Astros’ offseason: Your turn again

Dan P is headed out of town tomorrow but wanted to give you some new cud to chew on (lovely image). And time is of the utmost, so to do this posthaste…I turn to my loyal readers and ask for your answers to these questions.

  1. Under the heading – dog bites man – here is the non-surprise story of the off-season. Tatsuya Imai Will Not Opt Out Of Astros Deal – MLB Trade Rumors …. Question – what can the Astros do to improve Imai and possibly recover all or some of the $36 million heading out the door in the next two seasons?
  2. In further non-news…. Astros Decline Club Option On Ryan Weiss – MLB Trade Rumors…. Question – what should the Astros learn from this futile foray?
  3. Under latest rumors … Brewers’ Matt Kleine Is Astros’ Top Target In GM Search – MLB Trade Rumors This was obvious from the time a few weeks ago that Kleine was seen with Astros’ owner Jim Crane attending the Houston Sports Hall of Fame banquet. Which leads to a series of questions. Question – The Brewers won the World Series this season – how much credit should go to someone in the organization (Kleine) who has been with them for a couple decades during which they didn’t win the WS?
  4. Question – Is Jim Crane hot on Kleine because of the Brewers’ success, or because the Brewers made it to the WS with a much smaller payroll than the Astros?
  5. Question – The Astros 2026 payroll was approx.. $240 million / Brewers – $146 million / Rays – $95 million. Unless the Astros trade everything not nailed to the floor this off-season (and again who will make these trades with them with the lockout/strike looming) they are getting nowhere near the Brewers’ payroll much less the Rays’ payroll. Is Crane looking for another 2011-2014 teardown and reconstruction?
  6. Question – Are there any players in the organization, including the minors, who are untouchable?
  7. Question – If you wanted to build around three current Astro players for the future, which three would you choose?
  8. Question: Which player do you most want off the roster before 2027?
  9. Question – If you could go back in a time machine, which season in Astros’ history would you go back to?
  10. Question – If the Astros are not going to tear it down, which area of the club should they focus on to improve in 2027?

OK, what do you think, folks?

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7 responses to “Astros’ offseason: Your turn again”

    1. Did you know Arizona paid Corbin Burnes $36,667,000 in 2025 for 60 innings pitched and then another $36,666,667 in 2026 for 10 total innings? Would you be shocked to hear he is not opting out of his contract and the Dbacks get to pay him the same salary in each of the next four years? Yes, that’s injury related. Based on 2026 Imai is overpaid, but there is still a chance for him to earn his money. The short starts were the ones that bother me. If he can fix those his numbers normalize a little and he can provide some value.
    2. Weiss was another gamble I’m not going to cry about. The big question we should be asking Spencer Medick is what he plans to do to get as much value out of guys like this in the future.
    3. I have no idea if Kleine should get credit for the Brewers, but they have a lot of players in their system I wish we had. At the same time, do we give him credit or blame for that Freddy Peralta trade last year? Can’t win them all I guess.
    4. I think it’s more of the former. I’m not saying bopert is wrong, but Crane has shown he will spend money. Does it make sense to throw good money after a bad to field a team that’s going to lose 95 games or would it make sense to go after some prospects that can get the train back on the tracks?
    5. Returning to the theme above, I think there are 2 options for Crane. First, go full-blown villain as in the Dodgers and Mets and just pay a ton of money to fill all the holes…if that’s even possible given the free agents available. Second, lick your wounds and pay the money to guys like Walker, Javier, Altuve, etc., while trying to get a new base of young players in place that will give a sustained run. In the second option he stays under the luxury tax thresholds so as to retain picks and bonus pool money and probably tries to limit the losses due to lower attendance figures. If we write off those large contacts as dead money and only consider that other players on the roster we could certainly see something similar to the 2011-14 years.
    6. I wouldn’t say untouchable, but I’d question why we’re trying to move any of them. Let’s say you trade Neyens for a left fielder. Who are you getting that will make you a WS contender? You really want to give up a 19 year old who walked 119 times in 446 PA last year?
    7. I’m not bullish on too many guys on the roster. I’d hate to see Blubaugh go anywhere. I really like Lambert and Wesneski but wouldn’t commit big resources to either. Brown is going to want the proverbial bag.
    8. As an old guy with a bad shoulder I have a lot in common with Daulton Varsho. The main difference between the two of us is that he got paid a ton of money to hit terribly and I did not.
    9. What’s the context? Am I going back to right a wrong? I’d pick 1986 and tell Lanier how to beat the Mets I guess. Could I go back in time to prevent JR Richard from having his stroke?
    10. MLBTR has a post about the top 50 trade candidates this offseason running. Of course Walker/Paredes/Pena are on there, but there are a lot of names from Anaheim, Texas, and Seattle as well. At this point I think a team that can win 85 games could possibly take the division next year. So I wouldn’t go full teardown, but I’d like to get younger. The problem is we don’t have youth ready to be promoted. I’m putting my emphasis on drafting and development and just plugging holes in the MLB team next year. I think the salary situation prevents a real overhaul.

