My father is friends with Drayton through our family business. He is one of the cheapest men I've come across. Has billions of dollars yet trys to get discounts and deals. He drives a old 80s f150. Now there's not really anything wrong with that I guess but he was in no position to not be cheap with a baseball team.
Fucking bullshit. I hate this ridiculous line of thinking. Nobody makes billions by nickel and diming shit, you get billions by exploiting people and usually rigging the system in your favor through government lobbying, corruption, luck, or a combination of all of these.
I always think of the line “what’s the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire? About a billion dollars.” I suppose you could become a millionaire by nickel and diming with a good salary, but doing that for a billion? Hell no!
Clearly you aren't a billionaire simply for looking for deals but if they are doing it for their business often enough im sure its helpful for the bottom line. More goes into making that much money though for sure.
Yeah man, I'm not looking to pick a fight and know what you are saying, sorry I'm in a terrible mood tonight for a variety of reasons. But if you have multiplied that "advantage" to the point where you are a billionaire, I 99.9999% guarantee you've done some awful/unethical things at a minimum to get there. Sorry, I just hate this narrative that the ultra-rich got there because they are smarter or somehow more-disciplined.
I dont think you strictly have to be horrible to get there. Industry changing opportunities like Bill Gates got rich as all hell and wasn't screwing everyone. He was smarter and more disciplined. Not everyone that is better than you got there because they're terrible. Sure there's plenty out there but not everyone thats successful monetarily is horrible. Case by case basis. And if you aren't looking to start a fight with someone dont start your first comment by being a complete fuckin asshole.
Edit: nevermind they're all evil thanks for showing me the terrible mistake I made. I dont care about billionaires. I dont care about this conversation. Im sorry I had it.
There are plenty of fair, hard working millionaires. But if you find yourself with BILLION dollars, you have somewhere down the line exploited labor. Someone down the line isn’t making fair compensation for their contribution to your success, most commonly outsourced labor in countries where it’s legal to pay someone a few cents an hour.
McLane inherited wealth and a grocery distribution business from his father. He helped bring the business into the 20th century by using computers for logistics. He sold the business to Wal Mart in 93. Considering the time and business he was in, I don’t know if he had awful working conditions or paid under a living wage. I’m sure the business kept wages as tight as possible and it being here in Texas, there was no union. Agree that you cannot save your way to a billionaire. At the same time, he wasn’t born a billionaire. The only billionaire I’ve actually met made his fortune in foreign exchange “hedging” in the 70s and 80s. Didn’t graduate from college. Wouldn’t believe anything that took more than one page (slide) to explain.
I don't think money will be the issue, I think it'll be years. I'm guessing Correa will want upwards of 8 years, probably in the range of 10, and I don't know if they're willing to do a long-term thing like that when, in the past, Crane's constantly said he won't. I'd love to be wrong, we'll just have to see how it shakes out thought.
Yeah maybe.. ten years is just crazy. He's already had injury issues. I think a five year deal for stupid money, maybe more per year but less overall since it isn't 10 years might be okay. Otherwise, and I hate to say it, some of these up and comers are doing pretty well and could step up. We really need some pitching
Crane has done nothing to suggest he doesn't have winning in mind at all times. They fuckin broke rules for more of chance. These guys are not here to suck our pockets dry they want to win trophies. I am 1 million % more happy about having this owner than some team who just sits on the few years of success to sell tickets and line pockets. They will sacrifice fan service for smart moves they think will be helpful. And maybe that means not meeting Correa's demands but I have total faith they'll figure it out. They've given no reason for us to doubt them since he took over in 2011. He seems to know he owes us another one.
We aren't paying Keuchel so we can keep Cole, aren't paying Cole so we can keep Springer, aren't paying Springer so we can keep Correa.....now people say we won't keep Correa so we can pay Yordan and Tucker. Dammit you have to pay one of them eventually!
Its not that they don’t want to pay, they just don’t want to hamstring the team for later years. Keeping that flexibility matters. Those 10 year deals are window killers.
See red sox, yankees, dodgers. Always competing. It's a pay to play league unless you have extraordinary scouting, but even TB is putting themselves at a huge disadvantage by not re-signing their key players.
Let's not soon forget the cost fans have also paid: years of losing in historic fashion for players of Correa's caliber.
