In a lengthy Q&A with Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow touches on a slew of topics relating to the defending world champions, including the futures of shortstop Carlos Correa, center fielder George Springer, left-hander Dallas Keuchel and right-hander Justin Verlander. There’s no word on whether the Astros have begun extension talks with any of those players, but Luhnow would unsurprisingly like to retain each of them for the long haul. “If I could wave a magic wand and keep all three of those guys, plus others here for the foreseeable future and possibly for their entire careers, I would do it! It’s amazing to watch them,” he said of Correa, Springer and Keuchel. Luhnow added that he’d also like for Verlander to finish his career in Houston, which only has him under wraps through next season. Correa’s under control through 2021, meanwhile, and Springer isn’t slated to hit free agency until after the 2019 campaign. Keuchel could be gone sooner, though, as he’s scheduled to reach the open market next winter.
More from the majors’ West divisions…
- Injured Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is taking dry swings, but the team remains unsure when he will make his 2018 debut, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. The superstar has been out since late March with a broken left wrist, and the defending NL champion Dodgers have clearly missed him during a 4-8 start. In Turners’s absence, their third basemen have hit an ugly .250/.293/.382 (65 wRC+) in 82 plate appearances.
- The Athletics sent righty reliever Liam Hendriks to the disabled list on Saturday with adductor tendinitis in his groin. Before that, he was in danger of being designated for assignment, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Hendriks was a solid reliever for the A’s from 2016-17, but he then gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks over his first three innings this year and dealt with a drop in velocity. The injury had something to do with that, according to Hendriks. “It was always kind of there and I felt like I was doing everything right,” he said, “but I went back and looked at the video and my mechanics were completely different, trying to overcompensate.”
- The Giants expect righty Johnny Cueto to come off the DL for a start Tuesday against Arizona, manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters, including Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News, on Saturday. Cueto landed on the shelf this past Tuesday, retroactive to April 7, with a sprained ankle. As a result, the Giants have been missing their three best starters – the injured Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija are the others – though the only one who’s not nearing a return is Bumgarner, whom the club moved to the 60-day DL earlier this week (fractured finger).
- The Mariners activated designated hitter Nelson Cruz prior to Saturday’s game against Oakland, sending right-hander Casey Lawrence to Triple-A to clear roster space, the team announced. Cruz went on the DL on April 3 with an ankle sprain, before which he opened the year with two home runs in just six at-bats.
If the Giants can be a .500 team until Bum gets back, they will be in great position to make the playoffs!
Not if Longoria keeps hitting like he is
Lololololol!
Could have sworn I read this same exact comment already…
Dreamer <— .richternyr35
A man can dream.
It would be nice for him to acknowledge that the previous regime signed Keuchel and Springer not to mention JD Martinez
why does that matter? Even a blind squirrel like the previous regime might find a nut every now and then. Luhnow and Co. have done a fantastic job. Screw Drayton McLane and the previous regime. They spent nothing on player development and made necessary the 100 loss seasons. Jim Crane even had to swallow being forced to a new league
Yea, forced to join a better league with-bonus-the Yankees in it who draw great on the road.
I don’t see Houston hanging on to 4 VERY expensive players unless the owner wants to spend some of his own money to give back to the fans-yea right. But a fan can dream.
The “new regime” has done a great job with their signings. Obviously every team will have holes, but I see 2 glaring holes. Gattis and the bullpen. Would like to see some progress there.
Agree with that. Gattis is not a good DH and he’s awful right now. And they may have gotten away with the bullpen last season but it’ll be difficult to do again. If nothing else they need to get a reliable closer. Peacock was good early but he’s lost 2 of the last 3 games. The entire pen would improve by adding someone reliable. A solid lefty would also be wonderful, but we’ve been complaining about that for what seems like forever now.
It would be uncharacteristic for the Astros to sign a bunch of long-term contracts especially with the new trend. However, it is important to have faces of the franchise, team leaders, and jerseys to retire for the fans.
I didn’t get the memo…when did Justin Turner become a “superstar”?
It was a secret ballot voted on at a secret time in a secret place…..
That’s funny. As a Dodgers fan I read over that. Then didn’t believe you and had to read it again. Star . . . Yes. But put SUPER in front of it, I can’t buy or sell that one
Agreed