RHH Outfield Targets

[Roll Tide]

1 minute ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Yeah but this goes for all the young guys, you only will get better with playing time and experience. He was the #2 pick in the draft and 1B/DH is currently occupied by Mounty and O’Hearn. We need Heston to hold down RF for at least one season. 

As for the RHH, I think Slater is our guy. I saw something that he’s had the most pinch hits in mlb over the last 3-4 seasons.  That’s valuable in his role with all of the LHH we have. Even with his career worst 1st half, he still put up a .700+ OPS with us vs LHP. 

With the new WC rules, and all these teams competing, I just expect everyone to be looking to buy, or at least “not sell”. I expect a thin market for buying. 

I’m ok with Slater but I think they need to get a RHH or two that are better than Mountcastle.

[waroriole]

45 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Yeah but this goes for all the young guys, you only will get better with playing time and experience. He was the #2 pick in the draft and 1B/DH is currently occupied by Mounty and O’Hearn. We need Heston to hold down RF for at least one season. 

As for the RHH, I think Slater is our guy. I saw something that he’s had the most pinch hits in mlb over the last 3-4 seasons.  That’s valuable in his role with all of the LHH we have. Even with his career worst 1st half, he still put up a .700+ OPS with us vs LHP. 

With the new WC rules, and all these teams competing, I just expect everyone to be looking to buy, or at least “not sell”. I expect a thin market for buying. 

But Slater was awful against LH last year. He had a .541 OPS against LH, and in 142 PA against LH had only 3 XBH. There are plenty of guys who are better fits for the RH OF role. Grichuk and Refsnyder to name a couple. Elias needs to start doing better than bare minimum. 

[Sports Guy]

16 hours ago, e16bball said:

I’m working off the notion that 1B will primarily be Mountcastle or Mayo and RF will primarily be Kjerstad.

So ideally, I’d want O’Hearn starting something like 30-40 games at 1B — though he’d also likely finish a number of games there based on PH opportunities in games started by a LHP. I’d be looking for a RH guy to pair with him that can play a passable RF in OPACY, and would otherwise mostly DH/PH in the way that O’Hearn has for the last two years. 

What I have in mind is having 4 guys to cover DH/1B/RF, with it roughly breaking down as one LH/RH pair at 1B and another in RF. That would entail adding someone in that Grichuk/Refsnyder category to be the righty RF-capable guy.  
 

To jump ahead of what I imagine might be the next question, I’d also be trying to bring in someone like McCormick that can play LF/RF and hit lefties. That probably requires letting Mateo (or Urias) go, which is a shame, but it can’t really be helped. I would envision my primary bench being Urias, McCormick, Refsnyder, McCann.

I really like this idea.

McCormick was awful in 2024 but he has been excellent vs lefties the previous 3 seasons.

He is an excellent fielder and as you said, he had good speed.

This would be a move that fans would be upset about, call the team cheap, etc…but prior to 2024, McCormick was worth 7.6 fWAR over 3 seasons.

[Just Regular]

I think the Astros keep McCormick.

Heyward is a free agent who was brought in on almost an Emmanuel Rivera or Aaron Hicks emergency basis with McCormick struggling and that "contusion" that kept Kyle Tucker out half a season.

The bad 2024 will keep McCormick's Arb number lower.

Their upper minors are kind of thin with the draft pick penalties and using several of the better prospects they had to get rentals the last couple Julys.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

I think the Astros keep McCormick.

Heyward is a free agent who was brought in on almost an Emmanuel Rivera or Aaron Hicks emergency basis with McCormick struggling and that "contusion" that kept Kyle Tucker out half a season.

The bad 2024 will keep McCormick's Arb number lower.

Their upper minors are kind of thin with the draft pick penalties and using several of the better prospects they had to get rentals the last couple Julys.

Definitely possible that they keep him.

It probably depends on what else they do.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

On 10/14/2024 at 5:29 PM, sportsfan8703 said:

Of course, I don’t really care if we have the highest payroll in baseball with all free agents on our team. I loved the 98 team. 

I just am being realistic about how “good” of a player we’ll add to be on the short side of a platoon with any of Mullins, Cowser, and Heston.

I don't think signing Tyler O'Neill or Harrison Bader instead of Cristian Pache or Ryan McKenna will give us the "highest payroll in baseball" but maybe I am DRASTICALLY underestimating their markets.

[sportsfan8703]

Possible trade targets - Luis Robert, Miguel Andujar.

After looking through rosters to see who might be a fit, I realized lots of teams are in the same situation as us in needed a RH bat for the short side of an OF platoon.