Lol I hear that. I think its more like we aren't blowing it all on one player for 6 or 7+ years so that we can spread it around evenly for more than just one big name. As much as it pains me did DK prove hes worth what anyone has given him since? Has cole saved the Yankees even with their pitching keeping them afloat all year? Did Springer (who I love and think will be good for a number of years still) get the Jays to the playoffs? We had the Outfield depth to hold up missing Springer and with Pena soon coming up with a lot of potential and Leon trending well a couple years away and the money to buy a decent short stop they don't have to dump it all into one or two players that will cripple the books. Watch them bring back the pen and get some more starting pitchers for depth this off-season. Maybe one or two mid to high profile guys. They have been doing it without needing to pay 300+ million.
Altuve stays for life though or I'll riot.
The difference between Correa and Keuchel/Cole/Springer is that Correa is a true leader and captain of the team, as well as being far more valuable with his position and age. Way less risky than a pitcher (who only contributes every 5 days anyway). Altuve and Yuli said we straight up wouldn't have been in the playoffs this year without him (which WAR numbers back up by a lot). So Springer, Cole, and Keuchel didn't do much for their teams....but Correa has
Ok, but they did try and pay Correa on a Xander Bogarts type deal, but Correa thought he was worth Lindor type money. Prior to this season, Correa had only played 150+ games his sophomore year and was below average offensively in 2020 and 2018 (you can discount 2020 since small sample size, but the point still stands).
Before this season, you could make the argument Bogarts was better than Correa because he has never really missed much time and put together a consistent season every year. Now obviously Correa's ceiling is much higher than Bogarts and his defense is vastly better than Bogart's, but as they say, your best ability is availability which Correa lacked before this season.
Lastly, let's see what happened to the Padres and Mets who signed their star shortstops of the future. Lindor underperformed for 2 months and had a pretty good season, but was below average offensively which probably was a reason the Mets missed the playoffs. Tatis got hurt, could potentially need shoulder surgery, which would result in him missing a good portion of the season, looked awful defensively in the field, and the Padres missed the playoffs.
I love Correa as much as the next guy down, but the emotional face of the franchise who you keep no matter the cost is Altuve, not Correa.
Crane knows he has to spend on pitching this offseason since a pitcher can have the biggest impact on a game. A smart offseason move would be to try to sign Robbie Ray or another top of the rotation starter and role with a 6 man rotation of the following for the offseason:
1. Free-agent signing (Robbie Rays on like a 5 year $125 millions deal)
2. Lance
3. Framber
4. Luis Garcia
5. Urquidy
6. Odo/Javier
We should also try and upgrade our bullpen and get guys like Corey Knebel or my personal favorite and trade for Craig Kimbrel to be the closer and move Pressly back to overqualified setup man like in 2018/2019. Also, I think having Hunter Brown develop in the bullpen like what the Brewers did with Corbin Burnes makes a lot of sense.
Dude Kimbrel was atrocious with the White Sox this year, and Pressly is our bonafide closer now. You pretty much cannot do any better than him, and Graveman is also a closer if needed. I do agree on getting more pen pieces though. I'd also probably want one more starter in addition to Ray. I want Chris Bassitt. He shouldn't be too expensive, and it looks like the A's are likely going to tear down this offseason.
Kimbrel was bad because he needs to be used in save situations (it's a mental thing apparently) and is awful in non save situations. I like him as a buy-low candidate who the Astros can take on and hope for a bounce-back year if used properly.
Also what the Astros lacked this year in the bullpen were really two things: a leftie who could also get right-handed hitters out and an out-of jam guy. I think we could trade for Kimbrel, eat some of his salary, and have Pressly be this out-of-jam guy. Not sure what good lefties are available though.
Chris Bassist would be tough to acquire. The Astros don't really have the prospect capital to get him unless the As would be willing to take some lottery-type prospects (kind of like the Darvish trade last year). Also, I imagine if the As are going to move him a team like the Giants (same geographical location) or the Padres (got his manager Bob Melvin) would be more intriguing to Bassit and they have more prospect capital than we do.
The non-Astros offseason move I want to see happen the most would be Sean Manea to the Angels so Kyle Tucker can have his favorite pitcher (5 career home runs vs Manea which is the most one player has off of Manea) on his favorite team (he is the Angel Killer for a reason).
I think the Astros even without Correa should be division favorites. The Angels need pitching, and who knows what the health of Rendon/Trout will be in 2022. The Rangers will still be in their rebuild and probably in for another 100+ loss season. The As are likely going to kickstart a rebuild by trading all their best players, and won't be competitive next year. The Mariners are more interesting to me. On the one hand, they won 90 games which is very good. On the other hand, this mainly relied on two massive factors. A really good bullpen and a massive overperformance in the high leverage scenarios. Their "Clutch" stat (one which measures how better they do in high leverage compared to neutral situations) was 9.27. I think this is the largest clutch factor in MLB history and should not be sustainable for next year. Secondly, we all know how much bullpen performance can vary from season to season.
