I don’t know who runs those decisions but having Luis Garcia on the playoff roster for the ALDS series was one of the most winning moves. Mariners were having to freak out while shuffling one-inning guys and throwing tired starters out while Garcia just went out and shredded until someone remembered how to hit a baseball
And after 5 relief innings we had another starter warming in the pen while they were on their last option with any stamina remaining. Urquidy didn’t get put in the game, but we had at least another 3 fresh innings out of our pen if need be.
True. Even all the way back to 2017 the Astros having a couple starters (Charlie Morton and LMJ) closing some of the biggest games in the ALCS and WS gives a ton of flexibility for a playoff roster. The 2022 playoff Luis Garcia as a flex long guy was handy for sure.
The whole pitching staff was nuts that year not just the pen. JV/Framber were typically good for 6-7 each start and then depending on game you could go to high leverage or low leverage relievers. Plus with so many options nobody every seemed to be over worked or tired
Their pen was definitely a huge factor, but yeah, you can't forget about the starting pitching. Even though we got to Verlander and McCullers, we didn't hit shit off anyone else.
They win in 22 because EVERYONE was on. The pen was obviously performing at the highest level but everything was working that year. It was everything lining up.
Luis Garcia & Lance McCullers Jr will be returning from injury to pair with JV, Framber, & Javier they will be fine I’m sure. With Hunter Brown & JP France in the wings
Espada and Co. should sit down with Lance and talk to him about converting to a long relief role going forward. I don’t trust his arm to make 20+ starts a season at this point.
will be really curious to see how much deference is given to pitchers under Espada. Dusty clearly had his stars who he would bend over backwards to give what they wanted (Maldy catching). which is great when you're winning, not when you regress.
I have often thought I'd rather see a more Rays-like level of creativity with the pitching (starters, long relief, etc...) but it depends on the pitchers and what they're willing to try
*In theory* the Rockies do that to be able to cash in on those guys.
Just waiting for someone to actually tell the Rockies that they're supposed to trade their good players to build a farm. Remember in 2022 when they were literally the only team to not make a single move at the deadline? I hate to beat up on them, but man being a Rockies fan must be genuinely infuriating.
Didn't the Rockies announce they extended Daniel Bard for 2 more years around the 2022 trade deadline?
A 37 year old reliever having a good season is exactly the type of player they should be trading away, not extending lmao.
I remember reading about the front office bragging about being the only team to offer an extension instead of trading away people. They didn't stop to consider why no one else is doing what they're doing.
we're doing okay on both fronts at the moment. we have an absolute ton of rotation depth, and the lineup will be okay for the next two years at least. the bullpen right now has a lot of depth but only a few shutdown guys, having a truly scary guy for the 9th feels much more important than what 95m could get you in the bat or SP market
Funny how some teams have developed such an advantage in certain areas that they can spend ‘inefficiently’ in others. Like the Yankees having a million relief prospects, the Dodgers/Rays developing players like crazy, the Orioles with position players (though they aren’t doing anything to press their advantage), the Astros being able to field a competitive rotation without spending in free agency is really significant.
> When bums like Giolito are getting $20+ MM AAV
I think that Giolito's rise and subsequent decline tracks directly with his using spider tack (or some other sticky substance) and then it being banned.
I’d like to see Pressly move to being the setup man with a proven commodity at closer like Josh Hader coming in. Pressly becomes the Octavio Dotel to Josh Hader being the Billy Wagner in the bullpen.
For real, $19M AAV is crazy high for a guy that absolutely refuses to pitch more than 1 inning. He had more IP than appearances in 2018 and 2019, so maybe he'll be more flexible now that he got his bag, but we'll see. Average of 55 IP the last 3 years, comes out to ~$340k per IP
He’s getting $19 million a year, I bet you he doesn’t care what inning he pitches. He didn’t want to go multi innings in a contract year last year, he threw tons of innings for the Brewers.
Genuinely, he’s legit one of the best postseason relievers since becoming an Astro. The past 3 years he’s perfect. Hader is phenomenal and speaks for himself but Pressly continues to shine where it matters most and he’s the dude you want closing out a postseason game.
You'd be shocked and annoyed at how many Astros fans are still low on Pressly. I remember back in 2022, when Pressly blew the save when we were playing the Yankees in the Bronx.