What really separates the guys in FA/via trade from the guys that will be available on milb deals?  It’s looking like it just comes down to luck and picking the right dude that’s going to bounce back. 

Names like Austin Hays, and Whit Merrifield, are just as likely to bounce back in 2025 as some as the others. 

I do like Robert though. 

[DrinkinWithFermi]

25 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Possible trade targets - Luis Robert, Miguel Andujar.

After looking through rosters to see who might be a fit, I realized lots of teams are in the same situation as us in needed a RH bat for the short side of an OF platoon.

What really separates the guys in FA/via trade from the guys that will be available on milb deals?  It’s looking like it just comes down to luck and picking the right dude that’s going to bounce back. 

Names like Austin Hays, and Whit Merrifield, are just as likely to bounce back in 2025 as some as the others. 

I do like Robert though. 

Andujar is a very slow runner and a pretty awful defender (in other words, cannot play LF at OPACY or CF anywhere), so he does not really fit what we need.

Luis Robert does, but I don't see Chicago trading him after a roundly disappointing 2024 season unless the other team is willing to value him a lot closer to the 2023 version than this year's version. Otherwise, they will just hold onto him and hope for a rebound in 2025 to rebuild his trade value.

[ShoelesJoe]

If I was Elias I'd be asking the Giants what it would take to get Heliot Ramos. He hit .370 / .439 / .750 vs LH pitchers this season. He just turned 25 years old, and split time between CF and LF so it would take a lot* to get him. According to Baseball Reference his most similar player by age is.....Anthony Santander. 

 

*Mayo + Bradfield ?

[DrinkinWithFermi]

7 minutes ago, ShoelesJoe said:

If I was Elias I'd be asking the Giants what it would take to get Heliot Ramos. He hit .370 / .439 / .750 vs LH pitchers this season. He just turned 25 years old, and split time between CF and LF so it would take a lot* to get him. According to Baseball Reference his most similar player by age is.....Anthony Santander. 

 

*Mayo + Bradfield ?

I'd love to have him, but why would they trade him?

They are trying to contend and already have a pretty high payroll, and he isn't even arb-eligible yet, so he is exactly the kind of guy they need right now. If they trade him, they have to replace him in the lineup and that would likely have to come at a much higher price in free agency.

[Sports Guy]

Mountcastle for McCormick is a deal I could see each side doing.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Mountcastle for McCormick is a deal I could see each side doing.

I really don't see it.

The Astros are trying to reduce payroll this offseason and Mountcastle will make more than twice as much as McCormick in arbitration next year, and McCormick is a non-tender candidate anyway. We should absolutely be able to get more than a non-tender candidate OF for Ryan Mountcastle with 1B being a glaring need for a bunch of teams looking to contend next year- CIN, PIT, SEA, etc., plus teams with pending FAs at the position like ARI and NYM.

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

I really don't see it.

The Astros are trying to reduce payroll this offseason and Mountcastle will make more than twice as much as McCormick in arbitration next year, and McCormick is a non-tender candidate anyway. We should absolutely be able to get more than a non-tender candidate OF for Ryan Mountcastle with 1B being a glaring need for a bunch of teams looking to contend next year- CIN, PIT, SEA, etc., plus teams with pending FAs at the position like ARI and NYM.

You are only going to get so much value for Mounty and McCormick is someone that has recently been very good and brings a lot to the table that you need. 
 

They aren’t going to non tender him in all likelihood, anymore than we would non tender Mounty. 
 

They had poor first base production last year and Mounty probably hits better in their park.

The deal makes a lot of sense for what each team needs.

The salary differences are relatively minimal.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

You are only going to get so much value for Mounty and McCormick is someone that has recently been very good and brings a lot to the table that you need. 
 

They aren’t going to non tender him in all likelihood, anymore than we would non tender Mounty. 
 

They had poor first base production last year and Mounty probably hits better in their park.

The deal makes a lot of sense for what each team needs.

The salary differences are relatively minimal.

They could just sign Carlos Santana or Mark Canha if they are cool with paying Mountcastle $6-8 million next year and we could just sign Bader or Margot to be the platoon OF instead of trading a guy that actually has positive value for a non-tender candidate.

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

They could just sign Carlos Santana or Mark Canha if they are cool with paying Mountcastle $6-8 million next year and we could just sign Bader or Margot to be the platoon OF instead of trading a guy that actually has positive value for a non-tender candidate.

They could..but I would prefer Mounty over those guys and McCormick over the other guys.

Every trade that has ever been done in the history of the sport has alternatives.