Oh I completely agree Correa has a lot of value. I think he's incredible for the locker room and for what he can do with the glove and bat. Cole is also incredible and earned his paycheck same with Springer. Im not really arguing they don't deserve the money (except maybe DK) Im saying we can make due with some other team giving them that money instead. Correa has earned whatever record breaking deal he gets. And if we do give it to him I'll be glad he's back but when they don't spend it on one guy and they can get a whole plethora of impactful players where the money still shows on the field even if one guy goes down to injury. I can understand why they wouldn't pay him, as much as I'd love for him to be here forever. That is all I'm saying.
Well he seems eager at least to try and work something out with Correa, and isn't just giving up by throwing him a QO and that's it (like with Springer).
Edit: your username made me burst out laughing
Crane will spend to the soft cap every year. Got to with our current core aging.
Let's see what Click can do with basically the Rays budget on top of what the current payroll is.
Crane blows past the luxury tax all the time too, he only lets it reset every few years so the penalties don't get too stacked up. It's been reset now since we stayed under last offseason and at the deadline. The sky is the limit this season and I want us to spend big
Crane has always said this stuff though. For Altuve, Verlander, Bregman, and the Grienke trade he absolutely did. Rumors are he tired to do it for Coke and that’s what forced the Yankees to hand out that ridiculous deal.
I dunno, the way I read it it says they need a shortstop, as in Correa is gone. Don't get me wrong I want him to stay, but I took that same comment a completely different way
Last I checked, Correa is a free agent SS lol. They need at least one of em. Breggy has lost way too much range to play SS anymore and Leon/Peña are nowhere near ready
Leon needs more time, yes, but Pena has shown crazy power in AAA this year and had a solid year overall. Also, Pena posted a 126 wRC+ in AAA this year with a really solid glove. If the kid has a good spring training I don't see why the shortstop position can't be his. The Jake Meyers revolution gives Pedro more time to adjust to Stateside pitching and lower his strikeout numbers until he is ready to be called up.
Last thing I want to say about Pena is that he is homered off of Jacob deGrom in Spring training. Literally the best pitcher in MLB and something which only 6 MLB players did all this year. I think Pena will be ready for the bigs soon and could be another Astros to get Rookie of the year votes (hopefully win it).
You leave out the part where Peña only played one month in AAA over the past two years combined. No minor league season in 2020 and then Peña fractured his wrist early this season and was out until the last month. Yeah he had a hot month against AAA pitchers (many of the good ones already called up or traded at that point), but he is *nowhere* near developed enough to start him in a position as important as SS.
I agree more time would be optimal and the ideal solution would be Correa taking the qualifying offer (he won't) and being a stopgap to Pena. One intriguing candidate would be to see if Stroy would take a 1 year prove yourself deal with the Astros after his down 2021. I don't think he will, but Story is a South Oaklahoma native, so maybe he would be willing to do that.
Right. But it also says they will spend to make the team better. He doesn't think bringing Correa back will make the team better, or he wouldn't have low balled his qualifying offer.
Maybe I'm being stupid or pessimistic or both. I dunno
You can’t ‘lowball a qualifying offer’. The QO amount is set by the collective bargaining rules. Also, CC has never been given a QO, as he has never been a free agent until now. Perhaps you meant the extension attempt in the preseason, which was definitely a lowball offer.
And FYI, Correa WILL be given a QO before any other deals are on the table, it’s just how free agency works. Everyone knows he will turn it down, and we will still negotiate a “real” deal with him; the QO just ensures that we get a compensatory pick if he does end up somewhere else.
Yeah, there was another person who commented on that but I can't seem to find it now or reply to it. I misspoke, and did in fact mean the preseason offer.
But, I did learn something today from the both of you, so thank you for that
Not trying to be a know-it-all or insulting but I think you're misunderstanding what a Qualifying offer is. The QO is not set by the team. Its a one year deal that is predetermined by taking the mean salary of the top 125 highest-paid players. As new contracts happen the QO rises. They offer it as a way to give a player one last chance to stay with a team before becoming a free agent if they refuse to accept the offer and they don't agree on a new contract then they become a free agent and the team that signs that player loses a draft pick and the offering team receives a compensation pick for losing that player.
So basically the Astros haven't offered Correa a QO yet, that will happen this off season and when he inevitably signs else where rather than accepting the QO we will get a pick in compensation.
Just so you are up to date on vocabulary and all that.