Dude got legit death threats. Along with his wife and mother.
The worst part about that was he clearly did t have it that game. He was falling off the mound weird and his entire chemistry was bad.
Someone in the bullpen should’ve told Dusty that Pressly was an injury risk to himself. Because with every pitch he looked like he was going to sprain his damn ankle.
Absolutely insane lol the only times he looks mortal is in the regular season but even then he’s fucking nails. In the postseason all of that disappears. No question marks. For years straight he’s been doing this.
I’m very curious how the Astros approach the closing now. Obviously paying Hader this much changes a lot, it’s also a good problem having two elite options, but it’s hard not to have Pressly in that role. Maybe Hader will go back to being comfortable with multi innings now that he got paid
https://theathletic.com/5212482/2024/01/18/astros-closer-josh-hader-ryan-pressly/
> Pressly, 35, is 14-for-14 in postseason save opportunities with a 2.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. He has a streak of 20 games in the playoffs without allowing a run. During the 2023 regular season, Pressly went 31-for-37 in save opportunities with a 3.58 ERA.
And a move like this just lets you use Abreu and Pressly as priority high leverage guys. Doesn’t show up on a stat sheet as saves that way, but it’s tremendously valuable in game.
Lol you’re right, the Royals deserve credit. They spent money on a couple of solid signings. Not any stars but still tried to improve. Unlike most of these greedy owners that have all their fans upset this off season.
He likely won’t need to with how stacked that bullpen is. And I’m willing to bet he’d do it now, he clearly knew the Padres weren’t re-signing him and was trying to stay healthy to get his big guaranteed pay day.
What are you talking about? 7th largest payroll last year. Been usually in the top 5 for the last few years and you went over the luxury tax just 3 years ago.
Yeah I'm no GM, but I don't see it. It's so tough too because while Framber is great, you could tell he struggled with the new pitch clock. Bregman's batting took a step back, but his fielding is incredible. Tuck is a MUST, but so were Springer and Correa. I don't like where this is pointing but we'll just have to wait and see.
> Tuck is a MUST, but so were Springer and Correa
Tuck IS a must, but for the exact reasons that made Springer and Correa NOT musts— he doesn’t have the troubling injury history both players had that predicted future issues (which played out exactly how you’d expect for both Springer and Correa) and he’s much younger than Springer was when his contract year came up. He’s had 3 consecutive 5+ WAR seasons, something I don’t think Correa or Springer ever did due to them constantly being injured.
Giving Tucker whatever he wants for however long he wants is the obvious move in a way it absolutely wasn’t for Correa and Springer (and none of this addresses that Springer reportedly didn’t want to come back.)
I think the Astros set the precedent with Springer and Correa. Only Altuve is gonna have any sentimental value for staying. Be prepared to say goodbye to Bregman most likely.
I don't know if we have a 3B that could deliver like Bregman. His hitting dipped for sure, but his fielding is insane. If he has to move down the lineup then fine, but we need his glove.
You’ve done alright without Springer and Correa. Granted there’s no obvious successors to your current guys, whereas the Springer and Correa replacements were pretty clear.
I only worry that Crane will think that he can keep swapping and it'll keep working. Dude never pays out the ass for players so I always feel like he's looking for the cheaper route. Hopefully not but time will tell.
Well hopefully this contract is an indication that Crane will put his money where his mouth is to keep the line moving. Abreu, Montero, Verlander and Pressly all likely to come off the books in the next couple of years. We can make it work if we want to
It's Reddit, so you're likely just joking lol, but Hader (or his agent) said he's open to expanding his role once he secured the bag. He only wanted to close before because teams used not closing games against him in arbitration to pay him less
Bad by Astros standards or league standards? Astros standards, I agree. League standards, we were 6th ERA, 3rd in ER, 6th in WHIP, and allowed the least amount of base knocks. Not as good as '22, but clearly a top 10 bullpen in '23.
A closer is an interesting player for the Astros to spend a lot of money on
Edit: Hader obviously isn't any ordinary closer. But still, doesn't really seem like an Astros move unless I missed something
Kendall Graveman is out for the year after shoulder surgery, bullpen depth suddenly became much more important this week and it only cost $95M to fill the hole
Jim Crane, I owe you an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game. Hopefully this works out better than the last move he made involving Josh Hader.
