W said:

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what about Walker's -1.5 dWAR at first base?

we okay with that for 2026

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Walker was the 5th best show defensive 1B per Fangraphs FRV.

mAgnoliAg said:

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I just know we are gonna do this and then Correa or Walker is gonna get hurt and be out for the year. Also Paredes is only 26 years old. Don't like this.

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I would like to bring back Carrot-tini for that reason. Cam Smith can play 3B for us if Paredes leaves and Correa gets hurt, but I don't think 1B is very well covered if Walker gets injured.

mAgnoliAg said:

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I just know we are gonna do this and then Correa or Walker is gonna get hurt and be out for the year. Also Paredes is only 26 years old. Don't like this.

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Allen at 3B.

You can grab a serviceable 1B fairly easily or Dezenzo.

Count me as someone who thinks we'd have to throw in extra to get Duran

Paredes + something to get Duran, maybe not much, but something


I think Paredes for Abreu may be a closer even match

This is every team’s pitcher with the third most innings pitched on their team last season.

Ryan Gusto (traded at the deadline) had the third most IP on the astros in 2025 (86). https://t.co/Qyed82CVnA pic.twitter.com/zMjaj1mrWl

— jackson (@foreverstros) January 13, 2026

Farmer1906 said:

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Late night thought -- As great a player as Kyle Tucker is, is it not a massive red flag that the Cubs, a team that had ammo and just gave $35M a year to Alex Bregman, never had the slightest bit of interest in bringing their best player, a player they traded a lot to get, back?

— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) January 13, 2026

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I could see this argument if they wanted equal contracts, but Kyle wants much longer than Alex.

So are we starting to think Kyle is going to have to do what Breggy did and take a contract with the intention of opting out?

Tucker will sign a high AAV deal with opt outs to the Dodgers. Book it.

Dodgers do opts outs. They do deferments.

Yes, they have done that in the recent past. I don't think Tucker gets a long deal.

I still think there is a shot to land a big deal between the Mets, Blue Jays, & Dodgers. But my wildcard is a 1-2 year deal from TB. They've been known to offer high AAV for short years to mega stars. Ted loves Tampa.

The New York Yankees are interviewing former Astros, Pirate and Marlins executive Oz Ocampo for their open head of international scouting job, source tells @TheAthletic. Ocampo ran Houston's international department under Jeff Luhnow and was an AGM in Miami under Kim Ng.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 13, 2026

Former Astros pitcher Dave Giusti passed away at 86. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47592009/dave-giusti-saves-leader-champ-pirates-71-dies-86

It seems like a lot of guys in the 60s got their start as an Astros only to move on to another team that was able to develop their talents to a better extent.

Dave was a SP for the Astros from 1964-1968 before moving to Pittsburg and dominating out of the bullpen. He helped the Pirates to the 1971 World Series. He is one of only 15 pitchers with at least 100 wins and 100 saves. He also accounted for 3 of the Astros 93 home runs in 1967; Jimmy Wynn had 37 of those 93.

NEWS: The Kansas City Royals are moving in most of the fences at Kauffman Stadium by 10 feet and lowering their height as well. Free at ESPN: An inside look at how their analytics department sought to find balance and create a neutral park for home runs. https://t.co/VbgOT0Mtt3

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2026

The San Francisco Giants are aggressively pursuing a second baseman and have been engaged with Chicago on Nico Hoerner and St. Louis on Brendan Donovan, sources tell ESPN. An infield of Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Donovan or Hoerner and Rafael Devers would be among MLB's best.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2026

TRADE NEWS: The Arizona Diamondbacks are in serious discussions to acquire third baseman Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals, multiple sources tell The Athletic.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) January 13, 2026

We'll give Arizona Paredes for Ketel Marte...

Arenado to the d backs

Cardinals paying $31M of Arenado’s remaining $42M, as @nickpiecoro said https://t.co/Rm0DiU6dUL

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 13, 2026

SpaceCityAg05 said:

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We'll give Arizona Paredes for Ketel Marte...

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To all accounts, Marte is a clubhouse head case.

Well, the cards paying roughly $30MM of the $40MM owed to Arenado kind of sets the floor for us moving Walker. Thats not good.

Mathguy64 said:

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Well, the cards paying roughly $30MM of the $40MM owed to Arenado kind of sets the floor for us moving Walker. Thats not good.

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Walker is much better than Arenado.

The New York Mets are believed to be offering Kyle Tucker a 3-year deal in the range of $120-140 million, per @WillSammon

A decision from Tucker could come as soon as this week. pic.twitter.com/7PltszOofs

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) January 13, 2026

Mathguy64 said:

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SpaceCityAg05 said:

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We'll give Arizona Paredes for Ketel Marte...

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To all accounts, Marte is a clubhouse head case.

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Just my opinion but having lived here for 3 years and going to a lot of Diamondbacks games I think that's media driven. He's one of the best players I've seen and I've been going to baseball over 60 years. The sports media in Phoenix is a bunch of wackos.

Add Hunter Brown and they might listen.

Fangraphs ZIPS projection - 90 win team

Quote:

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Houston's 2025 shortfall doesn't signal the franchise's eventual doom. The Astros remain a strong team with genuine pluses across the roster, and it wouldn't be remotely shocking to see them win the AL West in 2026, even if ZiPS currently gives the Mariners a moderate edge. What has changed is the shape of the team. This roster no longer resembles the 201724 Astros, with overwhelming star power and a farm system that reliably supplied reinforcements. Instead, Houston now looks more like a well-constructed vintage Cardinals club: good almost everywhere, dangerous on a given night, but no longer a team that inspires dread the moment it shows up on the schedule. It's also a club that is far less capable of filling its own holes internally than it was at its peak.

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Jonathan Loasiga to D-Backs. Minors deal. @jorgecastillo 1st

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2026

Mets are offering Tucker $50M a year in their bid @ByRobertMurray 1st reported

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2026

The Mets home stadium is pretty attractive for Tucker. Not a lot of room to cover on defense, and a short 330 down the line with a pretty low wall.

https://t.co/vttImEilJM

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) January 13, 2026

Tucker really hurt himself with his injuries the past 2 seasons

he wasn't injury prone...until he was