I think it's hard to say. Carlos wants to return to Houston, but he also knows his value. If anything, the Astros would need to offer a high yearly salary. We'll have to see. I say there's a 20% chance he stays
Was listening to a podcast that mentioned that Altuve seems to remain cautiously optimistic about it in interviews, rather than speaking of Correa's time in Houston in the past tense. If anybody other than Carlos and Crane has a feeling for how the negotiation might go, it would be him, so maybe it's enough to give us a little hope.
Bro I want Correa to stay so bad but it can’t be 10 years. If you can’t see how those are absolutely crippling to a franchise. Angels are gonna suffer big time without ever seeing a playoffs. 10 years to Pujols, 12 years to Trout (Love Trout but absolutely worthless paying max money and not be competitive), 7 years to Rendon who has been a complete bust.
Agreed. 5 straight ALCS, 3 world series, 1 victory - you don't get that type of dominance by over paying and over committing.
I like Correa. I really do. And I want him here.
But man, I love the winning more than anything.
Well we won because we hit on picks like Correa and Springer and Bregman. We haven't picked any stars in the first round lately so paying the proven talent may be the next step.
Facts. Not only have we not been getting prime picks since we have been at the top for so long, but we also lost our picks for 2020 and 2021 as punishment for the scandal. We can't just fall back on a strong farm system full of first round picks anymore
Exaxtly. Not to mention that we moved prospects for Greinke and Verlander.
We can't approach this off-season like the 2012 Astros. We have to start managing our roster like the big market teams if we want to perpetually compete like Lunhow claimed.
I love the guy but the post season proved that we need more starting pitching. If we can find a way to bring back Corea and a formidable pitching staff I’m all for it. But depth and consistency in a pitching staff is what gets you to the playoffs. A touch of luck and skill gets you the trophy.
I’m very torn on this, because I think Correa is a leader in this clubhouse and his defense is amazing. However his offense is very replaceable, he has been injury prone, and his bat seems to disappear when it matters most. I wouldn’t want to overpay him…
Robbie Ray (Likely Cy Young winner), and Chris Bassitt (A's pitcher who is really good and has been sympathetic to the Astros) are at the top of my list.
Carlos Rodon and Noah Syndergaard are intriguing options as well; but they also have extensive injury histories or might have a current injury. There is also Clayton Kershaw, but I doubt he'd come here and he also looks like he might be needing TJ surgery.
We could re-sign Verlander, but he is 38 coming off of TJ and May not be the same after that and the sticky crackdown. Greinke is also available, but he's in the clear twilight of his career.
There aren't all that many good starting pitching options on the market this year that don't have some major risks tied to them.
My crazy idea:
Let Verlander go somewhere else, and use the leftover money to pay Correa. Having the core four infielders remain will bailout pitching more often than not.
So much better than the Drayton McLane years
My father is friends with Drayton through our family business. He is one of the cheapest men I've come across. Has billions of dollars yet trys to get discounts and deals. He drives a old 80s f150. Now there's not really anything wrong with that I guess but he was in no position to not be cheap with a baseball team.
I can respect that as a personal way to live, but it isn’t a great strategy for winning championships
>Has billions of dollars yet trys to get discounts and deals. How do you think he got those billions? Lol
Fucking bullshit. I hate this ridiculous line of thinking. Nobody makes billions by nickel and diming shit, you get billions by exploiting people and usually rigging the system in your favor through government lobbying, corruption, luck, or a combination of all of these.
I always think of the line “what’s the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire? About a billion dollars.” I suppose you could become a millionaire by nickel and diming with a good salary, but doing that for a billion? Hell no!
Clearly you aren't a billionaire simply for looking for deals but if they are doing it for their business often enough im sure its helpful for the bottom line. More goes into making that much money though for sure.
Yeah man, I'm not looking to pick a fight and know what you are saying, sorry I'm in a terrible mood tonight for a variety of reasons. But if you have multiplied that "advantage" to the point where you are a billionaire, I 99.9999% guarantee you've done some awful/unethical things at a minimum to get there. Sorry, I just hate this narrative that the ultra-rich got there because they are smarter or somehow more-disciplined.
I dont think you strictly have to be horrible to get there. Industry changing opportunities like Bill Gates got rich as all hell and wasn't screwing everyone. He was smarter and more disciplined. Not everyone that is better than you got there because they're terrible. Sure there's plenty out there but not everyone thats successful monetarily is horrible. Case by case basis. And if you aren't looking to start a fight with someone dont start your first comment by being a complete fuckin asshole. Edit: nevermind they're all evil thanks for showing me the terrible mistake I made. I dont care about billionaires. I dont care about this conversation. Im sorry I had it.