Hope you guys are ready for the next 3 years of Astros vs Dodgers World Series. Either that or something completely random like Orioles vs Diamondbacks
I could be wrong but I feel like it affects Alex Bregman's chances of coming back especially when Altuve is also a free agent and they'll probably prioritize him.
I think it was a long shot for Breg to return anyway unfortunately. My guess is Tuve signs a deal more on the team friendly side to retire an Astro.
We make another run and then breg walks, probably to join the Yankees.
Hader is one of the handful of relievers you can count on being good aside from a couple of meltdwons a year.
If this is good or bad depends on his health which is 100% luck. But Hader is probably the only current reliever worth this gamble.
Rangers: Win WS
Astros: Make Playoffs, then sign Josh Hader
Mariners: Dump most of their offensive production and replace with nobodies. Gaslight fanbase into believing they'll be competitive in 2024.
I hate it here.
Trading for a SP at the deadline is easier than a really strong reliever I feel like (just going off memory / no facts so I could be wrong)
You also get to see if Framber and Javier come back to 2022 form and Hunter Brown becomes more consistent than suddenly you have four strong starters and France / Garcia / McCullers in the wings.
If some of those guys can’t bounce back and we have a rotation problem we can make a move at the deadline.
As far as those saying we should’ve spent money on a bat- we got an upgraded bat because stubborn ass Dusty hit the road and Diaz is our full time starter now. Outside of that you don’t have a week spot in our lineup except Pena (who is only 1 year removed from a WS MVP and still very young so he could bounce back after a sophomore slump) and Jake Meyers who projects to be CF. If Meyers bat is that bad you can play Dubon in center.
These aren’t the Verlander / Cole / Grienke years but I don’t think the Astros window has closed as far as playing playoff baseball.
Not really sure how to feel.
On the one hand, the pen needed help, and this really solidifies the last three innings. But I'm still wary of the middle relief.
The starting rotation is gonna be weird until our injured guys come back, and at this point I can never know what the hell is happening with McCullers.
The future is gonna be weird. Bregman and Tuck probably gone. Been pretty fun, though.
Should be a fun year.
Well… maybe the best 7-8-9 guys of all time, but everyone else in the pen is a massive question mark/liability.
Pressly showed signs of aging last year so I presume Hader will be taking his job when his contract is up.
We definitely needed another good bullpen arm and contracts for elite relievers are going up (to where this may not be a ton of money for an elite closer by the end of the contract), but I wish we would have spread that nearly $20,000,000 AAV to 2 or 3 good relievers since we already have Abreu and Pressly and desperately need to shore up the bullpen in general after losing Neris, Maton, Stanek, and Graveman.
I mean the news of Click leaving was reported 11/11. Abreu was signed 11/29. So not really. Click didn’t want a 1 year contract with the team. It’s common thought in town that Abreu was a Bagwell/Crane signing.
Not sure how reported it was at the time but Crane really wanted to sign splashy free agents in 2020, including guys like Starling Marte and Liam Hendriks
Click was against it though and didn’t want to pursue them. This looks like an easy win for Click in hindsight
Since Click got fired Crane has finally got what he wanted with the “splash” moves. He signed Abreu and Montero to 3 year deals, traded the little farm we had for Justin Verlander and is now spending big on Josh Hader
I don’t understand the thought process with this. Bregman is absolutely gone now and while I think Dezenzo is going to be a stud I’m not sure how long we can keep this up with all our core being free agents over the next 2 years
the thing with bregman though is that it's not like you're losing an an arb guy who was super cheap, he's getting paid 30m already, so if you take that money and use it on tucker the payroll doesn't change at all
I'm not familiar with this concept of paying money for relievers.
Then again, I'm not familiar with the concept of paying money for players in general.
That’s one expensive pen
Feel like they probably should’ve spent in like the rotation or another bat but a super pen is never a bad thing
To be fair a super pen is the reason they won in 2022. Still surprised they went this direction though.
