I have to give the Astros a pat on the back. The infield is better going into next season.
If they can sign a corner outfielder or Chas has a bounce back season, the Astros should be the favorites to win the West again. Once you get into the playoffs anything can happen.
Plus you have Cam Smith and Jacob Melton waiting in the wings.
Good job Astros.
This was great article breaking down the $$$. I just don’t know if Pressly waives his NT.
Right now you’re sitting at Alvarez with 50 games in LF. McCormick will regress to his prior years, but that’s most likely being offset by Blanco’s regression. Do you just bite the bullet with the OF you have this year and hope Whitcomb or Melton can give you something on top of Dubon? Hayward might be the move.
The books look much better in 2026
Abreu - 19.5MM
Montero - 11.5MM
Pressly - 14MM
Framber - 19MM
You have 64MM coming off the books; however, Peña’s ARB2 kicks in and will likely be in the $5MM neighborhood and you have to make a decision on Framber.
The problem is in 2026, the CF/RF market is very slim. It might be in Crane’s best interest to take the hit on luxury tax this year and go get Teoscar or Santander, and lose more picks in the draft.
EDIT: Breggy signing with someone else gets us picks back.
I think we have to get another OF bat. Hoping for both Chas and Jake to come around us not the way.
Breggy signing elsewhere only gets us a 4th rd pick.
What would Chas be bouncing back to? I am sticking to my opinion that the Jake McMeyers outfield is a continuing impediment to winning. I know Dana likes Jake and it’s not good form to trade two good defenders away that play the same position. But there are a lot of decent hitting outfielders you could go after to get you more runs next year.
2017-2023 was a great run
Not saying we can’t be a dominant team again, but those years were truly an anomaly
We had so many young, homegrown players that all end up becoming superstars.
What a ride it was. That storyline may not ever happen again for a long time, but we can try and mix both young and veteran players to reach a chip
That said, Altuve, Bergman, Correa, Springer, Tucker, etc… it will never happen again
Depends on where he signs
Unfortunately we’re eons behind the Yankee’s pitching staff. So while we might be back to buoyancy in winning the division again, we’ll be heavy underdogs to displace the Yanks if we get to the ALCS.
I know. “But what about Garcia?!” “What about Javier?!” “McCullers?!”
Stop it.
"What about “anything can happen in the playoffs?!”
Stop that too.
I have to give Brown credit for not letting Bregman’s timetable hamstring the club’s decision-making.
But I reserve the right to totally reverse field if he doesn’t do something about the OF. Even if Chas gives you his best production from a couple of years ago, CF is still subpar, and LF without Yordan is what, exactly? There’s just no way he’s really planning to roll with that.
I also don’t have much confidence in the Astros’ ability to help rookies manage the transition to the majors, so I can’t count on any of them contributing enough to plug those holes. At best, I think we get one OF that performs at the necessary level. We have to acquire at least one proven OF to be a real contender.
Good stuff. Reminds me a little bit of how JD Martinez built his approach.
If we get to the ALCS, I will be good with that. Beyond that is gravy.
Great stuff….if he improves on the control he will be the next Astros stud pitcher.
This terrible outfield is my concern for this team.
The Astros own a good chunk of space in the Yankees .10 heads.
This is a team that still has one the top 5 hitters in baseball, probably the best hitting catcher and Jose Altuve.
Throw in Hunter and Framber make a pretty dominant duo.
All hope is definitely not lost.
They are not the best team in baseball anymore but they are still very good.
Framber and Hunter are alright but have you seen the Yankees starting five? Think Atlanta 90’s potential.
And what I like about Christian Walker is you aren’t getting a guy that wants to justify his contract. Christian Walker is the kind of guy that wants to go out and prove why you underpaid him. In so many ways his personality emulates Bregman. I’m so very happy we got a pro like Walker that takes every pitch personally.
Let’s not forget about Spencer….thats a 200 K guy this year.
I’m not giving up on the Yanks-Stros face-off. My hatred of the Yankees alone is enough juju to carry us through some rough spots.
I think Spencer is the kind of guy that could push for the ace label one day if he stays healthy. He reminds me of a young Gerritt Cole (Pirates).
Just finding himself.
I haven’t given up but I sure wouldn’t mind one more workhorse to join the staff.
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