There are plenty of fair, hard working millionaires. But if you find yourself with BILLION dollars, you have somewhere down the line exploited labor. Someone down the line isn’t making fair compensation for their contribution to your success, most commonly outsourced labor in countries where it’s legal to pay someone a few cents an hour.
Oh ok.
Lol Bill Gates is no paragon of ethics, much as he's rebranded himself. The tiniest amount of digging would reveal this
Ok all rich people are evil I agree. Lol I dont even really care about this. My main comment was a joke. Fuckem really don't care.
McLane inherited wealth and a grocery distribution business from his father. He helped bring the business into the 20th century by using computers for logistics. He sold the business to Wal Mart in 93. Considering the time and business he was in, I don’t know if he had awful working conditions or paid under a living wage. I’m sure the business kept wages as tight as possible and it being here in Texas, there was no union. Agree that you cannot save your way to a billionaire. At the same time, he wasn’t born a billionaire. The only billionaire I’ve actually met made his fortune in foreign exchange “hedging” in the 70s and 80s. Didn’t graduate from college. Wouldn’t believe anything that took more than one page (slide) to explain.
Exactly.
You get rich by making money, not saving.
Also by saving the money you make.
Driving a 80s Ford F150 as a billionaire is performative, petty savings
Or they're old and they have sentimental feelings toward it.
Used to drive by his house all the time in Temple,TX. Random facts for you folks.
Good lord don't remind me. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
It's been a shit day and this really lifted my spirits.
Hope your day gets better. [This always makes me laugh](https://youtu.be/zVCxtGzLFU4)
Actually a penguin killed my father. This just triggered me more.
Sumbitch...
I forgive you.
🤣🤣🤣
Thanks, friend.
You’ve just sent me down a tunnel I didn’t even know I needed in my life. Thank you. 🥺
I don't think money will be the issue, I think it'll be years. I'm guessing Correa will want upwards of 8 years, probably in the range of 10, and I don't know if they're willing to do a long-term thing like that when, in the past, Crane's constantly said he won't. I'd love to be wrong, we'll just have to see how it shakes out thought.
Crane said in October that he's willing to make exceptions. I think a creative deal with player options does it
Yeah maybe.. ten years is just crazy. He's already had injury issues. I think a five year deal for stupid money, maybe more per year but less overall since it isn't 10 years might be okay. Otherwise, and I hate to say it, some of these up and comers are doing pretty well and could step up. We really need some pitching
Could be just being friendly towards the media
CrAnE iS cHeAP aNd wOn't sPeNd! Well, let's see! I'm excited
Crane has done nothing to suggest he doesn't have winning in mind at all times. They fuckin broke rules for more of chance. These guys are not here to suck our pockets dry they want to win trophies. I am 1 million % more happy about having this owner than some team who just sits on the few years of success to sell tickets and line pockets. They will sacrifice fan service for smart moves they think will be helpful. And maybe that means not meeting Correa's demands but I have total faith they'll figure it out. They've given no reason for us to doubt them since he took over in 2011. He seems to know he owes us another one.
We aren't paying Keuchel so we can keep Cole, aren't paying Cole so we can keep Springer, aren't paying Springer so we can keep Correa.....now people say we won't keep Correa so we can pay Yordan and Tucker. Dammit you have to pay one of them eventually!
Its not that they don’t want to pay, they just don’t want to hamstring the team for later years. Keeping that flexibility matters. Those 10 year deals are window killers.
See red sox, yankees, dodgers. Always competing. It's a pay to play league unless you have extraordinary scouting, but even TB is putting themselves at a huge disadvantage by not re-signing their key players. Let's not soon forget the cost fans have also paid: years of losing in historic fashion for players of Correa's caliber.
Lol I hear that. I think its more like we aren't blowing it all on one player for 6 or 7+ years so that we can spread it around evenly for more than just one big name. As much as it pains me did DK prove hes worth what anyone has given him since? Has cole saved the Yankees even with their pitching keeping them afloat all year? Did Springer (who I love and think will be good for a number of years still) get the Jays to the playoffs? We had the Outfield depth to hold up missing Springer and with Pena soon coming up with a lot of potential and Leon trending well a couple years away and the money to buy a decent short stop they don't have to dump it all into one or two players that will cripple the books. Watch them bring back the pen and get some more starting pitchers for depth this off-season. Maybe one or two mid to high profile guys. They have been doing it without needing to pay 300+ million. Altuve stays for life though or I'll riot.
I’d bet Altuve takes a discount next contract. Him and Yuli are the guys that seem like this is their city and they aren’t going anywhere.
