Thank God. Corp adds nothing to this team.

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We knew this was coming, but looks like we're trying to move a catcher, preferably Corporan

Jason Castro's name has drawn some attention as a trade target since the Astros acquired Hank Conger, but while Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle feels the 'Stros would listen on Castros, he's told that Carlos Corporan is the catcher they'd prefer to move (Twitter link).

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Sounds about right. I would say we would be willing to part with Corp, without much in return. I think we will hold on to Castro, unless someone gives us an offer we can't refuse.

I know everyone else seems to be against it. But I would be all for trying to get Hanley.

But Castro is the one we can actually get something for. Corp is worthless.

We might be able to get a bullpen arm for Corp. that's probably about the best we can hope for.

I'll take a washing machine for Corp if anyone is willing to make the trade

I kind of wish the Astros would make a push for Yasmany Tomas from Cuba:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/yasmani-tomas-deal-appears-imminent.html

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I kind of wish the Astros would make a push for Yasmany Tomas from Cuba:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/yasmani-tomas-deal-appears-imminent.html

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I don't see us throwing 100 million at a guy

Kershaw named NL MVP today. Makes me sad that he was committed to A&M at one point

Mlbtraderumors:

NOV. 13: Yang will be posted next Monday, the 17th, reports Feinsand in an updated piece. Feinsand notes that the Yankees might show interest in the lefty, and he lists the Cubs, Astros, Giants and Red Sox as other clubs with potential interest.

NOV. 4: Another high profile Korean pitcher and his KBO team have decided to take a run through the posting system. As Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports, lefty Hyeon-jong Yang will be posted by the Kia Tigers in the next few weeks.

Yang joins countryman (and fellow 26-year-old southpaw) Kwang-Hyun Kim in preparing for the posting process. Kim outperformed Yang last year, registering a 3.42 ERA to the 4.25 mark notched by Yang in a notoriously hitter-friendly environment.

Feinsand's sources tell him that Yang has a low-to-mid 90's fastball and useful slider (as well as a curve and change) that could hold appeal. According to the Yonhap News Agency, which recently reported that Yang was interested in coming to North America, Yang's 2014 season was fairly characteristic of his results. Over his career, per Yonhap, he has struck out 740 over 860 1/3 frames.

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Mlbtraderumors:

NOV. 13: Yang will be posted next Monday, the 17th, reports Feinsand in an updated piece. Feinsand notes that the Yankees might show interest in the lefty, and he lists the Cubs, Astros, Giants and Red Sox as other clubs with potential interest.

NOV. 4: Another high profile Korean pitcher and his KBO team have decided to take a run through the posting system. As Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports, lefty Hyeon-jong Yang will be posted by the Kia Tigers in the next few weeks.

Yang joins countryman (and fellow 26-year-old southpaw) Kwang-Hyun Kim in preparing for the posting process. Kim outperformed Yang last year, registering a 3.42 ERA to the 4.25 mark notched by Yang in a notoriously hitter-friendly environment.

Feinsand's sources tell him that Yang has a low-to-mid 90's fastball and useful slider (as well as a curve and change) that could hold appeal. According to the Yonhap News Agency, which recently reported that Yang was interested in coming to North America, Yang's 2014 season was fairly characteristic of his results. Over his career, per Yonhap, he has struck out 740 over 860 1/3 frames.

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All the other teams listed have lots of money to spend

The Padres won the posting bid for Kim with a $2 million bid. I don't think this is a scenario where whoever has the deeper pockets will win.

Some more info from Luhnow:

There is nothing imminent for the Astros, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, but GM Jeff Luhnow says he got a "pretty good feel" for price tags and availability for possible targets.

Here's more out of Houston:

Luhnow left Drellich with the impression that the organization is ready to be a player on the open market. The GM says that, with two top-five protected picks, draft pick compensation is less of a deterrent. And the club would consider burning all of its open 2015 payroll space on one, premium player in the right circumstances.

Houston is at least 50-50 on dealing away a catcher after acquiring Hank Conger, Luhnow tells Drellich. "Because we have three major league catchers, I've had clubs inquire about all our catchers quite frankly," said Luhnow. "So we need to figure out some resolution prior to Opening Day. There's no urgency."
An executive with another club said that the asking price is high on Jason Castro. Somewhat interestingly, the GM noted that a Castro-Conger duo presents some platoon issues. "A right-handed hitter complements Jason," said Luhnow. "Conger's better from the left side."

