Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports.
- Some members of the Astros are frustrated that the team didn’t deal for a top starter at the August 1 trade deadline, but GM Jeff Luhnow says the team ultimately didn’t make a big acquisition because teams were requesting big hauls in return, including players already contributing at the big-league level. Rosenthal notes that the Astros had previously had a surplus of starters, leading them to deal Dan Straily and then, months later, Scott Feldman for minimal returns (or perhaps seemingly minimal returns, since it’s way too early to get a clear read on Lupe Chavez, the very young pitcher the Astros got from the Blue Jays for Feldman). With Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel now hurt, though, the Astros might not have enough top starting pitching.
- The Rangers attempted to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees last month, with the talks occurring very close to the deadline. The Yankees, of course, sent Nova to the Pirates, where he has had tremendous success in their rotation. Nova has posted a 2.53 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and a remarkable 0.4 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. It’s impossible to say, of course, whether Nova would have had similar success in Texas, which is a completely different context in which to pitch, perhaps especially for someone like Nova, who struggled with allowing home runs in New York. But he might well have been able to help a team that has seen A.J. Griffin and Lucas Harrell struggle at the back of its rotation over the past month.
- MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire at the beginning of December, but the two sides would prefer to have a new agreement in place by the beginning of November. The free agent market could unfold slowly without a new labor deal, with teams reluctant to commit to free agents without a clear idea of the rules going forward.
There were no top rotation arms available that were worth anything , let alone giving up blue chip prospects or anything besides castro gattis or rasmus, should have gone after lucroy in december. He could at least help with the pitching already in house.
How do you know Who was available and who wasn’t? None of us on HS outside will ever know, but to sit and act like you know is ridiculous. Almost EVERYONE is available for the right price. You have to give to get. The Rangers had NO problem giving, two years in a row.
More like the GM did not want to give up a quality prospect for a starter. Astros still have some fine young players they could deal in a trade. the cost on a quality starter is very high so giving up a few top prospects is hard for a GM to do.
Jon Daniels actually said that he went after lucroy/beltran because the price for pitching was insane. Using them as an example really just backs up the idea that there weren’t good pitchers that were reasonably available.
Dude, Julio Teheran was one top flight starter who would have been PERFECT for The Astros. If Houston had acquired him at The Trade Deadline…the rest of his 2016 salary would have been a prorated portion of $3.3 mil,…then owed $6.3 mil in 2017, $8 mil in 2018, $11 mil in 2019 and a team option of $12 mil in 2020.
Teheran is only 25 years old….has a track record of staying healthy, pitching 200 innings a year, doesn’t walk very many hitters, has a good pickoff move, gives up less than a hit per inning, has a career ERA of 3.39 with a record of 47-40 (despite playing on a Braves team the past two years who have scored VERY FEW RUNS for him).
With the price of pitching SKYROCKETING (you have BUMS out there going to get $15-$20 mil a year……just wait until the 2018 offseason when you’ll see Price, Kershaw and Greinke getting $40 mil a year plus)….Julio Teheran and his contract is a STEAL OF A DEAL.
Houston could have had Teheran, not only for the stretch run in 2016, but also for his pitching prime years (25-29) for a COMBINED price of $39 mil over 4 1/2 years!
While Cleveland and Chicago BOTH gave up some of their best prospects to acquire Miller and Chapman (by the way, how did those two trades turn out?)…teams like Houston and Boston decided to shop at Wal-Mart in order to acquire pitching. How did that work out, lol?
A team can either lament the cost pitching and forget about being serious contenders for a World Series…..or they can decide to do something about it by either drafting starting pitching/developing it…OR…they can use their prospects and trade for a quality starting pitching.
While Teheran may not be the class of Sale/Kershaw…..the value of Teheran DRASTICALLY INCREASES due to his combination of age, health, durability, eating innings AND cheap contract (in relation to what he would cost if he was a free agent)..
I’m a diehard Braves fan who is more than happy to see My Braves KEEP Teheran. We can build our rotation around him for the next 4 years! He’s cheap (just imagine what starting pitching will cost in 2020…when we face a ‘decision’ on whether to exercise his $12 mil team option, lol). We are in no hurry to trade Teheran.
However, given that this is a Seller’s Market (with Jose Fernandez passing away….that is one less arm on The Market that presented a more talented yet expensive alternative for teams seeking pitching to consider)…The Braves would be FOOLS to not look into accepting a King’s Ransom for Teheran.