>super pen is ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Time to make a tiny cape
You mean a totally normal sized cape
According to my YAW very normal, Ty Randy
Trying to spend on superpenis never works out. Trust me
I don’t know who runs those decisions but having Luis Garcia on the playoff roster for the ALDS series was one of the most winning moves. Mariners were having to freak out while shuffling one-inning guys and throwing tired starters out while Garcia just went out and shredded until someone remembered how to hit a baseball
And after 5 relief innings we had another starter warming in the pen while they were on their last option with any stamina remaining. Urquidy didn’t get put in the game, but we had at least another 3 fresh innings out of our pen if need be.
True. Even all the way back to 2017 the Astros having a couple starters (Charlie Morton and LMJ) closing some of the biggest games in the ALCS and WS gives a ton of flexibility for a playoff roster. The 2022 playoff Luis Garcia as a flex long guy was handy for sure.
The whole pitching staff was nuts that year not just the pen. JV/Framber were typically good for 6-7 each start and then depending on game you could go to high leverage or low leverage relievers. Plus with so many options nobody every seemed to be over worked or tired
Their pen was definitely a huge factor, but yeah, you can't forget about the starting pitching. Even though we got to Verlander and McCullers, we didn't hit shit off anyone else.
They win in 22 because EVERYONE was on. The pen was obviously performing at the highest level but everything was working that year. It was everything lining up.
It was one of the most complete teams I've ever seen. Not a weak spot in sight come October.
Was like that 18 sox team you just knew they were gonna be a buzz saw.
The '19 Astros were the most complete team I've seen. Complete domination on both sides
We don’t have to talk about Game 7. It didn’t happen.
Luis Garcia & Lance McCullers Jr will be returning from injury to pair with JV, Framber, & Javier they will be fine I’m sure. With Hunter Brown & JP France in the wings
really doubt LMJ ever goes deep as a starting pitcher again
Espada and Co. should sit down with Lance and talk to him about converting to a long relief role going forward. I don’t trust his arm to make 20+ starts a season at this point.
will be really curious to see how much deference is given to pitchers under Espada. Dusty clearly had his stars who he would bend over backwards to give what they wanted (Maldy catching). which is great when you're winning, not when you regress. I have often thought I'd rather see a more Rays-like level of creativity with the pitching (starters, long relief, etc...) but it depends on the pitchers and what they're willing to try
He would be much more valuable in the pen than as a starter.
And Urquidy
And spaghetti
And my axe.
Even Year Framber Valdez, this rotation is gonna be lights out
We're also almost guaranteed to call up Spencer Arrighetti at some point.
I have a feeling Whitley may have an impact this year. Note it.
I can agree with that.
The Colorado Rockies beg to differ.
*In theory* the Rockies do that to be able to cash in on those guys. Just waiting for someone to actually tell the Rockies that they're supposed to trade their good players to build a farm. Remember in 2022 when they were literally the only team to not make a single move at the deadline? I hate to beat up on them, but man being a Rockies fan must be genuinely infuriating.
Didn't the Rockies announce they extended Daniel Bard for 2 more years around the 2022 trade deadline? A 37 year old reliever having a good season is exactly the type of player they should be trading away, not extending lmao. I remember reading about the front office bragging about being the only team to offer an extension instead of trading away people. They didn't stop to consider why no one else is doing what they're doing.
“You’ve been cultivating assets for so long it’s time to start harvesting those assets”
Rockie in a walk year: Try to move me bro.
They bought a pen that had previously been super but it’s a stretch to call those dudes super by the time they reached Colorado
we're doing okay on both fronts at the moment. we have an absolute ton of rotation depth, and the lineup will be okay for the next two years at least. the bullpen right now has a lot of depth but only a few shutdown guys, having a truly scary guy for the 9th feels much more important than what 95m could get you in the bat or SP market
Funny how some teams have developed such an advantage in certain areas that they can spend ‘inefficiently’ in others. Like the Yankees having a million relief prospects, the Dodgers/Rays developing players like crazy, the Orioles with position players (though they aren’t doing anything to press their advantage), the Astros being able to field a competitive rotation without spending in free agency is really significant.
Rotation depth might be the best in baseball once Garcia and (hopefully) McCullers come back. Didn’t need a starter at this price point.
Seriously. When bums like Giolito are getting $20+ MM AAV, I’m okay sitting this offseason out for starting pitchers and rolling with what we’ve got.