The Astros are not prioritizing outfield help at the moment, Drellich tweets. Players like Nori Aoki and Ichiro Suzuki do not hold appeal to Houston, according to Luhnow.

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An executive with another club said that the asking price is high on Jason Castro

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My first thought on this is it looks like the stros are trying to get rid of Corp

What about Stassi? Does he spend another year in AAA or do we try to shop him? Catcher is such a logjam. If we can get someone to overreach for Castro and swap Corp for a bucket of balls I'd be content with a Conger/Stassi platoon.

Castro and Stassi are both coming off down years so it's probably not the best time to trade either of them.

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Catcher is such a logjam.

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Yet with not one proven quality player. Castro and Conger are very meh, Corp is better suited as a carny at the radar gun both than as a MLB catcher, and the jury is still out on Stassi.

I swear the production this franchise has gotten out of this position for the past 20 years is astonishing. Ausmus is the best catcher in franchise history and he was more of a pitching coach than anything. It took all he had to bat above the Mendoza line. It's almost as if they just say 'Oh well he's called a catcher so he just needs to catch. Can you catch a baseball? Alright the job's yours.'

As a reminder about the Astros futility at catcher; remember that we traded Kenny Lofton for Eddie Taubensee:

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That 1991 Eddie Taubensee trade keeps paying off for the Indians. Taubensee --> Lofton --> Justice --> Westbrook --> Corey Kluber. Not bad.

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Prior to 2013 when Castro made it (and I'm calling that season an outlier) the last Astro catcher to make the All Star team was Bigg in 1991.

That's right folks...The future HOF 2nd basemen was the last Astro catcher to make the All Star team.

Russell Martin just got 82 million over 5 years. This is is why we are settling for Castro/Conger.

Alex Presley avoided arbitration and agreed to a contract worth 1 million dollars.

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Alex Presley avoided arbitration and agreed to a contract worth 1 million dollars.

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Championship caliber offseason move now in the books

The Astros have checked in with Brett Anderson's representatives, tweets Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The oft-injured, but generally excellent lefty makes his home in Houston and could represent an interesting upside play for the rising Astros.

The Astros are readying for another, "fresh look" at the possibility of working out extensions, GM Jeff Luhnow tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Last year, of course, the club pursued several long-term deals with younger players, ultimately locking up Jon Singleton. Renewed exploration of a deal with catcher Jason Castro remains possible, said Luhnow, though Drellich reports that no talks are taking place at present. The catcher has consistently said he would be interested in a new deal to stay in Houston for the long run, though his name has come up as a possible trade candidate.

Discussions went pretty far down the line last year, with Drellich reporting that the club made Castro an offer after his stellar 2013 season. Per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation, that offer would have promised the now-27-year-old around $10MM for 2015-16 while conveying two option years (covering Castro's first two seasons of free agent eligibility) to the team. Had they been exercised, the deal's total value could have reached about $25MM. It is not hard to see why he declined that proposal, as Castro is projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $3.9MM this year even after a rough 2014 campaign.

Had a dream last night that the stros were losing 26-0 after 4 innings. Glad it's not baseball season, otherwise I might have woken up and thought it actually happened

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Had a dream last night that the stros were losing 26-0 after 4 innings. Glad it's not baseball season, otherwise I might have woken up and thought it actually happened

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Possible if Peacock was pitching

Was Abad the pitcher in your dream? If so, it wasn't a dream, it was a flashback.

Hopefully we can get one of these premier closers like we are trying to.

11pm CT is the deadline to add players to the 40 man roster to protect them from the rule 5 draft

The Astros and Tigers have had "preliminary trade contact" regarding backstops, according to a report from Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The report indicates that the discussion involves the possibility of a catcher moving from Houston to Detroit.

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The Astros and Tigers have had "preliminary trade contact" regarding backstops, according to a report from Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The report indicates that the discussion involves the possibility of a catcher moving from Houston to Detroit.

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The Astros and Tigers have had "preliminary trade contact" regarding backstops, according to a report from Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The report indicates that the discussion involves the possibility of a catcher moving from Houston to Detroit.

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Castro for Cabrera. Straight up. Don't think about it Detroit, just do it

Update from mobtraderumora said they are staying with Avila

Am I wrong for assuming they would want to get something done today, so we can protect someone else?