The addition of Robinson Chirinos on a one-year, $5.75MM contract won’t stop the Astros from pursuing additional help behind the plate, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, but president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow did suggest that the team is comfortable moving forward with Chirinos and Max Stassi in the event that a further opportunity doesn’t come along at a palatable price. “We certainly feel good about going into the season with Stassi and Chirinos as our catchers,” said Luhnow. “We’ve got [Garrett] Stubbs in the Minor Leagues and other players as well. It doesn’t mean we won’t take advantage of the opportunity if one presents itself as a way to get better, but right now we feel comfortable with the group we have.” Houston stands out as a logical fit for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto or the Pirates’ Francisco Cervelli on the trade market, while the reps for free agents Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos have presumably reached out to the ’Stros as well. The Astros have often carried three catching options in the past, so it shouldn’t be ruled out that they’d do so in 2019.
Here’s more from the division…
- Athletics general manager David Forst told reporters Friday that the team planned to explore both trades and free agency in its search for rotation upgrades (Twitter links via Jane Lee of MLB.com). There’s no preference between the two, it seems, as Forst indicated that the A’s are “dipping into” both markets “equally.” Regarding the club’s second base situation, while there’s been talk of a new contract for Jed Lowrie since this summer, Forst suggests that there’s no clear direction on how they’ll address the position just yet. Oakland is still having internal discussions about adding a second baseman, giving the job to prospect Franklin Barreto or finding a platoon partner for the 22-year-old Barreto, per Forst. Barreto, who hit .259/.357/.514 with 18 homers in 333 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville in 2018, is considered to be among Oakland’s best prospects. He’s managed just a .252 OBP in the Majors to this point in his career, but that’s come at a young age and in a tiny sample of 151 PAs.
- Many Angels fans were displeased to see the Angels swap out lefty Jose Alvarez for right-hander Luis Garcia in a one-for-one trade last night, given Garcia’s 6.07 ERA with the Phillies in 2018. As GM Billy Eppler explains to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange Country Register, though, the Angels (obviously) paid little heed to Garcia’s ERA and instead bet on the right-hander’s velocity, ground-ball tendencies and other characteristics they found appealing. “He has the characteristics we gravitate to: strikeouts, ground balls and big stuff,” says Eppler of his new right-hander. “… He provides us another power look out of the bullpen to complement Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Justin Anderson and Keynan Middleton (after he comes back from Tommy John surgery) sometime in the middle of 2019. You have a fairly high-octane bullpen that can miss a bunch of bats.”
- The Rangers’ payroll will likely wind up in the $120MM range for the coming season, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. Texas currently projects at a payroll of just under $106MM, which should give them a bit of room to spend should they find some deals to their liking. However, Wilson quotes GM Jon Daniels as saying: “This is not the year where we are going to go all out. We are probably a year away from starting to look at some different options for expanding the payroll.” Daniels plainly states that the Rangers weren’t in on either Patrick Corbin or Nathan Eovaldi in free agency. Wilson suggests that Texas will still look at adding some pitchers — but likely more along the contractual lines of Mike Minor’s three-year, $28MM contract from last offseason than any kind of top-of-the-market addition.
I like kimchi
I like In-N-Out.
I like animal style fries
Over rated
Quality has gone way down in the last decade. Not the same anymore.
Smells horrible!
Barreto’s numbers should not place him as a top prospect unless we wanna grade oak with a bottom tier farm system. No top prospect is hitting only 259 n 18 homers as that equates to only above average potential not superstar as any “top” prospect should be expected to be.
he was also 22 last year and produced better in the past. Could very well rebound in the future, perhaps if he has a clearer path. I’d think SEA would be able to provide should they move on from Dee.
He only had 350 ABS for that Hr total. There’s no doubt the kid has a lot of pop but those K issues are going to be a serious problem. He’s going to struggle like we’ve seen moncada if he doesn’t fix his approach.
.746 OPS 100 OPS+ 5 HR in 75 plate appearances in the majors in 2018.
18 HR in 282 AB with an .872 OPS and a .514 slg in AAA Nashville. That is a 36 HR pace for a full AAA season.
Those are great numbers for a 2B.
The power numbers are great but you can’t disregard the strikeout issues. That has to be corrected if you’re going to see that translate to the big leagues. He’s been a K machine in the majors and he’s struggled with those issues in the upper minors too.
Definitely not disregarding the strikeout numbers, but when you have close to Gallo power at 2B, that is something most teams will live with at first. Let the kid play every day and learn.
You’re both wrong, strikeouts don’t matter anymore if you have an OBP over .350. No one gives a care about batting average or K’s anymore – get over it.