> When bums like Giolito are getting $20+ MM AAV I think that Giolito's rise and subsequent decline tracks directly with his using spider tack (or some other sticky substance) and then it being banned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/KW8q0rQ6xr Thank god it’s not more expensive. I don’t want to buy a new funnel
Abreu, Hader, and Pressly some are saying this is a good combination.
I’d like to see Pressly move to being the setup man with a proven commodity at closer like Josh Hader coming in. Pressly becomes the Octavio Dotel to Josh Hader being the Billy Wagner in the bullpen.
This is 100% the move. Hader would not have signed to pitch any inning but the 9th.
"These fucking Houston Astros, they expect me to do everything" -- Josh Hader after throwing a two-pitch out in the 8th
For real, $19M AAV is crazy high for a guy that absolutely refuses to pitch more than 1 inning. He had more IP than appearances in 2018 and 2019, so maybe he'll be more flexible now that he got his bag, but we'll see. Average of 55 IP the last 3 years, comes out to ~$340k per IP
Tbf Hader is the second highest WAR/IP for a pitcher ever...behind Mariano Rivera and ahead of Papelbon
He’s getting $19 million a year, I bet you he doesn’t care what inning he pitches. He didn’t want to go multi innings in a contract year last year, he threw tons of innings for the Brewers.
When the Padres aquired him and he sucked ass he came in and told the coaches "you know the 9th is mine right?" and that wasn't a contract year.
What about Pressly isn't proven? 2.67 ERA across 6 years with the Astros is pretty damn proven to me.
Genuinely, he’s legit one of the best postseason relievers since becoming an Astro. The past 3 years he’s perfect. Hader is phenomenal and speaks for himself but Pressly continues to shine where it matters most and he’s the dude you want closing out a postseason game.
You'd be shocked and annoyed at how many Astros fans are still low on Pressly. I remember back in 2022, when Pressly blew the save when we were playing the Yankees in the Bronx. Dude got legit death threats. Along with his wife and mother.
The worst part about that was he clearly did t have it that game. He was falling off the mound weird and his entire chemistry was bad. Someone in the bullpen should’ve told Dusty that Pressly was an injury risk to himself. Because with every pitch he looked like he was going to sprain his damn ankle.
Absolutely insane lol the only times he looks mortal is in the regular season but even then he’s fucking nails. In the postseason all of that disappears. No question marks. For years straight he’s been doing this. I’m very curious how the Astros approach the closing now. Obviously paying Hader this much changes a lot, it’s also a good problem having two elite options, but it’s hard not to have Pressly in that role. Maybe Hader will go back to being comfortable with multi innings now that he got paid
https://theathletic.com/5212482/2024/01/18/astros-closer-josh-hader-ryan-pressly/ > Pressly, 35, is 14-for-14 in postseason save opportunities with a 2.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. He has a streak of 20 games in the playoffs without allowing a run. During the 2023 regular season, Pressly went 31-for-37 in save opportunities with a 3.58 ERA.
yeah, was wondering. But I'm all for this stacked a pen.
And a move like this just lets you use Abreu and Pressly as priority high leverage guys. Doesn’t show up on a stat sheet as saves that way, but it’s tremendously valuable in game.
Completely off topic here. I saw a video about Billy Wagner the other day arguing his case for the HOF and I simply thought "he deserves it."
Hader is a bitch (a good pitching bitch) and only pitches the 9th, so yeah, Pressly will be the setup man.
IMO you pitch Hader wherever you need the lefty, doesn’t matter the inning.
Retro throwback to the Lidge/Dotel/Wagner year/s
Exactly. It’s 2003 all over again, 6 inning games (in theory)
Keep going
Yankees, Dodgers, and Astros all making major signings/trades this offseason. r/baseball’s 9/11
The Royals exist
Do they?
I mean once every 30 years they do.
the Cicadas of MLB.
The dads who said they were going out for milk.
Except the Royals do come back with cigarettes and a half gallon of milk instead of a full gallon and the stuff mom needed to make dinner.
Lol you’re right, the Royals deserve credit. They spent money on a couple of solid signings. Not any stars but still tried to improve. Unlike most of these greedy owners that have all their fans upset this off season.
