There was a time late last week when it seemed as if Blake Snell might become an Astro. On Friday evening, reports emerged that Houston was making a push for the defending NL Cy Young winner. Ultimately, the team balked at paying upwards of $30MM per season, and Snell signed a $62MM guarnatee with the Giants. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Astros’ offer was for two years at less than $50MM.
Houston general manager Dana Brown now tells Chandler Rome of the Athletic that while the front office won’t rule out adding a starter, they’re “not actively doing anything” on that front. Brown made similar comments about the team’s comfort with the rotation before their late effort to land Snell, so that doesn’t rule out a move. At the same time, the GM suggested Snell was something of a unique case.
“It’s a different guy. If we have a bunch of guys that are similar to the other guys that are available, why go after them? Why pay more money for the same production? We feel like if we get Snell, that’s a huge piece, so you have to be on the market for a guy that’s a huge piece like that,” Brown said. “But the other guys that are available, they compare to all of our guys that we have depth with. I wouldn’t want to pay more money and we (already) got a guy right around the minimum or a little bit more. That wouldn’t be smart.”
That’s not really true of Jordan Montgomery, who is coming off a 3.20 ERA and has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in each of the past three seasons. Still, there hasn’t been any indication that Houston has had substantive interest in the southpaw at any point this offseason. It’s more debatable whether they’d get an upgrade from any of the other unsigned starting pitchers, a group led by Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger. Yet even if someone like Lorenzen isn’t a marked improvement over Houston’s in-house starters, there’d be some merit to bringing in another pitcher to cover against early-season injuries.
The Astros entered camp knowing that Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. wouldn’t be factors until midway through the season. Justin Verlander is a couple weeks behind schedule due to shoulder soreness and will start the year on the injured list. That’s now also true of José Urquidy, who was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his forearm yesterday.
While forearm strains can be precursors to more serious injuries, Urquidy provided reporters with a positive update this afternoon. The righty said that multiple evaluations indicated his UCL was fully intact and that imaging mainly revealed muscular inflammation in his forearm (link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Urquidy expressed his hope he could begin a throwing program within 10-14 days.
That won’t keep him off the injured list but addresses any fear the team might’ve had about Urquidy possibly needing surgery. Brown told Rome that the Astros expect Urquidy will be out of action for a little more than a month all told. Houston’s season-opening starting staff should be led by Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown and J.P. France. Right-handers Brandon Bielak and Ronel Blanco are the top options for the #5 role if the Astros don’t go outside the organization.
50% of time this means “We are pursuing”? Fool me twice…. But perhaps they actually mean it this time.
They’ve activated clandestine mode.
They are playing 5-Dimensional Battleship now…and we are just bobbing around in our life-jackets waiting for the Iceberg.
Tomorrow: Astros Sign Jordan Montgomery
That’s what I was thinking lol, sign Jordan Montgomery for a short term deal around 22-23 mil per year as basically a big f you to the rangers.
The day Montgomery signs a short deal for 22-23m per year is the spring you make Texas’ OD start.
Of course, if you’re Jordan Montgomery the joke’s on me.
He’s not getting probably more than 25 million at this point and I believe it might be a little lower than that if he wants to hurry up and get a deal done so he can start getting ready for the season and be there by mid/late April. I don’t see a long term deal happening and I don’t see high end money happening either. Snell got what he got because he’s a cy young caliber pitcher, Montgomery is not. Yes he’s very good but he won’t come close to touching the snell contract. But like I said if he wants to play he needs to hurry up and taking a short term deal in that price range with opt outs is still a decent deal this late into spring training and if he has another great year he will secure a better contract next off-season because consistency is key and teams will notice that it’s been multiple seasons of great production in a row and he should get rewarded. *Hopefully* don’t hold me to this though as I don’t know what he will get and he very well might get a Snell like contract. This off-season has been very strange. He may get a Snell like contract, or he might sign with the Rockies for 15m, who knows at this point, but I do want to see him signed. I like him a lot and he’s a perfect fit for multiple playoff caliber rotations, and also a perfect fit for teams who have playoff aspirations, but their rotation aren’t all that great and he’d help put them over the edge. Someone please get this done! Astros? Angels? Red Sox? Rockies for 15m? C’mon!
