Author: Jeff Todd

The Astros’ drastic rebuilding process has included not only a shedding of commitments at the major league level, but also many non-traditional methods, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes in an interesting look at the reactions to the team’s baseball operations strategies. Since the hiring of GM Jeff Luhnow in December of 2011, Drellich reports, certain arguably radical aspects of his approach have drawn some measure of criticism.

The tear-down orchestrated by Luhnow has undoubtedly reaped dividends, even if they have not yet materialized at the MLB level. A deep list of prospects has led most observers to rank the club’s farm system at or near the top of the game’s best stockpiles of talent. (ESPN.com’s Keith Law has Houston at number one, while Minor League Ball’s John Sickels, Baseball America, and Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus all place the system in the top five.)

But with that young talent beginning to filter up to the MLB level, tension has arisen with regard to the team’s attention to service time considerations. In addition to the well-documented situation of George Springer, the club has attempted to lock up other players — such as third baseman Matt Dominguez and outfielder Robbie Grossman — at a very early points in their careers, for relatively modest guarantees. (Drellich reports that Springer was offered a $7MM guarantee, while Dominguez and Grossman were offered $14.5MM and $13.5MM, respectively. Before those extension efforts, Houston successfully extended second baseman Jose Altuve with a $12.5MM guarantee.)

Those efforts, combined with the fact that several talented players are still in the upper minors while the big league club struggles, have led some to express concerns. Offers of multi-year, multimillion-dollar commitments would seem to be positive for the players involved; after all, they need not be accepted. But one anonymous player told Drellich that he feels the team “view[s] [players] purely as property that can be evaluated through a computer program or a rigid set of criteria,” and “wield[s] service time like a sword.” And Drellich indicates that the sentiment is shared by at least some others. For his part, Luhnow says that the decision of whether and when a player gets to the big leagues “has nothing to do with what contracts they have signed or not signed.”

Some of the tension appears to be a result of the front office’s heavy focus on statistics. While statistical analysis is, of course, widespread in today’s game, Drellich suggests that the particular qualms in Houston could be a result of the fact that, “[I]n totality, the Astros appear more overt in their efforts and have moved with a greater speed for simultaneous change than anyone of late.”

Former Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie said that, while he understands the approach “from a business standpoint,” he feels that “you can’t have [a purely statistical] approach and expect to have good personal relations.” A current, unnamed Astros player said that he was unhappy with the organization’s approach. “They just take out the human element of baseball,” he said. “It’s hard to play for a GM that just sees you as a number instead of a person. Jeff is experimenting with all of us.” Luhnow says that his focus is on “trying to win big league games and … trying to produce major league players in the minor leagues,” though he notes that “any time you’ve got human beings involved … you want to understand how they’re impacted.”

Other elements of Houston’s approach — such as the team’s tandem pitching throughout its farm system and heavy use of defensive shifting — has also drawn some criticism, though it seems less strident. Ultimately, Drellich poses the question whether the overall perception of the organization around the league could have negative consequences. “They are definitely the outcast of major league baseball right now,” says recently-dealt pitcher Bud Norris. “When you talk to agents, when you talk to other players and you talk amongst the league, yeah, there’s going to be some opinions about it, and they’re not always pretty.” Of course, as agent Scott Boras notes, “one thing about this organization, there’s a real opportunity.” 

Needless to say, perception can change quickly, and there is little doubt that an increasingly talented MLB roster — and, presumably, a climb up the standings — could make many of the actual and apparent issues fade away. “Houston is a very attractive place to play,” says Luhnow. “We have a great stadium, we have a great city. And clearly it’s easier to attract free agents when we have a winning ball club, and when we get to that point, I think it’ll be even easier for us.”

Ultimately, Luhnow stresses that “there’s a process we’re going through to get to a winning ball club,” and “we’re doing it for the right reasons.” He said that the club is cognizant of perception, but will act in those interests. “I would expect [some unhappiness] to be out there, and yes, of course we care about it,” he said. “But is it going to change what were doing if we believe we’re doing the right thing? Not, it’s not going to. … We’re sensitive to it. If it starts to affect us in a meaningful way that we can’t sign players, or players quit, or players don’t give us their best effort, then we’ll have to address it. As of now, that hasn’t happened.”

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and pro scouting director Kevin Goldstein are visiting Japan as part of the club’s efforts to beef up its presence there, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. As Luhnow seeks to transition from rebuilding to contending, the Astros increasingly look to be a player in acquiring higher-end talent at the MLB level.

The pair of Houston executives will meet with some Nippon Professional Baseball club representatives, see a few players in action live, make media appearances in a bid to enhance the Astros’ profile, and interview some candidates for a scouting position. “People know we bid on Tanaka, and that was a surprise [in Japan],” said Luhnow. “I don’t want it to be a surprise next time. I want them to know, the good Japanese players, the Astros are going to be players, and we’ll have a presence there and the general manager has traveled over there.”

In part, the team is acting on lessons learned from its experience in bidding on Masahiro Tanaka. While Luhnow said he felt confident enough to offer Tanaka a contract after scouting Tanaka in international competition, he found it notable that the Yankees had scouts on hand to watch Tanaka in domestic action for two years before they signed him. “You’ve got two of the top starters in Major League baseball right now, between [Yu] Darvish and Tanaka, that pitched over there and made a successful transition over here,” said Luhnow. “I don’t see that stopping any time soon. I feel like the Astros need to have a scouting presence over there so we can be better informed as these players become available.”

Of course, the fact that the Astros were involved in the Tanaka sweepstakes was itself a strong indication that the club was ready to open its wallet to improve its major league offering. Houston ultimately spent $48MM in free agency, which fell in the middle of the pack league-wide but represented a major development for a club that had largely cleared its books of future salary commitments. Most recently, the team has begun promoting (and trying to extend) some of its top minor league talent.

Opening new doors in Japan indicates a more sustained commitment to adding talent directly to the major league roster. Unlike the situations in most other international baseball hot spots, players that come to North America from Japan (through the revised posting system) are generally at or near MLB readiness.