the front office went the "hope" route with Jose Abreu

might do it again for Bregman, but it will cost a whole lot more

Based on how Crane has behaved over the last handful of years, I think Crane will only be willing to go into the tax for Bregman. This hypothetical better OF free agent option doesn't exist and likely won't be signed if he did due to tax reasons. The ONLY way we can truly improve the OF is a major trade for someone in early arbitration.

texasaggie2015 said:

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They've been shopping him for the entire offseason and had planned to move him if they found a partner

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fair enough. With that being said why haven't they been more aggressive with addressing the depleted bullpen? The plan just to go with cheap retreads and young guys? As it currently stands if Abreu or Hader gets injured it will be a complete **** show

W said:

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the front office went the "hope" route with Jose Abreu

might do it again for Bregman, but it will cost a whole lot more

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I disagree. Abreu had a great season leading into his free agency. His highest WAR since 2017, 4th highest wRC+ of his career, best walk-to-strike-out ratio, and lots of positive batted ball data to show he still "has it".

AustinCountyAg said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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They've been shopping him for the entire offseason and had planned to move him if they found a partner

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fair enough. With that being said why haven't they been more aggressive with addressing the depleted bullpen? The plan just to go with cheap retreads and young guys? As it currently stands if Abreu or Hader gets injured it will be a complete **** show

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Because if we don't move Pressly we don't have the money to and roster spots are tight.

I think it's clear the BP market is still pretty slow with lots of decent arms out there.

Actions >>>> random tweet.

Farmer1906 said:

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I am shook

̶W̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶ Baseball is coming🥶 pic.twitter.com/l7oZb0MXJt

— MLB (@MLB) January 26, 2025

Altuve front and center on an MLB media post?

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Oxy logo is front and center. Altuve is just off center from that.

Big Al 1992 said:

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I may have missed something but isn't Bregs coming off his least productive year offensively - less walks, less hits, more GIDPs? If he is back with us, the hope is that was a fluke and not a trend? Will his head be in it after not getting what he asked for from other teams. I'd rather have OF help but there's not much left out there.

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Similar WAR to 2017, similar OPS+ to 2020 (and better than '21). Similar average and HR numbers, and he actually had more GIDP in '23. The biggest (glaring?) difference was walks, which affected his On Base Percentage.

The hope there, is that (where he to return) the supposed re-emphasis on patience by the coaching staff would have his walks back up.

Paredes at 3rd and Bregs to RF. Move those stumpy legs.

What bat could the Astros add better than Bregman's? You could argue the worth of the player, but just from a roster standpoint it would make the team better.

And I'm no fan of older Alex.

Marvin said:

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What bat could the Astros add better than Bregman's? You could argue the worth of the player, but just from a roster standpoint it would make the team better.

And I'm no fan of older Alex.

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There's a right fielder for the cubs who would have done well in this lineup. Imagine a lineup with that Tucker guy and then we added Christian Walker

Crane's selective willingness to spend extra is an X-factor in roster management. Sometimes it is not a matter of roster balance, spend allocation, etc.

In cases like this, it is a choice of which roster is better?
A) Status quo
B) Status quo + Bregman

There is not a C where you take spend for Bregman and allocate it in a different way.

There should be no question that B is better. We can argue about how Bregman will age, perform, and match up with his valuation, but the choice is A or B. B should be the clear choice.

But then you have to take Nolan Arenado as well.

Beat40 said:

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You guys are surprised some of the most competitive men on the planet have egos? It's not just ego and title, it's money. I understand wanting the guys you root for to take it for the team, but for relievers, the closer role is quite literally multiples better for salary.

When Hader got here, he essentially said he needed to be the 9th inning guy. Used the whole routine argument too.

Hader got what he wanted because Jim paid way too much for him.

Six letters could make you 10M-15M more per year. You willing to leave that on the table?

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Hader refused multiple innings in Milwaukee because they never committed to a long term deal with him. His logic was he needed to save wear and tear from multiple innings so he could get a long term deal. When the Astros stepped up to that deal he said "use me as much as you would like". I assume that implied 9th inning, but also allowed for multi inning outings.

tjack16 said:

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Marvin said:

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What bat could the Astros add better than Bregman's? You could argue the worth of the player, but just from a roster standpoint it would make the team better.

And I'm no fan of older Alex.

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There's a right fielder for the cubs who would have done well in this lineup. Imagine a lineup with that Tucker guy and then we added Christian Walker

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And bringing Bregman back would make the lineup very right handed heavy. Still think they need to sign Verdugo for OF.

The Braves and Cubs are among the teams with interest in Ryne Stanek, per sources.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 26, 2025

BMX Bandit said:

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Kashchei said:

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At this point I don't really want Bregman back. We gave him a more than fair offer but he decided to chase the bag instead. I'm really excited for Paredes and the (soft?) rebuild.

Thanks for the memories and the salsa Breggy, but I think it's better if we both went our separate ways.

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You don't want the team to be better because you got your feelings hurt he wanted as much money as he could get?

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This *should* be a false dichotomy. Would I rather have Bregman than nothing? Yes but the real question is if you are willing to go over the tax for Bregman's why not someone else who was a better fit for what you need like Santander or Profar? Those players give you the lefty you need and don't force a complete shuffle of your defense to put guys in positions they have never played.

MaxPower said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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Kashchei said:

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At this point I don't really want Bregman back. We gave him a more than fair offer but he decided to chase the bag instead. I'm really excited for Paredes and the (soft?) rebuild.

Thanks for the memories and the salsa Breggy, but I think it's better if we both went our separate ways.

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You don't want the team to be better because you got your feelings hurt he wanted as much money as he could get?

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This *should* be a false dichotomy. Would I rather have Bregman than nothing? Yes but the real question is if you are willing to go over the tax for Bregman's why not someone else who was a better fit for what you need like Santander or Profar? Those players give you the lefty you need and don't force a complete shuffle of your defense to put guys in positions they have never played.

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Because Jim MFin Crane.

Also they're signed now.

Is there any better FA on the market now for the Astros? Maybe not as good as Bregman, but potentially increases WAR in more of a position of need?

Position player? Nah

This spring: a new FX Limited Series directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga https://t.co/8G5FQxULqt

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) January 26, 2025

AggiEE said:

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Is there any better FA on the market now for the Astros? Maybe not as good as Bregman, but potentially increases WAR in more of a position of need?

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Justin Turner, Harrison Bader and Yoan Moncada are pretty much it. And I don't think any of them would be worth it

Alonso is the best available but we don't need another first basemen

The pitching market has some flexibility though to add an arm if you anticipate not depending on some starters coming back from injury