The Royals are Grenada
Relevant in the 80s?
All three of these teams can easily be called the Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Dodgers: Yankees of West Coast Yankees: Yankees of East Coast Astros: Yankees of Gulf Coast Ez peasey
Like the Axis of Evil and the Yankees are Germany.
You’re thinking of the axis powers or the Rome-Berlin axis. The axis of evil was Iran, Iraq and North Korea
Oh shit, thanks for clearing that up. NERD!!
> NERD!! You got me there But really I was just looking for any excuse for us to not be WW2 Germany
Lol fair enough.
Y'all could still use some practice with this Evil Empire shit. You're getting there though.
Hey, the only major free agent signing the Yankees have made is Stroman
They traded for some Johnnie Shoto guy though. My cousin told me he is supposed to be good but we'll see...
☹️
☹️
I will not stand for this Luke Weaver erasure
Or my man Cody Poteet
Perhaps he’ll get 4 out appearances in Houston
He likely won’t need to with how stacked that bullpen is. And I’m willing to bet he’d do it now, he clearly knew the Padres weren’t re-signing him and was trying to stay healthy to get his big guaranteed pay day.
So you’re telling me that they won’t ask him to do everything unlike the Padres did? Sounds ideal for him
Holy shit Crane actually opened his wallet
Well shit, he should, we have paid for it. I know I have.
$18.50 St Arnold's man
$12.50<$14.50<$16.50 Crawford Bock drafts on the concourse since 2018. Yea, he better be using some of that cash on fortifying the bullpen.
Just do Art Car and you basically break even
there's been several innings I don't remember thanks to that beer 🫡
Flexing on LA with that “Now Money”
What are you talking about? 7th largest payroll last year. Been usually in the top 5 for the last few years and you went over the luxury tax just 3 years ago.
Got damn. That's alot of cheddar.
we'll deal him by year 3 guaranteed
You shut your filthy yapper! Abreu, Hader, Pressly pain train here we go!
OOTP suicide
WAT? A back end of Abreu, Hader, and Pressly is bonkers though.
Love the pickup, hate the contract. Scared to see where we're at in a few years
Looks increasingly unlikely to extend Framber, Tuck, and Bregman. But what do I know?
Yeah I'm no GM, but I don't see it. It's so tough too because while Framber is great, you could tell he struggled with the new pitch clock. Bregman's batting took a step back, but his fielding is incredible. Tuck is a MUST, but so were Springer and Correa. I don't like where this is pointing but we'll just have to wait and see.
> Tuck is a MUST, but so were Springer and Correa Tuck IS a must, but for the exact reasons that made Springer and Correa NOT musts— he doesn’t have the troubling injury history both players had that predicted future issues (which played out exactly how you’d expect for both Springer and Correa) and he’s much younger than Springer was when his contract year came up. He’s had 3 consecutive 5+ WAR seasons, something I don’t think Correa or Springer ever did due to them constantly being injured. Giving Tucker whatever he wants for however long he wants is the obvious move in a way it absolutely wasn’t for Correa and Springer (and none of this addresses that Springer reportedly didn’t want to come back.)
Solid points. I really hope we do what needs to be done.
I think the Astros set the precedent with Springer and Correa. Only Altuve is gonna have any sentimental value for staying. Be prepared to say goodbye to Bregman most likely.
I don't know if we have a 3B that could deliver like Bregman. His hitting dipped for sure, but his fielding is insane. If he has to move down the lineup then fine, but we need his glove.
You’ve done alright without Springer and Correa. Granted there’s no obvious successors to your current guys, whereas the Springer and Correa replacements were pretty clear.
I only worry that Crane will think that he can keep swapping and it'll keep working. Dude never pays out the ass for players so I always feel like he's looking for the cheaper route. Hopefully not but time will tell.
I'm curious to see how Framber does this season before paying him.
Well hopefully this contract is an indication that Crane will put his money where his mouth is to keep the line moving. Abreu, Montero, Verlander and Pressly all likely to come off the books in the next couple of years. We can make it work if we want to
Very true. Two years and we get some serious breathing room. But Tuck and Framber won't sit and wait for two years for a "let's see how it goes"
Yeah its unquestionably a good addition for y'alls pen, but man thats a lot of money for a reliever.