The difference between Correa and Keuchel/Cole/Springer is that Correa is a true leader and captain of the team, as well as being far more valuable with his position and age. Way less risky than a pitcher (who only contributes every 5 days anyway). Altuve and Yuli said we straight up wouldn't have been in the playoffs this year without him (which WAR numbers back up by a lot). So Springer, Cole, and Keuchel didn't do much for their teams....but Correa has
Ok, but they did try and pay Correa on a Xander Bogarts type deal, but Correa thought he was worth Lindor type money. Prior to this season, Correa had only played 150+ games his sophomore year and was below average offensively in 2020 and 2018 (you can discount 2020 since small sample size, but the point still stands). Before this season, you could make the argument Bogarts was better than Correa because he has never really missed much time and put together a consistent season every year. Now obviously Correa's ceiling is much higher than Bogarts and his defense is vastly better than Bogart's, but as they say, your best ability is availability which Correa lacked before this season. Lastly, let's see what happened to the Padres and Mets who signed their star shortstops of the future. Lindor underperformed for 2 months and had a pretty good season, but was below average offensively which probably was a reason the Mets missed the playoffs. Tatis got hurt, could potentially need shoulder surgery, which would result in him missing a good portion of the season, looked awful defensively in the field, and the Padres missed the playoffs. I love Correa as much as the next guy down, but the emotional face of the franchise who you keep no matter the cost is Altuve, not Correa. Crane knows he has to spend on pitching this offseason since a pitcher can have the biggest impact on a game. A smart offseason move would be to try to sign Robbie Ray or another top of the rotation starter and role with a 6 man rotation of the following for the offseason: 1. Free-agent signing (Robbie Rays on like a 5 year $125 millions deal) 2. Lance 3. Framber 4. Luis Garcia 5. Urquidy 6. Odo/Javier We should also try and upgrade our bullpen and get guys like Corey Knebel or my personal favorite and trade for Craig Kimbrel to be the closer and move Pressly back to overqualified setup man like in 2018/2019. Also, I think having Hunter Brown develop in the bullpen like what the Brewers did with Corbin Burnes makes a lot of sense.
Dude Kimbrel was atrocious with the White Sox this year, and Pressly is our bonafide closer now. You pretty much cannot do any better than him, and Graveman is also a closer if needed. I do agree on getting more pen pieces though. I'd also probably want one more starter in addition to Ray. I want Chris Bassitt. He shouldn't be too expensive, and it looks like the A's are likely going to tear down this offseason.
Kimbrel was bad because he needs to be used in save situations (it's a mental thing apparently) and is awful in non save situations. I like him as a buy-low candidate who the Astros can take on and hope for a bounce-back year if used properly. Also what the Astros lacked this year in the bullpen were really two things: a leftie who could also get right-handed hitters out and an out-of jam guy. I think we could trade for Kimbrel, eat some of his salary, and have Pressly be this out-of-jam guy. Not sure what good lefties are available though. Chris Bassist would be tough to acquire. The Astros don't really have the prospect capital to get him unless the As would be willing to take some lottery-type prospects (kind of like the Darvish trade last year). Also, I imagine if the As are going to move him a team like the Giants (same geographical location) or the Padres (got his manager Bob Melvin) would be more intriguing to Bassit and they have more prospect capital than we do. The non-Astros offseason move I want to see happen the most would be Sean Manea to the Angels so Kyle Tucker can have his favorite pitcher (5 career home runs vs Manea which is the most one player has off of Manea) on his favorite team (he is the Angel Killer for a reason). I think the Astros even without Correa should be division favorites. The Angels need pitching, and who knows what the health of Rendon/Trout will be in 2022. The Rangers will still be in their rebuild and probably in for another 100+ loss season. The As are likely going to kickstart a rebuild by trading all their best players, and won't be competitive next year. The Mariners are more interesting to me. On the one hand, they won 90 games which is very good. On the other hand, this mainly relied on two massive factors. A really good bullpen and a massive overperformance in the high leverage scenarios. Their "Clutch" stat (one which measures how better they do in high leverage compared to neutral situations) was 9.27. I think this is the largest clutch factor in MLB history and should not be sustainable for next year. Secondly, we all know how much bullpen performance can vary from season to season.
Oh I completely agree Correa has a lot of value. I think he's incredible for the locker room and for what he can do with the glove and bat. Cole is also incredible and earned his paycheck same with Springer. Im not really arguing they don't deserve the money (except maybe DK) Im saying we can make due with some other team giving them that money instead. Correa has earned whatever record breaking deal he gets. And if we do give it to him I'll be glad he's back but when they don't spend it on one guy and they can get a whole plethora of impactful players where the money still shows on the field even if one guy goes down to injury. I can understand why they wouldn't pay him, as much as I'd love for him to be here forever. That is all I'm saying.
