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Astros 2020-21 offseason- can't be any worse than last year, right? RIGHT?


Wulaw Horn

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The more I think about it, the more I'm coming around to the idea of letting both Brantley and Springer go. They way it appears free agency is going to go, particularly for mid level guys, this could be be a good opportunity to get younger and build some depth in a hurry. With the current state of the farm system, it might be the only way. to do so.

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1 hour ago, Scraps said:

I think Brantley has zero intentions of staying here.  He knows he would only get a 1 yr deal here.  His house is already on the market.  He is ready to bounce.  

Yeah... and with the scandal blowing up halfway through his time here, it isn’t what he signed up for.  I would love it if he came back, but I think there will be better options available to him if the money is equal.  We know that the Astros won’t pay a premium to overcome that. 

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25 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

Per the Astros website, Springer, Brantley, Peacock, and Reddick have all opted for free agency.  They are no longer listed on the 40-man roster, though Osuna still is.

Did any of them have player options in their contracts? I thought all of their contracts were over and thus they became FA after the World Series ended. Regardless, MLB is now in the window for teams and players to exercise options. Nov 2 (Monday) is the deadline for QOs to be extended. QO is $18.9 M this year - so Springer gets one for certain. Question is whether Uncle Mike gets one. I'd offer it, as the downside is that you get him for one year at $18.9 M, which is a $2.9 M bump from this year. That might be a slight overpayment, but it sets 2/3 of the OF for 2021, and gets you to the point where the real labor shit storm begins.

Edited by Jacob McCandles
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40 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

Think about an outfield next season of Chas McCormick, Miles Straw and Kyle Tucker.  Let that sink in for a minute.

Chas, Miles, and Kyle.  

Those are some intimidating first names there.  What the hell were Dad's doing in the mid to late 90s to allow their namesakes to have these monikers.

Edited by Texas St. Armadillos
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30 minutes ago, Jacob McCandles said:

Did any of them have player options in their contracts? I thought all of their contracts were over and thus they became FA after the World Series ended. Regardless, MLB is now in the window for teams and players to exercise options. Nov 2 (Monday) is the deadline for QOs to be extended. QO is $18.9 M this year - so Springer gets one for certain. Question is whether Uncle Mike gets one. I'd offer it, as the downside is that you get him for one year at $18.9 M, which is a $2.9 M bump from this year. That might be a slight overpayment, but it sets 2/3 of the OF for 2021, and gets you to the point where the real labor shit storm begins.

I assume if the player is not under contract, he's not listed on the team's website.  Not a baseball lawyer.  I guess I didn't realize that Peacock was a FA this year.  

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1 hour ago, WBT said:

We were 5th in payroll this year.  Houston isn't a small market, no matter what Uncle Drayton told you.

We are not the Dodgers or Yankees when it comes to payroll. The Astros will not perpetually be in top 20% of payroll league wide. We’ll spend in certain situations and conserve in others 

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23 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

We are not the Dodgers or Yankees when it comes to payroll. The Astros will not perpetually be in top 20% of payroll league wide. We’ll spend in certain situations and conserve in others 

The Astros were 6th in 2019 revenue. Why shouldn't they be able to consistently spend at a Cubs or Giants level?

The Yankees and Dodgers also stay under the luxury tax usually even though they dont really need to. The Astros are capable of staying right up to that level if they keep revenue up. 

Unlike the other top revenue clubs, the Astros do need to win to keep revenue up, but that's why you spend money in the first place. They arent the Rays who can't break out of the revenue bottom half even with playoff caliber teams. 

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9 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

The Astros were 6th in 2019 revenue. Why shouldn't they be able to consistently spend at a Cubs or Giants level?

The Yankees and Dodgers also stay under the luxury tax usually even though they dont really need to. The Astros are capable of staying right up to that level if they keep revenue up. 

Unlike the other top revenue clubs, the Astros do need to win to keep revenue up, but that's why you spend money in the first place. They arent the Rays who can't break out of the revenue bottom half even with playoff caliber teams. 

6th in revenue coming off 2 WS appearances and an ALCS appearance - most importantly, pre scandal.  It will be tough to maintain that.

I think Crane will be smart with his money, and fans will obviously call him cheap for it but I’d rather that than what the Angels have done.  He will spend when it makes sense, especially if a player is willing to come here (which I think will be a difficult recruiting task for a few years although I know some disagree with that).

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1 hour ago, htown85 said:

6th in revenue coming off 2 WS appearances and an ALCS appearance - most importantly, pre scandal.  It will be tough to maintain that.

I think Crane will be smart with his money, and fans will obviously call him cheap for it but I’d rather that than what the Angels have done.  He will spend when it makes sense, especially if a player is willing to come here (which I think will be a difficult recruiting task for a few years although I know some disagree with that).

Revenue is mostly based on the local fanbase. The scandal means almost nothing at all to Astros fans and where they spend their dollars. It doesn't matter what other fanbases think. They were never spending their money on Astros games or watching games in the Astros TV market. 

If the Astros maintain a playoff caliber team, they will maintain revenue. This is not true of small market teams. Houston is not small market or even mid market at this point. 

But I do agree that the Angels spending habits handicap them even with a larger market than Houston. It isnt the way to go. 

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A bit surprised that no QO was offered to Brantley.

For this team, with Correa and Greinke and McCullers only (guaranteed to be) around for one more year, and with the strong likelihood of losing Springer now, a 1-year deal for Brantley (even at that amount) would seem to make some sense. And of course, if he declines, the draft pick compensation takes on additional importance given the loss of picks. 

But yeah, if they don't want him playing in the OF, I get it...Alvarez is the DH. 

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I know at this point it is just throw shit at a wall and see what sticks, but MLB Trade Rumors site is predicting Jackie Bradley Jr and Brad Hand to sign with Stros out of the top 50 free agents.  They have Springer to the White Sox and Brantley to the Braves 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.html

Edited by Scraps
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17 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

A bit surprised that no QO was offered to Brantley.

For this team, with Correa and Greinke and McCullers only (guaranteed to be) around for one more year, and with the strong likelihood of losing Springer now, a 1-year deal for Brantley (even at that amount) would seem to make some sense. And of course, if he declines, the draft pick compensation takes on additional importance given the loss of picks. 

But yeah, if they don't want him playing in the OF, I get it...Alvarez is the DH. 

I think part of it is them wanting a good, reliable fielder in LF and part of it is the $/WAR calculus has gone from $8-11M/WAR to maybe $3-5M/WAR.

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2 hours ago, Scraps said:

I know at this point it is just throw shit at a wall and see what sticks, but MLB Trade Rumors site is predicting Jackie Bradley Jr and Brad Hand to sign with Stros out of the top 50 free agents.  They have Springer to the White Sox and Brantley to the Braves 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.html

A combined $15M for two needed replacements. A veteran bullpen arm and a CF. Less than the QO, which is likely why Brantley wasn't offered. They can probably also sign another OF and still come under the QO.

The biggest issue I see is there is really no true leadoff hitter anymore, though I guess you could go with Bregman because his OBP will always be near .400, if not above.

Bregman

Tucker

Altuve

Correa

Alvarez

Gurriel

Bradley

RF

Maldonado

 

Edited by HtownHorn
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Question for those of you who understand this stuff more than I do. Assuming that this is even possible, would it make sense to go to Verlander and ask him to take a pay cut since he won't be pitching next year and use that money to get a couple of players. Or would be cutting him be an option to have more money for Correa or anyone else that we can get. Thanks.

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