume players are going to manifest various things differently, and judging them for it is a waste of energy.

There has not been one word about Kyle Tucker from teammates, coaches... it's just a bunch of armchair psychologists.

 

A player’s mental state can be judged by his demeanor during games. It’s not something we “can’t and never will see”. It’s been a common/repeated observation about Tucker: he rarely runs hard down the line on groundouts, doesn’t appear to go full speed in pursuit of balls hit to the corners, is almost never one of the players seen congratulating teammates when good things happen. It’s all subjective but it’s right there to see if you watch the games.

Theres nothing worse than a message board poster trying to stifle discussion.

 

I go to and watch a fair amount of these games... and I do see him congratulating teammates when good things happen. I do see him go all out for balls that are in his reach. I've seen him break his bat in disgust. He's constantly messing with gloves vs. no batters gloves and it sometimes borders on OCD... not really a trait you would expect from somebody who's being characterized as "aloof" by some here. Of course none of that means he's the heart and soul of the team. He may be exactly as you've described, or may be exactly as I perceive... truth may be in the middle.

As far as running hard... your perception on this are for the grounders that are already fielded by the time he leaves the box, and twice he decided to stop halfway and be playful with either the pitcher or first baseman.

Curious to know of one instance where he failed to hustle and it cost him either a base hit or an extra-base hit?

Its ok to have pre-conceived bias against a player and just not like a person (and vice versa when some posters love certain players that really haven't done a helluva lot to justify it... ahem, Jake Meyers)... but call it for what it is (bias) as opposed to projecting that a certain player won't ever live up to standards that other star players currently have.

 

You asserted Kyle Tucker "doesn’t appear to be a heavy contributor to the intangibles of the team," and when asked for any evidence whatsoever to back that up, you provided none, instead retreating to your armchair diagnosis.

You have literally no insight on this (nor do I), and I find questioning another human's desire, commitment, etc., extremely oft-putting. That's not "stifling" discourse; it's an attempt to raise it.

 

I think you mean “off-putting”.

Like I said, the observation I made about Tucker’s intangibles came from watching him during games. Not sure why you’re failing to understand that or why that should be dismissed more quickly or harshly than any other observation made on this board.

Your message is essentially “don’t post about things you don’t have insight into” which would disqualify 99%+ of the comments made on this board.

 

Do you know what "intangible" means?...

Mostly! But what happens on a field of play at least has tangible results. Trying to armchair diagnosis what's inside a player's head does not. Seems obvious but I guess I have to point out that all of us are wired differently. There is no "right" way to manifest your desire. commitment, etc. to whatever your profession might be. A "lax" player might be someone suffering certain disabilities or anxieties; or they may be extremely introverted; or literally dozens and dozens of other possibilities. And we're talking about a player who - whatever might be the issue, if there even is one - is among the ~25 best hitters in baseball. So the idea *something* must be wrong because of YOUR perception is on you, not Kyle Tucker.

 

Hey everybody, just an fyi, any discussion of “intangibles” is off limits on this board. Hey Now! said so. We are only to discuss things that can be found on the back of the baseball card. For example, if a player walks out on the field, drops trow, and takes a **** on the mound, we are NOT to discuss how that might be an indicator of the impact that player might be having on the clubhouse and team culture. Especially if that player is hitting well.

 

Well... walking onto the field, dropping trow & taking a **** on the mound would be very tangible. And not remotely close to sitting on your couch thinking, Kyle Tucker looks sad...