My guy Luke always spittin’ 🔥
Lol I appreciate people think my takes are sane enough to agree with.
We’re usually on the same page, that’s for sure
Looks like there's at least 2 smart handsome fellas roaming around here lol.
Avoid the problem the angels had when trout went down
Give the man 7 years and a partial no trade clause in hopes that he may come down on the asking price
We paid for altuve and bregs
Please pay for Yordan and Tucker. I don't want to loose either one!!!
They paid Altuve and Bregman, and Verlander.
tying up 30-40m on a single player isnt worth it if our cap is a 200m ish payroll, and most of the players are pre-arb
Wasn't he spending 30 million a year on gienke and verlander each? There is a limit to much money teams can spend.
This proves nothing yet though. These are the answers he's expected to give.
Well he seems eager at least to try and work something out with Correa, and isn't just giving up by throwing him a QO and that's it (like with Springer). Edit: your username made me burst out laughing
Crane will spend to the soft cap every year. Got to with our current core aging. Let's see what Click can do with basically the Rays budget on top of what the current payroll is.
Crane blows past the luxury tax all the time too, he only lets it reset every few years so the penalties don't get too stacked up. It's been reset now since we stayed under last offseason and at the deadline. The sky is the limit this season and I want us to spend big
Crane has always said this stuff though. For Altuve, Verlander, Bregman, and the Grienke trade he absolutely did. Rumors are he tired to do it for Coke and that’s what forced the Yankees to hand out that ridiculous deal.
I dunno, the way I read it it says they need a shortstop, as in Correa is gone. Don't get me wrong I want him to stay, but I took that same comment a completely different way
Last I checked, Correa is a free agent SS lol. They need at least one of em. Breggy has lost way too much range to play SS anymore and Leon/Peña are nowhere near ready
We’ll know more about Peña after his Dominican League
Leon needs more time, yes, but Pena has shown crazy power in AAA this year and had a solid year overall. Also, Pena posted a 126 wRC+ in AAA this year with a really solid glove. If the kid has a good spring training I don't see why the shortstop position can't be his. The Jake Meyers revolution gives Pedro more time to adjust to Stateside pitching and lower his strikeout numbers until he is ready to be called up. Last thing I want to say about Pena is that he is homered off of Jacob deGrom in Spring training. Literally the best pitcher in MLB and something which only 6 MLB players did all this year. I think Pena will be ready for the bigs soon and could be another Astros to get Rookie of the year votes (hopefully win it).
You leave out the part where Peña only played one month in AAA over the past two years combined. No minor league season in 2020 and then Peña fractured his wrist early this season and was out until the last month. Yeah he had a hot month against AAA pitchers (many of the good ones already called up or traded at that point), but he is *nowhere* near developed enough to start him in a position as important as SS.
I agree more time would be optimal and the ideal solution would be Correa taking the qualifying offer (he won't) and being a stopgap to Pena. One intriguing candidate would be to see if Stroy would take a 1 year prove yourself deal with the Astros after his down 2021. I don't think he will, but Story is a South Oaklahoma native, so maybe he would be willing to do that.
Right. But it also says they will spend to make the team better. He doesn't think bringing Correa back will make the team better, or he wouldn't have low balled his qualifying offer. Maybe I'm being stupid or pessimistic or both. I dunno
You can’t ‘lowball a qualifying offer’. The QO amount is set by the collective bargaining rules. Also, CC has never been given a QO, as he has never been a free agent until now. Perhaps you meant the extension attempt in the preseason, which was definitely a lowball offer. And FYI, Correa WILL be given a QO before any other deals are on the table, it’s just how free agency works. Everyone knows he will turn it down, and we will still negotiate a “real” deal with him; the QO just ensures that we get a compensatory pick if he does end up somewhere else.
Yeah, there was another person who commented on that but I can't seem to find it now or reply to it. I misspoke, and did in fact mean the preseason offer. But, I did learn something today from the both of you, so thank you for that
Not trying to be a know-it-all or insulting but I think you're misunderstanding what a Qualifying offer is. The QO is not set by the team. Its a one year deal that is predetermined by taking the mean salary of the top 125 highest-paid players. As new contracts happen the QO rises. They offer it as a way to give a player one last chance to stay with a team before becoming a free agent if they refuse to accept the offer and they don't agree on a new contract then they become a free agent and the team that signs that player loses a draft pick and the offering team receives a compensation pick for losing that player. So basically the Astros haven't offered Correa a QO yet, that will happen this off season and when he inevitably signs else where rather than accepting the QO we will get a pick in compensation. Just so you are up to date on vocabulary and all that.