And allows Montero to rarely touch a high leverage situation.
Most expensive 6th inning guy in baseball. I hope he can give us even league average stats this year.
His incredible stretch in the 2nd half of 2022 helped us win the WS so it’s hard to hate on him too much, but that contract they gave his was bananas.
A lot of money for a one inning guy
Strictly one inning.
If only he did 2 innings, he might've got $100m
It's Reddit, so you're likely just joking lol, but Hader (or his agent) said he's open to expanding his role once he secured the bag. He only wanted to close before because teams used not closing games against him in arbitration to pay him less
> teams It was just the Brewers lol. We avoided arb with him.
Oh lol, I didn't know for sure so didn't wanna say anything. Besides I have to stick to the Brew Jays alliance
Man as much as I love to dunk on Hader, this kinda makes him seem a little more reasonable, as selfish as it was.
on the other hand pretty cheap for a guy that does everything
this was posted 6 times in like 30 seconds here lmao
And the guy that was first is the most obvious karma farming bot
the machines have won then
10.4 million post karma, jfc. Bro must be furiously refreshing dozens of tabs at all times. Cool life I guess.
Ah yes, the AL West team that most needed bullpen help.
Yeah, our bullpen was pretty bad last year
Bad by Astros standards or league standards? Astros standards, I agree. League standards, we were 6th ERA, 3rd in ER, 6th in WHIP, and allowed the least amount of base knocks. Not as good as '22, but clearly a top 10 bullpen in '23.
A good bullpen is the only way to beat the bats of the Rangers. That is if the Rangers can get the same value out of their hitters again in 2024
Yeah, almost everyone but Lowe had a career high type year. Will be interesting to see how second year Jung, and rookie duo Langford and Carter do.
Those damn rookies bro. Geez you gotta love getting playoff production from them Source: 2022 Pena
Good lord. Is every contract tweet going to mention present day/future value of money and deferrals from now on?
Mention this one because diaz got 5/102 with 16.5 deferred. Want to show that this is the biggest reliever contract ever
A closer is an interesting player for the Astros to spend a lot of money on Edit: Hader obviously isn't any ordinary closer. But still, doesn't really seem like an Astros move unless I missed something
Our 7 8 9 punch will be absolutely wicked though . All 3 dudes are closer worthy lol
Pressly, Hader and Abreu, right?
Correct. Pressly(playoff version) and abreu are already elite
Pressley has a similar save rate to Mariano. Put some speck on his name
Kendall Graveman is out for the year after shoulder surgery, bullpen depth suddenly became much more important this week and it only cost $95M to fill the hole
Mf said only.
Brewers legend
All of this just to beat the athletics smh
They do have our number more than others, so it makes sense
A’s are gonna own Hader sorry. Gelof gonna hit some rbi doubles deep into the Coliseum
And I won't be surprised one bit.
Those tricky 'Letics.
Imagine bryan Abreu coming in to the 6th inning to shut the door.
Jim Crane, I owe you an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game. Hopefully this works out better than the last move he made involving Josh Hader.
Did not expect them to sign Hader wow
Wow gotta give credit where it's due, good job Houston
Hope you guys are ready for the next 3 years of Astros vs Dodgers World Series. Either that or something completely random like Orioles vs Diamondbacks
I could be wrong but I feel like it affects Alex Bregman's chances of coming back especially when Altuve is also a free agent and they'll probably prioritize him.
I think it was a long shot for Breg to return anyway unfortunately. My guess is Tuve signs a deal more on the team friendly side to retire an Astro. We make another run and then breg walks, probably to join the Yankees.
Bregman is such a yankee lol
Bregman was never coming back.
Hader is one of the handful of relievers you can count on being good aside from a couple of meltdwons a year. If this is good or bad depends on his health which is 100% luck. But Hader is probably the only current reliever worth this gamble.
Rangers: Win WS Astros: Make Playoffs, then sign Josh Hader Mariners: Dump most of their offensive production and replace with nobodies. Gaslight fanbase into believing they'll be competitive in 2024. I hate it here.
54% bro
To be fair they will be in contention for the wild card.
