The Rangers have the second best record in baseball (55-37) while the Astros have the worst record in baseball (34-60). Here's the latest from Texas…
- The Rangers would have interest in Marco Scutaro as a utility man if the Rockies were to put him on the market, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Cliff Lee does not have the Rangers on his 21-team no-trade list according to Heyman. There is still no indication that the Phillies will move their veteran left-hander, even to free up payroll to sign Cole Hamels long-term.
- Carlos Lee, Brandon Lyon, J.A. Happ, and Brett Myers have all been traded already, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that it "will be a while" before the Astros deal Wandy Rodriguez (Twitter link).
- In an Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Keith Law says the two pitchers the Astros received in exchange for Myers – Matt Heidenreich and Blair Walters – "barely qualify as prospects." He says Walters has a chance as a lefty specialist.
- ESPN's Buster Olney hears from rival executives that the Astros seem to be following the old Devil Rays strategy, meaning they'll accumulate top draft picks for several years because their big league team will be so bad (Twitter link).
What other strategy do the Stros got? They are bad, and need to rebuild the farm. It’s not like a couple free agency signings will fix them, they are just bad.
I know, what a concept! Lol
Yah…..but everyone wants their cookie every now and then. Fans fans look what i figured out!!!
Cliff Lee has a 21 team no trade list? Why not 23? So, is that a bargaining chip or does he really not want to go to 21 of the teams? Seems strange.
The Astros should’ve started this a couple seasons ago.
They did by trading the faces of the franchise, Berkman & Oswalt.
“ESPN’s Buster Olney hears from rival executives that the Astros seem to be following the old Devil Rays strategy, meaning they’ll accumulate top draft picks for several years because their big league team will be so bad”
i was under the impression they DID start this a couple seasons ago….
It took Olney and rival executives to figure out the Astros strategy. That’s great insight especially since they’ve been at the rebuilding for 2 years now. However I don’t think they can financially afford to throw junk out there. Attendance is terrible and will only get worse.
We need to finish last next year so we can take the Carlos Rondon kid from NCstate. They said he would have been in contention for #1 this year as a freshman
I have no problem finishing last to get top picks, but I would rather do it with Wallace, Cossart, Singleton etc. not Bixler and Schafer.
True it is hard on the fans, but from a team pov, they are better off saving the service time on the top prospects until they start to get relevant.
I understand the reasoning behind it, but… RAJ, you traded Cliff Lee away once and got crap prospects and the ire of the fanbase on you. Then you re-sign him, which was awesome, but don’t make the same mistake twice. You won’t be able to re-sign him AGAIN if you trade him.
Cliff Lee’s 1-6 right now so the casual fans won’t really be as up set as they were when he was coming off his post season dominance.
Cliff Lee’s a very good pitcher but if they can get that contract off the books and a few prospects, I’d do it. I’d rather have Hamels long term.
Hey, if they’re copying the Rays, this team will have some REAL good talent in the coming years.
Took the rays about 10 years from birth to playoffs though.
Zach Lee to Philly for Cliff Lee. Then the Phillies fail to re-sign Hamels, and the Dodgers swoop in.
2013:
Kershaw
Hamels
Lee
Capuano
Billingsley
not happening, if they don’t resign hamels they will trade him. Also will take more than lee to get lee
They’re gonna need it, Kershaw will be a Yankee is a few short years
Playing too much MLB The Show lately?
in law’s piece ” He also doesn’t have the platoon splits to point to a future as a specialist.” this is when refering to walters
Keith Law is just bitter because he always rates the White Sox farm system low or non existent even though they consistently put guys in the bigs.
Couple of points of interest…..in today’s Houston Chronicle, Jeff Luhnow acknowledges that the player to be named later in the Brett Myers trade is a “significant part of the deal”. Also note that in the Astros best years (1994-2008) their payroll was usually in the $80-100 million range, and their attendance was in the 2.5-3 million range. This is not Tampa Bay. What Luhnow is doing is incredible. He’s had the best draft in the majors, has also been stocking the farm system thru trades, every team in the Astros system from Greeneville in the Rookie Leagues thru Oklahoma City in AAA is above .500 for the first time in over 10 years. His payroll was $60 million to open this season, he has now traded Carlos Lee ($19 mill), JA Happ, Brandon Lyon and Brett Myers (together another $18 million). He will also trade Wandy but likely will eat a signifcant portion of his $13 million salary. His payroll will be down to $23 million at year even if he eats Wandy’s salary. The Astros have reached a TV deal with Comcast to bring in an additional $30 million a year in revenue starting next season. And they will have significant financial flexibilty……to sign free agents, and at the same time build the farm. The blueprint is very similar to the Rangers, and not the Rays.
I think Olney’s seen more recent scouting reports, honestly… the Astros farm system barely deserved that name under McClane. The Cubs system was considered middle of the pack and everybody’s saying their rebuild could take several years yet. The Astros have tried spending their way out of that hole for years and haven’t sniffed the playoffs since ’05 (i think).
Yes, but the Astros farm is probably around middle of the pack, also, now. Houston’s farm has improved dramatically in the previous 18 months. If they keep something close to the same trajectory, I don’t think 2015 is beyond reach for the playoffs.
They sniffed the playoffs in ’08. They didn’t get there, but they came very close. That’s the year when they had to play a crucial game against the Cubs in Milwaukee(as the home team) due to Hurricane Ike.
oh, neither do i. If they really seriously commit to a rebuild i’d say that’s highly likely. Unfortunately it also means not committing to any long term contracts with established major leaguers until winter of ’13 at best. I don’t see the ‘Stros being big-time spenders this off season for the same reason i don’t see it from the Cubs.
Yeah, I agree there. Astros and Cubs shouldn’t be throwing money around this offseason. Next year is much more likely. Give Luhnow and Epstein time to resurrect the systems.