In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The Astros are next.
We’ll start by removing free agents George Springer, Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, Yuli Gurriel, and Brad Peacock from consideration. Next, we’ll lock in Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, and Jose Altuve due to their no-trade clauses. We’ll also protect Forrest Whitley, as he’s a Baseball America Top 100 prospect with a 2020 ETA. I’m also going to protect Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, and Kyle Tucker. So we’ll take up ten spots with this group:
Zack Greinke
Justin Verlander
Jose Altuve
Alex Bregman
Yordan Alvarez
Carlos Correa
Roberto Osuna
Ryan Pressly
Kyle Tucker
Forrest Whitley
That leaves five spots remaining for these 20 players:
Bryan Abreu
Rogelio Armenteros
Joe Biagini
Chris Devenski
Aledmys Diaz
Dustin Garneau
Josh James
Martin Maldonado
Francis Martes
Jack Mayfield
Lance McCullers Jr.
Cionel Perez
Austin Pruitt
Joe Smith
Cy Sneed
Myles Straw
Garrett Stubbs
Abraham Toro
Jose Urquidy
Framber Valdez
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly five players you think the Astros should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
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They can hide whoever they can’t protect in the trash can
Clever
Probably didn’t need to cheat against your team though
Oh they did. My Yankees got the worst of it, ok maybe not as bad as LAD got.
Think it was only Boston. Not the Yankees.
Gary Sanchez is just Horrible and tells the hitters himself
As I recall Astros”s beat the Hankees in New York there wasn’t any cheating there only in Houston # 2017.
Astros still went to playoffs in 2018 and 2019
Need to protect the trash can at all costs
And buzzers
And the camera men
they never used buzzers
Uh huh. Altuve really didnt want his jersey ripped off cause of a bad tattoo.
Just like that Patriot employee who called himself the deflater really meant he was losing weight.
I was born at night. Not last night.
Seriously? You’ve got some blinders on if you think cheaters saying we didn’t cheat even more has merit.
Altuve didn’t need to cheat either, 3 time batting champion 315 career batting average over 8 years. Like it or not he will be in the baseball hall of fame
Only proof of buzzers ever given was a person posing as the relative of an Astros player. That person, obviously, was not actually related to the Astros player. I guess if you want to give credibility two other things they said, that’s on you.
Garrett Stubbs,Lance McCullers for sure
After the pitchers it came down to Stubbs and Straw for me. I chose Straw because of the speed and hit tool. He puts the ball in play. I’m not convinced yet the Stubbs is a big league catcher. You can always sign a catcher in free agency.
straw also plays a ton of positions
Yea would definitely take Straw over Stubbs. Straw could be a regular next year if Springer and Brantley leave
Dustin Garneau five times
How in the hell could anyone vote to keep Devo over Abreu? Devo is almost done and Abreu has huge upside as a starter or a reliever. I’m keeping Abreu, James, LMJ, Urquidy and Straw.
Those were the exact five I chose as well.
Dit. Keep the arms and add straw for his ridiculous, defense.
I chose Perez over Valdez but it’s a toss up IMO.
I would leave Osuna unprotected. Due to his off field issues and the fact that he’s a closer, I doubt an expansion team would pick him up.
Then I would protect Abreu, McCullers, James, Straw, Urquidy, and Toro.
Why wouldn’t an expansion team pick him up if they could? At the very least they could immediately trade him and probably pick up a couple of decent prospects.
Even if he was available via trade, who’d want him? Everyone knows what he did.
The Astros traded for him.
When the Astros traded for him he had years of team control. He’s a FA after 2021 so that and his off-field issues are going to drive down the return. If there even is one.
thats 6
6 because he’s not keeping Osuna.
Urquidy, McCullers, Stubbs, Garneau, Abreu
A lot of U’s in there
why on earth Garneau?
why not straw?
Dustin Garneau isn’t even a real player. That’s the unlicensed video game version of Justin Morneau.
Easily one of the funniest comments I’ve ever seen on this site.
Names I didn’t see on that list:
Al Capone
Jesse James
John Dillinger
John Gotti
Vito Corleone
Michael Corleone
and Tony Soprano
Meanwhile, I did not see these names:
Ted Bundy
John Wick
Richard Ramirez
Adolf Hitler
Attila the Hun
El Chapo
Pablo Escobar
Gianni Nicchi
Fred Flintstone
Ricardo Diaz
Something that fits the region
Jean Lafitte
He was running things. Pirates over Gangsters.
Houston to New Orleans always have a lot of gangsters anyway.
Sam Maceo ran Galveston. Maceo played a huge part in creating Vegas
This is the first time I’m 100% with the masses. Top 5 seem evident. Abreu, Toro, McCullers, Urquidy, James
Armenteros, Perez, McCullers, and Urquidy for me. not sold on Abreu staying healthy and not being wild. Stubbs was a borderline one but his inconsistency also worries me.
oh its actually 5. guess i roll the dice on Abreu then
You wanna be a gm man you gotta read the fine print.
facts
Abreu, James, McCullers, Stubbs, Urquidy
Uruquidy, Sneed, Pruitt, Toro, and James for me.
I went with McCullers, James, Urquidy, Abreu and lastly Valdez. I considered Toro over Valdez and could easily have gone that way, but went with pitching. I truly don’t see how you can leave off any of the first four. Also Devenski doesn’t have many good years left so I have no idea why he has so many votes.
If the MLB really wanted a punishment they wouldn’t allow any protection by the team
TJECK109? The whole team should be banned for life. Not one had courage to step outside the peer pressure and say ‘NO’. Gutless liars, cowards, and cheaters.
Averaging 4million and wanting more. Wow. Explain that to the kids who adore those pigs.
“the kids” probably prefer watching good baseball to squabbling about how trustworthy certain players are.
Guess your not a fan of all the steroid guys , even the one’s that weren’t caught that would cover almost every teams. Don’t throw stones in your glass house, every team has cheated at one tine. Astros may have cheated it was in home games (81 home games). The steroid guys cheated home and away games (162 games) for years. Players that wrote books admitting to steroid use and they’re in the hall of fame. Get off your high horse MLB players have been cheating for many years ALL TEAMS…
I think you have to weigh team control: I don’t think one season of Pressly is necessarily a slam dunk over multiple seasons of Abreu, James, etc. He’d probably still make my 15, though. Same goes for McCullers, although I think he’s more of a lock than Pressly, even coming back from TJ.
I went with Abreu, James, McCullers, C. Perez, and Urquidy.
I picked 5, but in reality–it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t lose sleep over any of them.
Toro
McCullers, duh.
James, duh.
Urquidy, duh.
Then it got tougher.
I went with Toro, whom I think is a really solid piece and could slide in at first for Gurriel next year. I teetered between Straw and Abreu before finally selecting Straw. Abreu has control and health concerns and with Jake Marisnick shipped out the Trashtros need a fourth outfielder with speed and great defense.
There are a lot of valuable assets, but to me 5 clearly stand out as easy keepers: Abreu, James, McCullers, Toro, and Urquidy.