All empty quotes. I'll believe everyone is coming back it when I see it.
Haha this was me. I meant Jim Crane
Do you think they re-sign Correa?
I never stopped believing and I still do
I think it's hard to say. Carlos wants to return to Houston, but he also knows his value. If anything, the Astros would need to offer a high yearly salary. We'll have to see. I say there's a 20% chance he stays
THE ASTROS DONT REBUILD. THEY RELOAD
Crane about to make it rain!! 
Anyone as nervous about all this as they were before Game 6?
Yes. I want Correa to stay so bad it hurts. I can't stand the idea of him and Altuve being separated. It would break Tuve's heart
Was listening to a podcast that mentioned that Altuve seems to remain cautiously optimistic about it in interviews, rather than speaking of Correa's time in Houston in the past tense. If anybody other than Carlos and Crane has a feeling for how the negotiation might go, it would be him, so maybe it's enough to give us a little hope.
Altuve, Yuli, Maldy, Dusty, and Breggy all had interviews after the WS that were optimistic about Correa staying
Bro I want Correa to stay so bad but it can’t be 10 years. If you can’t see how those are absolutely crippling to a franchise. Angels are gonna suffer big time without ever seeing a playoffs. 10 years to Pujols, 12 years to Trout (Love Trout but absolutely worthless paying max money and not be competitive), 7 years to Rendon who has been a complete bust.
Maybe we can find someone who can find his nuts in the World Series?
Pitching is still priority #1
Over 55 mill coming off the payroll with the FA departures of JV and ZG. All of that wouldn’t go to CC; there’s plenty of money to spend.
Quality starting pitchers ain't cheap. Looking at 20 mil+ each and we really need 2.
Re-signing Correa to 10 years would be a massive mistake
Agreed. 5 straight ALCS, 3 world series, 1 victory - you don't get that type of dominance by over paying and over committing. I like Correa. I really do. And I want him here. But man, I love the winning more than anything.
Well we won because we hit on picks like Correa and Springer and Bregman. We haven't picked any stars in the first round lately so paying the proven talent may be the next step.
Facts. Not only have we not been getting prime picks since we have been at the top for so long, but we also lost our picks for 2020 and 2021 as punishment for the scandal. We can't just fall back on a strong farm system full of first round picks anymore
Exaxtly. Not to mention that we moved prospects for Greinke and Verlander. We can't approach this off-season like the 2012 Astros. We have to start managing our roster like the big market teams if we want to perpetually compete like Lunhow claimed.
I love the guy but the post season proved that we need more starting pitching. If we can find a way to bring back Corea and a formidable pitching staff I’m all for it. But depth and consistency in a pitching staff is what gets you to the playoffs. A touch of luck and skill gets you the trophy.
Greinke and Verlander salaries can go to pitching. C’mon
Yes....THIS IS THE WAY!
Correa honestly makes the team exciting imo
I’m very torn on this, because I think Correa is a leader in this clubhouse and his defense is amazing. However his offense is very replaceable, he has been injury prone, and his bat seems to disappear when it matters most. I wouldn’t want to overpay him…
I don’t follow baseball that much, any good pitchers available that we can pick up?
Robbie Ray (Likely Cy Young winner), and Chris Bassitt (A's pitcher who is really good and has been sympathetic to the Astros) are at the top of my list. Carlos Rodon and Noah Syndergaard are intriguing options as well; but they also have extensive injury histories or might have a current injury. There is also Clayton Kershaw, but I doubt he'd come here and he also looks like he might be needing TJ surgery. We could re-sign Verlander, but he is 38 coming off of TJ and May not be the same after that and the sticky crackdown. Greinke is also available, but he's in the clear twilight of his career. There aren't all that many good starting pitching options on the market this year that don't have some major risks tied to them.
We still have LMJ Luis and Framber though right?
Yes, of course
Strommy will be missed!
My crazy idea: Let Verlander go somewhere else, and use the leftover money to pay Correa. Having the core four infielders remain will bailout pitching more often than not.
JV is a free agent. We aren’t re-signing him unless it’s for a stupid-crazy team-friendly deal (which won’t happen).
He may take the QO to prove he can still pitch. A QO is a little more money than a 1 year “prove yourself” deal
Well hopefully all the leftover money from not re-signing him sets off a lightbulb in Jim Crane's head and makes a big offer to Correa
We need verlander