U think. we will see. Seeing it to believe it..
I honestly don’t know what to think at this point with how free agency has gone he might sign with the Rockies for 1 year 15 mil I have no clue. It’s just a thought that popped up in my mind how if the Astros get him for a short deal in the lower 20 millions, it not only would help the Astros a ton, but it would be a big f you with how much Montgomery was connected too the rangers earlier in the off-season.
Not going to happen. They’re not going to sign anyone to $20+ million AAV
And you know that for sure because what? You work for the Astros or something? I clearly said idk if they’d sign him, it was just a thought that popped up in my head. And they’ve signed plenty of players to contract with 20 million plus AAV so you can’t say they won’t until it absolutely does happen that they don’t. Plain and simple. And if I recall correctly hader came very close to having a 20m AAV and they just signed altuve to contract extension where he will make 30m per year for a few years, so saying they won’t do it, well you just cant say that, because they have done it.
I was replying to Buzz Killington, not you. Apologies for the confusion. Hader and Altuve are two completely different cases from Montgomery.
While I ultimately would love for the Astros to sign Montgomery, I just do not envision it happening.
This guy changes his mind every other day
Feels like a shakedown. Then again Astros just have to get to the playoffs. If they do wouldn’t count t them out til they are knocked out.
I wonder if Montgomery still wants 7 years? Just seems strange because while he did have a good year. He is not a 7 year guy. 4-5 years maybe. Just sets off so many alarm bells.
HOF caliber pitcher for the last three years, with three consecutive seasons that wouldn’t be out of place as an average year for any lower-tier HOFer. Doesn’t miss a start. Just came off his career best season, 138 OPS
We don’t see many starters like this. He’s surely a #1, on average, across MLB.
He looks like a better bet at 7/162 than Carlos Rodon did. I wouldn’t like the seventh year, but do you ever?
Did you really say HOF calibre pitcher. I’m really trying not to be insulting. He pitched a very good 2 months in Texas and an up and down post season. The 160 ERA+ was 11 starts. He is a career 116 guy who doesn’t even average 6 innings a start. You do realize HOFers do what Montgomery did for 7-10 years not 2 months.
1. Nice name, love the series. And 2. He’s not a number 1 sure but he helped Texas to a WS and his performance has improved each of the last 3 years. At worst he’s a 3 and better than most teams 2. You can expect a 3 ish ERA from Monty and you can’t say that about the other FA.
I agree that if he pitched that way for 15 seasons he would be HOF caliber but the thing is you are talking HOF average season. Those were Montgomery’s best seasons. Most pitchers drop off a lot which brings their averages down. But those 3 years are very tim Hudson like and he is a borderline HOFer if one actually looks at the stats instead of writing off anyone who doesn’t K guys. Higher WAR/162 than CC and he may get in.
Just a few days ago the Astros were in “hot pursuit” of Blake Snell and now it’s “not actively” pursuing starting pitching. What a difference a few days makes.
I think it was more about the caliber of pitcher. A potential third ace. They likely thought they could get Snell at a discount and a short team deal – would have been good for both sides (at this point in free agency).
I honestly believe pitching is on the verge of a crisis in baseball. So many pitchers hurt or on long term rehabs. The obsession with strikeouts is killing it. Offenses are so far advanced these day. The Braves hit 300+ Homeruns and Slugged over .500. 100 points high than the ’75 Reds which won 108 games and were literally know as a machine. Only 28 of the top 100 prospects are pitchers. You know what that says is young players don’t want to pitch. Who can blame them. They seem disposable now.
In the same way they weren’t pursuing relief pitching earlier?
Montgomery is an appealing target, but he’s not going to be paid like an ace, because the perception is that he isn’t an ace. And he’s not–he’s just very good, without overpowering stuff or stats. Almost every team would be happy to have him–but many have spent their budgets or don’t feel like paying the penalties. Maybe his demands were too high at the beginning, and maybe the offers are too low now, but a pitcher of this caliber will get a job.
We know what that means. Why doesn’t this GM Brown just stop commenting to the media. He appears to be hungry for the spotlight