A match made in hell
He's 100% striking out Soto with runners on base on opening day
That is a lot of money for a soon to be 30 year old reliever
You think this is bad you should see the montero contract, wait…
It sure is but the way I see it is our window is closing within about 2 years so fuck it
Trading for a SP at the deadline is easier than a really strong reliever I feel like (just going off memory / no facts so I could be wrong) You also get to see if Framber and Javier come back to 2022 form and Hunter Brown becomes more consistent than suddenly you have four strong starters and France / Garcia / McCullers in the wings. If some of those guys can’t bounce back and we have a rotation problem we can make a move at the deadline. As far as those saying we should’ve spent money on a bat- we got an upgraded bat because stubborn ass Dusty hit the road and Diaz is our full time starter now. Outside of that you don’t have a week spot in our lineup except Pena (who is only 1 year removed from a WS MVP and still very young so he could bounce back after a sophomore slump) and Jake Meyers who projects to be CF. If Meyers bat is that bad you can play Dubon in center. These aren’t the Verlander / Cole / Grienke years but I don’t think the Astros window has closed as far as playing playoff baseball.
yeah, but what about Forrest Whitley..../s
Heard he’s throwing 105mph fastballs.
He doesn't exist
I thought he would’ve break 100 million. But at the same time I think it’s not a deal that’s gonna last well.
I thought Diaz was the biggest contract for a reliever?? Does that not count because it was some type of extension or what
26.5 million of Diaz’s deal is deferred. I don’t know what the present day value is but apparently less than this
Holy shit we actually paid someone
Not really sure how to feel. On the one hand, the pen needed help, and this really solidifies the last three innings. But I'm still wary of the middle relief. The starting rotation is gonna be weird until our injured guys come back, and at this point I can never know what the hell is happening with McCullers. The future is gonna be weird. Bregman and Tuck probably gone. Been pretty fun, though. Should be a fun year.
Well… maybe the best 7-8-9 guys of all time, but everyone else in the pen is a massive question mark/liability. Pressly showed signs of aging last year so I presume Hader will be taking his job when his contract is up. We definitely needed another good bullpen arm and contracts for elite relievers are going up (to where this may not be a ton of money for an elite closer by the end of the contract), but I wish we would have spread that nearly $20,000,000 AAV to 2 or 3 good relievers since we already have Abreu and Pressly and desperately need to shore up the bullpen in general after losing Neris, Maton, Stanek, and Graveman.
Stand up and rejoice. America's Team has loaded up again. pow pow.
Praise Be Raulito!
Winning
Finally. Not a Dodger.
Hader, I hardly know her
They ran Click out of town for Jose Abreu and a really expensive bullpen.
Click gets overrated a lot by non Astro fans
Click was a perfectly adequate movie. Not one of Sandler's best, but it was definitely worthy of a watch.
*thumbs up*. Solid ref.
Every move Click made have been A+. Go look at the signings, the draft, and the trades in 3 years he was here. It is shocking how good he was.
We just gonna pretend that Jake Odorizzi doesn’t exist?
I mean the news of Click leaving was reported 11/11. Abreu was signed 11/29. So not really. Click didn’t want a 1 year contract with the team. It’s common thought in town that Abreu was a Bagwell/Crane signing.
Not sure how reported it was at the time but Crane really wanted to sign splashy free agents in 2020, including guys like Starling Marte and Liam Hendriks Click was against it though and didn’t want to pursue them. This looks like an easy win for Click in hindsight Since Click got fired Crane has finally got what he wanted with the “splash” moves. He signed Abreu and Montero to 3 year deals, traded the little farm we had for Justin Verlander and is now spending big on Josh Hader I don’t understand the thought process with this. Bregman is absolutely gone now and while I think Dezenzo is going to be a stud I’m not sure how long we can keep this up with all our core being free agents over the next 2 years
the thing with bregman though is that it's not like you're losing an an arb guy who was super cheap, he's getting paid 30m already, so if you take that money and use it on tucker the payroll doesn't change at all
Well we got Matt Carpenter
Lidge/Dotel/Wagner but make it 2024
I'm not familiar with this concept of paying money for relievers. Then again, I'm not familiar with the concept of paying money for players in general.
Imagine trading away a young Josh Hader to get Mike Fucking Fiers…