Think about it, when hitters stop striking out then you’ll all be like “where did all the high K pitchers go?” like, can’t you interpret history like that? See trends and get a greater understanding of the variances and you always sound like you’re crying about one thing, then mlb starts doing that thing, then you’re crying how its not enough of the other thing it was doing before. This is how you sound to me.
You will never have 40 homer 40 strike out .300 BA hitters, which is what (I think?) your ultimate goal is of this….crusade against history? Like, tell us, what are you even trying to do here? Who cares if a hitter strikes out 250 times a year if he’s on base and producing with the rest of his PA’s. K’s can also eat pitches, which is what a “productive” out means now, so they’re not even an inherently bad thing. Stop worrying and learn to love the K.
Way to take it to the extreme…There’s a wide variance between a guy like Barreto who would K 200x at his 35%+ clip and a guy who K’s 40 times. Wide wide variance there JTO and I think you know that. You know what else a strikeout can’t do? Move a runner over or drive in a guy on 3rd. Please don’t start the argument on how productive a strikeout is. Tell me the % of productive major leaguers who are K’ing In over a third of their AB’s? Gallo? How many more? You don’t think he could be better? Barreto isn’t putting up an OBP over 350 either bud. Idk how you think that’s happening. He’s not even doing that in AAA.
I don’t ever expect Barreto to not atrikeout but I’ll tell you if you think he’s going to be a successful major leaguer with a 35%+ K rate I’ll take the gamble he isn’t. Same goes for Moncada. MLB pitching isn’t AAA pitching, guys with that kind of whiff rate usually don’t become studs. 99% of the time. If he makes adjustments and can whittle it down to a 25% clip while maintaining the rest of his game you’d have something.
Running a dominating SP’s pitch count to 100 with a 10+ pitch K is the most valuable out one can make.
The least valuable would be a 1 pitch double (or triple) play, which you get if you aim for slap hitting/weak contact.
Why do you value weak contact again? I’d much rather take 200 K’s .350 OBP and 30 bombs over any sub-100 K type of hitter.
Please provide me proof of that player, please. You cannot because a person who strikes out 200 times a year does not get on base at that clip. Joey Gallo would be the closest thing to that and he’s not there.
I think Garcia will fit right in with the rest of the Halos ‘pen haha
pen was decent last season. that might have give the gm confidence to believe he can build the pen with scraps.
Ranger fans Leclerc for Gohora ?????
Rangers would probably want a little more back given how horrendous 2018 was for Gohara, likely a low-level prospect.
Starter trump’s reliever. Leclerc had one successful season, Gohora had an injury shortened season. Makes things pretty even to me.
I’d say a swap is reasonable though I doubt Braves do that. Gohora is still a highly touted prospect. I think the Braves will allow Gohora to rebuild his value in 2019, especially with the progress he has made in discipline.
You’re so far off. Might want to change the name. Relievers coming off a year like that don’t go cheap.
Hmm, speaking of Mike Minor, I’d think he’d be a good guy to look at in trades. As a Phillies fan, I’d say I would rather have him than have gotten Corbin.
Minor is an average pitcher. His road numbers were significantly worse so you can’t even blame it on the park. I guess you could add him to your rotation but does he ended being an improvement over Eickhoff/Velasquez/De los santos? Probably not
I think it could be a worthwhile gamble. He posted solid enough numbers for the worst club in a good division and improved as the season went on. Lets not forget he was pitching in the AL and did this in his first year as a starter since, oh…2014. Additionally, he would provide potential value out of the bullpen.
It was not a good division. It was historically bad. Only one team was over .500. They were the feeding fish of the AL.
I want Keuchal. Take the guy with low soft contact and high ground ball numbers for the pitcher who play half his games in Citizens Bank.
The athletics mariners Astros and Angels were all over .500. You’re way off pal. I don’t know if you think minor was a royal or the rangers are in the AL central but uhhh….
Sounds like something every one who wanted Corbin convinces themselves to believe.
Okay buddy, get inside my head and prove in lying. I would prefer a guy who put up Minor’s numbers after not starting since 2014 then a guy whi put up somewhat better numbers in an easier league and improvedess down the stretch. Oh, and did i mention how much commitment is involved? 6 years? Yeah right. $140 mil isnt something you throw away lightly.
didn’t angels trade former a 1st round pick, hard-throwing pitcher with control issues?
Released Alex Meyer who fits that description. He’s hurt though so..
Meyer is also 29 and never really reigned in his control before he got hurt.
Alex wood for Jed Lowrie
Lowrie is a free agent. Dodgers could just sign him without giving up anything except $$
Lowrie is a free agent, bruh
Even if Lowrie wasn’t a FA you don’t want to do that trade. JDL is available along with several others. There’s no good reason to trade a solid starting pitcher for a second basemen.
I was looking at Oakland’s roster for a potential match in a trade for Teheran. How in the hell did they make the playoffs with that group ? I know a bunch of guys filed for free agency but still damn
You were looking through their roster for a trade for Teheran? Take a look at their AAA roster and focus on players over the age of 27 because that’s all your getting.