Regarding Houston, I would be willing to trade Teheran for a package of Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, (either Fracisco Martes, David Paulino, Forrest Whitley OR Joe Musgrave) and Daz Cameron.
I know, most Houston fans would vilify this proposed 4 for 1 trade, feeling that it is TOO MUCH to give up for Julio Teheran. However prospects are just that, prospects. They have yet to develop/show that they are sure things. However Julio Teheran is a legit #1/#2 starting pitching whose young, durable, under a cheap contract until 2020. In today’s market…that aint coming cheap!
Either pay the cost of admission…or watch October baseball on tv! Boston had a team that was PRIMED to seriously contend for a World Series this year. Yet they shopped at Wal-Mart (trading for with San Diego for Pomeranz) instead of giving up the likes of Moncada, Bentinendi, Espinoza and Devers for Teheran (I know, another pricey haul).
Many of you will clamor for a ‘fair trade’. Fair? Fair has nothing to do with it. Atlanta DOES NOT need to trade Teheran! Again, we are perfectly ok with keeping Teheran AND his cheap contract for the next 4 years and build our rotation around him. However, both Houston and Boston match up well with The Braves when it comes to both having prospects near ready that The Braves need (3rd base, outfield and a pitcher…because while The Braves already are deep in talented pitchers in The Minors, they are in the lower Minors). While trading Teheran would hurt our chances on being competitive in 2017 and in 2018….either of the above trades would accelerate our long term plans to compete because those talented players we’d receive in return would hopefully fill positions/produce at levels I anticipate for the next 10-15 years.
Atlanta is not ready to compete for a World Series in either 2017 or 2018. However both Houston and Boston are. Acquiring a top flight, young, cheap starting pitcher like a Julio Teheran would help SOLIDIFY both rotation (on the cheap financial wise)….making it easier to allocate precious payroll dollars into filling other areas of need! However, either team wants to take the next step in seriously competing for a World Series in 2017 and/or 2018…then both have to be willing to sacrifice part of the future to do it!
Rip me all you want..but at the end of the day, you’ll be no closer to competing for a World Series…if you all you do is complain about the cost and continue shopping at “Wal-Mart’ desperately hoping that ‘some bargain’ will turn into gold, lol! Like it or not, The Braves have some serious leverage regarding Julio Teheran (just wait til you see what rumors fly out of The Winter Meetings in early December). We got a huge haul for Shelby Miller last year….and Julio Teheran is simply better, more durable and cheaper than Miller! I’m confident that our GM will get a huge haul for Teheran…or keep him if “The Price Isn’t Right’, lol.
The Bucs need to offer Nova before the end of the season. He would be a good addition. He also could be a positive influence in the locker room which will be filled with inexperience next year.
I’d love to sign him to an extension, but at this point he would be stupid to not enter free agency. Hopefully the Pirates will make the deal with Nova that they didn’t with JA Happ.
So much nothing on the CBA front. It was easier a decade ago to find 23 owners to agree on things, anymore.
The Cubs used to be a “limit costs of entry” team. Now, half the league is blowing up international salary limits.
Getting agreement on spending might be very hard this time around with so many teams interested in investing in their own, and developing it.
The subject of roster moves on a contending team is a fertile area for Blake Badenhop to address from a player’s perspective. It seems to me it involves a variety of considerations including cohesion in the locker room (status quo) versus the sense that management is “all in.” (change). Maybe some of the guys on the Astros wanting more pitching would have been the ones moved in a trade.
im sure the members of the team are frustrated at not getting a front line arm, but I would say the frustration started as Luhnow dealt VV, Appel and co. for a 60IP RP.
This team is young and watched each other tear up the minors to get their shot. It’s hard to imagine they want any old SP, but it’s easy to think the young maturity of the group getting caught up in what they had verse what they now have.
I’m also surprised Fisher is not in the bigs. His TTO w/SB fits right in with the club and would give them another filthy athlete like Springer, Marisnick, Correa, etc…in the clubhouse.
I would of tried the hit hand in Fisher who also has a glove and wheels over Reed who just seems like he lost his timing.
OPS Derek Fisher
AA – 804
AAA – 852
AJ Reed OPS
AA – 976
AAA- 924
Don’t have a 1b, do have ofs. Also all sss caveats apply
Astros gave up a pretty good starter in valaquez for a reliever ? Think gm has been burned too many times on trade market
I love how outside analysts love to deal away the Astros prospects. All indications are that the price was too much.
Also, the Astros are just playing for the Wild Card. It’s just not worth it.