Houston’s losing four regulars in Alvarez, Bregman, Altuve and Maldonado. The first three have been vital members of the Astros’ offense for multiple seasons, and all three have gotten off to strong starts this year. Maldonado isn’t nearly as effective at the plate, though the Astros like his defense enough that they had been finalizing a one-year extension with him as of Tuesday.
With such a large chunk of their position player group down, the Astros are bringing up infielders Abraham Toro, Alex De Goti and Taylor Jones, catcher Garrett Stubbs, and outfielder Ronnie Dawson. De Goti and Dawson weren’t on the Astros’ 40-man roster, so their contracts had to be selected.
]]>The 34-year-old Maldonado is in his second different stint with the Astros since they acquired him from the Angels for left-hander Patrick Sandoval leading up to the July 2018 trade deadline. Maldonado divided some of the next year between the Royals and Cubs, only to return to the Astros in a 2019 deal that sent infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp to Chicago. The Astros were impressed enough with Maldonado’s work that they prevented him from exiting in free agency with a two-year, $7MM guarantee.
Maldonado typically hasn’t offered much as a hitter, evidenced by his lifetime .217/.291/.352 line in 2,541 plate appearances, though he did put up a career-best .215/.350/.378 last year. Maldonado’s off to a dreadful .094/.121/.094 start with 15 strikeouts against one walk in 33 PA this season, but the Astros are willing to roll the dice for another year, no doubt owing in large part to the veteran’s history of well-regarded work behind the plate. Maldonado has earned extremely high lifetime marks from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric, piled up 75 Defensive Runs Saved and thrown out an easily above-average 36 percent of would-be base thieves since debuting with the Brewers in 2011.
Barring any behind-the-plate changes in Houston, it’s slated to bring back its two current catchers – Jason Castro is the other – in 2022. Castro inked a two-year, $5MM contract in free agency, though he has only taken seven trips to the plate this season. Of course, considering Maldonado and Castro for a cheap duo, the Astros could still seek an upgrade(s) in the coming months if Maldonado and Castro don’t produce to the club’s liking.
]]>The Timberwolves have struggled to build a consistent contender in the NBA since a successful run with fiery big man Kevin Garnett ended. Even then, functional GM Kevin McHale, coach Flip Saunders, and Garnett lost seven consecutive first round series. They finally broke through in 2003-04 for the franchise’s first playoff series win. They’d fall in the Western Conference Finals in what turned out to be the final playoff run of the Garnett era, however. Minnesota has just one playoff appearance in their history outside of that eight-year run, despite a roster currently built around the first overall pick of the 2015 draft Karl-Anthony Towns. You can find out more by heading to Hoops Rumors where Arthur Hill has the latest details. Now, back to baseball…
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]]>The Astros made Correa a six-year, $120MM offer and then followed with a five-year, $125MM proposal, according to the former All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). But Correa doesn’t believe the Astros were ever all that serious about extending him, as he said (per McTaggart): “There were not really any negotiations. The way I feel is it’s another year with the Houston Astros and I’m going to go out there and do my best and try to bring a championship to the city.” Correa added that Houston “made it clear to me they don’t believe in long contracts, they don’t believe in big contracts.”
The Astros have handed out “long” and “big” deals in the past to the likes of second baseman Jose Altuve and third baseman Alex Bregman, and they did give right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. a five-year, $85MM extension last week. As of now, though, it doesn’t seem Correa will join them in sticking around for the long haul.
Going forward, odds are against Correa’s contract approaching Lindor’s, but as an immensely talented 26-year-old, the former No. 1 overall pick should earn a significant payday if he stays healthy and rebounds from his so-so 2020 performance. Correa did miss a good amount of time with various injuries in each season from 2017-19, though his production has mostly been excellent since he debuted in 2015. So far, Correa has batted .276/.353/.480 (127 wRC+) with 107 home runs and 19.4 fWAR in 2,583 plate appearances. Barring any in-season extensions, Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Javier Baez will battle to earn the largest deal among free-agent shortstops over the winter.
]]>MARCH 30: There remains a chance that the Astros will sign Correa to an extension by the start of the season, as general manager James Click told McTaggart and other reporters, “We had some more conversations over the weekend so we’re going to keep at it.”
MARCH 25: Correa isn’t impressed by the Astros’ offer. Speaking to reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle), he called the proposal “really low” and said he’s preparing as if he will become a free agent next offseason. Correa added that he will “absolutely not” push back his April 1 deadline for extension negotiations.
MARCH 24: The Astros took care of an important piece of business Wednesday when they agreed to a five-year, $85MM contract extension with right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. He’s no longer scheduled to reach the open market next winter as a result, but shortstop Carlos Correa is one of the key Astros still on track to become a free agent then. Unfortunately for Houston, it doesn’t appear close to a new contract with Correa. The Astros offered him a six-year extension worth approximately $120MM, but “there’s no sign of traction,” Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
If Correa agreed to that amount, it would have matched the extension fellow shortstop Xander Bogaerts signed with the Red Sox going into the 2019 season. But the deal has always looked like a team-friendly amount for Bogaerts, who was then entering his age-27 season and coming off a monster year.
There is an argument that Correa should take a large offer now, as he has battled durability issues over the past few seasons and is coming off a year in which he hit an uncharacteristically mediocre .264/.326/.383 with five home runs in 221 plate appearances. On the other hand, the former No. 1 overall pick went into last season a .277/.356/.489 hitter with 102 HRs over 2,362 trips to the plate, and he won’t turn 27 until September. Therefore, it would be understandable for Correa to bet on a rebound this year and vie for a much more lucrative contract as part of a loaded free-agent class. Along with Correa, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien are among shortstops who are in line to become free agents after this season.
]]>The Odorizzi signing came on the heels of Framber Valdez’s fractured finger early in Spring Training. At the time, there had been fear the left-hander would require surgery and miss the entire season. Valdez is attempting to rehab the injury without going under the knife, and it seems the early returns are positive. Pitching coach Brent Strom called the latest reports on Valdez’s health “very, very exciting and very good,” although the Astros have yet to provide word on a potential target date for his return.
Houston is also without a few key relievers due to health situations. Righty Pedro Báez – like Odorizzi, one of Houston’s offseason additions – won’t be ready for major league action for at least the first couple weeks of the season. The team hopes he’ll be back on the mound in late April. Báez, whom the Astros signed to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee, has been on the COVID-19 injured list for three weeks. Fellow right-hander Andre Scrubb is looking at a mid-April return after leaving a recent Cactus League game with shoulder soreness.
Another righty, Josh James, is targeting late May or early June for a return of his own. The 28-year-old underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left hip at the end of last October. The procedure initially came with a six-to-eight month recovery timetable, so it seems James is right on schedule.
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