That is why that 2nd WC was up for grabs for Seattle in 2019, but they’ve chosen the rebuild route. Now it’s anyone’s guess as to who wants that spot this upcoming season.
It was the 97 wins
To be honest Teheran isn’t nearly as bad as most fans make out. But at the same time there are very few teams that he’d seem like a possible good fit. If you squint real hard I could see San Diego, San Francisco, Detroit, the White Sox, Oakland, Minnesota and even Texas as possible fits. But I seriously doubt Teheran would bring back much in return.
He’s on a 2/22. Theres no surplus value on that contract. He’s a #5 starter making 11 million dollars. It’s just not bringing anything back.
I am suprised there is no value in a SP that gives close to 200 IP with an ERA under 4 with no major health concerns under the age of 30.
I personally would rather keep him over Guassman but I don’t think AA traded for him with the intention of flipping him on a higher arb salary.
I don’t understand where velocity became the tell all be all when it comes to SP. Especially when you have teams running out RP to start games.
Sorry it’s a 1/12 with an option to make it a 2/23. A little better but you can’t change his 4.83 FIP and 4.95 FIP. That’s just not a high quality result no matter if his ERA wound up below 4.
They should make Teheran the closer.
I don’t think his 90 mph heater is going to do much better in a short stint.
Actually Teheran had one of the best BAA in 2018, his problem was walks and giving up the long ball. Others have theorized if Teheran didn’t have to go multiple innings he might be able to turn it loose more and experience increased velocity and effectiveness. The main issue though is that Teheran had historically suffered first inning woes. If he has a terrible first inning after coming in for relief then obviously that doesn’t give the team much chance to rebound.
I didn’t understand why Snitker wouldn’t just leave Flowers to catch him. I may be off but it just always seems like his successful starts Flowers was the catcher. Now I know not everybody in here are Brave fans so they just got numbers to go off but having watched most games he has had some very good moments over the years last year included.
Just seems like with the young guys coming up and the want for a TOR starter he would be the odd man out.
Tehran sucks but add him to the A’s defense and he’s probably throwing up a 3.00 ERA lol
I’d be perfectly fine with Stassi behind the plate. Marlins asking too much from Stros for Realmuto. If they trade a top prospect do it for a SP
Tucker and James should do it
I think Angels fans are going to be surprised by how good this trade is. Garcia is an extreme GB pitcher and had a FIP that was 2.56 lower than his 6.07 ERA. That is a clear indication of just how incredibly bad the Phillies infield and overall defense was last season.
You can find them down at the bottom of this list with a team -146 DRS.
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=11,d
Garcia struck out 10 per 9 IP and his K/BB was better than Alvarez in 2018.
Alvarez had the second best defenses in baseball, Garcia had one of the worst in MLB history. Alvarez played in a pitchers park. Garcia played in a bandbox.
Phillies did get a good reliever and their infield defense got much better with the addition of Segura, Kingery no longer playing SS, and Santana and Crawford leaving. They still have the worst OF defense in baseball, but the infield has improved immensely.
Important to note there will be a new LF and Quinn might get more playing time.
A’s could always upgrade their rotation by getting back Sonny Gray.
I thought the same thing early but have changed my mind a bit. Not sure a 1 year rental at about 9.5 million is what they are budgeting for
After initial puzzlement, I love the Chirinos move. The Astros can still trade for JTR, but their is not pressure. Lunhow is in a much better negotiating position.
Or, he can just focus his assets elsewhere. I want them to add a SP and extend the core.
Agree
Is it just me or has Daniels turned the Rangers into mediocre yearly. He inherited a team set up and now appears they just flounder and no clear direction.
The Rangers are one of my picks to contend for the second wild card. Glad they aren’t joining the hoard of teams selling low on their talent and racing to the bottom. They chose a pretty clear direction; load up on three true outcome youngsters and now theyre a pleasant surprise pitcher and hot bullpen away from the playoffs, in my opinion.
I like the Halos and their fans but I hate Arte Mareno. If I was an Angels fan I hate him more. The Pujols signing then maybe worse adding Hamilton to Pujols and trout and an already talented offensive team when your pitching staff was in disarray.
Agree. Second biggest market in the majors, wasting money on bad signing after bad signing while the best player of this generation is robbed of an opportunity to play on the biggest October stages. Upton, terrible. Pujols, terrible. Hamilton, terrible. Jeesh Louis!
Harper is so going to the Angels – based entirely on the aforementioned Arte logic.
Wow.. arte moreno took over as GM? when did this happen?
Oh so you’re just blabbering.. got it. Just realize that the moves you speak of were from past GMs that put this Angels in this mess to begin with.