Astros Rumors

Questions Remaining

The Astros have a deep, talented rotation and one of the best middle-infield duos in baseball, to say nothing of a pair of star-level outfielders in Carlos Gomez and George Springer. Rasmus presents a solid enough option in left field, but the club has questions at the infield corners and potentially behind the plate as well. Houston does have two very intriguing first base prospects in A.J. Reed and Tyler White, to say nothing of former top prospect Jon Singleton, who, for all his struggles, is still just 24.

For a club entering the season with championship aspirations, though, it seems odd that Houston didn’t pursue more certainty. There was definite cause to non-tender Chris Carter — and his open-market price tag of $2.5MM indeed reflects that he’d have been overpaid in arbitration — but neglecting to follow up with a short-term first base addition seems like a missed opportunity. Given the moderate cost of acquisition for free agent Steve Pearce and trade chip Adam Lind (who went from Milwaukee to Seattle), the Astros seemingly had opportunities to add a player that could’ve given them early production while their prospects continued developing. With Evan Gattis delivering a rather lackluster output in his first year — at least from an OBP standpoint — any first-base acquisition could’ve shifted into a DH timeshare if and when Reed or White forced the issue. Now, the club will either rely on a rookie or hope that Singleton can tap into some of his former potential early in the season.

Third base, too, might have been an area to add some depth after sending out Lowrie. Late deals for David Freese and Juan Uribe saw each sign for $4MM or less for a single season, but the ’Stros elected to pass. Adding Freese or Uribe and sliding Valbuena across the diamond to first base — or setting up some kind of platoon rotation — might have provided Houston with some additional certainty that the present roster lacks.

Catcher presents not only a short-term question but a long-term problem as well. Jason Castro has followed up an elite 2013 season with a pair of pedestrian efforts and is slated to hit free agency at season’s end. It’s certainly arguable that, rather than unloading a wealth of pitching talent for a short-stint reliever, Houston would’ve been better suited to use some of that prospect capital to bring in a catching option that could be controlled beyond the 2015 season. With the interesting Jacob Nottingham sent out at the trade deadline to rent Scott Kazmir, the Astros aren’t projected to have a starting-caliber catcher in the upper levels of their farm system. The likes of Jonathan Lucroy and Derek Norris were reportedly available this winter — and may still be — while the Yankees were obviously willing to (and did) part with five years of John Ryan Murphy. If Castro continues to make 2013 look like a significant outlier in his career, the Astros could well find themselves looking for catching help this summer anyhow, and proactively addressing the position seemed logical even before backup Max Stassi underwent wrist surgery.

Deal of Note

Making the qualifying offer to Rasmus was always something of a risk, though it’s possible the Astros were being genuine in saying they were happy to have him at $15.8MM for a second season. Rasmus has certainly played at that level in the past — well above it, in fact — and one could posit that his 2015 campaign was worthy of that kind of compensation, particularly given his relative youth. However, given the amount of ink that has been dedicated to the importance of a positive clubhouse environment for Rasmus, he always seemed like a candidate to take the deal, if offered, based on his enjoyment of the atmosphere in Houston (as Jeff Todd and I discussed in an October edition of the MLBTR Podcast).

Rasmus became the first player ever to accept a qualifying offer, though he was quickly followed by Brett Anderson and Matt Wieters. Doing so shifted defensive standout Jake Marisnick to a fourth outfield role — he may be better suited for that role anyhow — and could make it difficult for Preston Tucker to crack the roster out of Spring Training. Another season worth roughly 2.5 wins (he posted 2.6 rWAR and 2.8 fWAR last year) will make the Rasmus contract well worth it, but with the uncertainty at the infield corners and behind the plate, it’s fair to wonder whether some of Rasmus’ salary could have been better distributed elsewhere.

Overview

The bullpen proved to be Houston’s downfall in the 2015 ALDS, and that area proved to be the club’s focus in the subsequent offseason. Adding Giles not only gives Houston a power arm to close out games — assuming he eventually supplants Luke Gregerson in the ninth inning, even if he doesn’t right out of the gate — it pushes others down the line and thus deepens the setup corps.

However, the biggest boost to Houston’s roster in 2016 will probably be a full year of Correa and a full year of Carlos Gomez, who was acquired at the 2015 trade deadline to enhance the club’s lineup and outfield defense — not only for the final two months of that ’15 season, but also for the upcoming 2016 campaign. Complete seasons from that pair, along with promising young righty Lance McCullers (assuming his current shoulder ailment does not develop into a major injury), promise to provide significant boosts to an Astros club that is hoping to build upon an 86-win effort. The Astros’ extreme rebuild drew plenty of criticism, but the fruits of the farm system built by Luhnow and his staff have manifested at the Major League level and now serve as the foundation for what looks to be years of competitive baseball in Houston.

So, how would you grade the efforts of the Astros this winter? (Link to poll for mobile app users …)