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    • Have to agree that Imai could earn that money if they can get him straight somehow. But if they do this time why didn’t they do it last year. Or is it all up to him?

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    1. We should not coddle Imai going forward. He needs to listen and learn from the pitching professionals we’ve got in the organization that obviously understand Major League Baseball. He needs another pitch. He needs a lot of work. He needs cojones.
    2. It seems the Astros gave our former GM quite a bit of latitude in going after long shots. But the Astros did not give the former GM much of a checkbook, especially if the boss had anything to do with bringing Imai in.
    3. I don’t really care how much credit Kleine should get for what’s already happened. But he is apparently well respected by everyone in Milwaukee. Why is he not a GM yet? I don’t know, but he’s had 19 years with one organization and has hopefully absorbed the good and bad, and tucked it away for the future.
    4. I think Crane wants to spend less money. But he’s spent as much dumb money as anyone. If Kleine is indeed our guy, I hope Crane is prepared to step back a bit after giving his marching orders. If Kleine signs, one would hope he feels he can provide what Crane wants.
    5. Heck, I’m still firmly of the belief we need a full overhaul, but I’ll be shocked and awed if it happens.
    6. I don’t know if we should have any untouchables. I hope our new GM is smarter than me and can better answer that question.
    7. I don’t have three guys to build around. And that’s another reason why I think a total rebuild is the best way to go.
    8. My answer is not viable. I don’t think Imai has the toughness to get it done here, but obviously he’s going to be here and likely will not accept a demotion to AAA ball either. Who approved that contract? If there is a bright spot, Imai will get booed if he tanks again. For the first time in my memory, Astro fans booed the Astros in 2026. The party is over. Our fans are becoming more vocal. After Imai, I’d move Souza too.
    9. Easy. The last three innings of 2019. But yes Devin, saving JR would have been cool.
    10. I can’t just say pitching. The team needs a rebirth. I wish we played in a division that would not allow a mediocre club to tease.

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  3. Get Imai in the right head space. Clearly, he has major league stuff. It’s just all over the place. Some of that is skill, some of that head space.

    The Astros should learn to stop going after the cheaper options. They decided not to wade into the waters of Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, or their own Framber, and signed Imai because he was more affordable. Just like they chose not to compete for Alonso because Walker was more affordable. Just like, well, you get it. All three of those pitchers were ranged from good to very good this year, the affordable option, did not.

    You would think they would learn to NOT to hire people whose resumes start and end with “well the franchise I worked for won.” Dozens of people work for an organization. There are dummys in them. They are the Astros, they should have offered Matt Arnold the same President of Baseball Operations title and one and half times more money than he makes now, and a promise to full control. Make it hard to say no. I’m sure that Matt said some great things to Jim about Matt. I once had a substandard employee, always did just enough to not get fired and protected by union rules. Always gave them good annual evaluations. Why? In hopes someone else would see the evaluations and hire them.

    Maybe Jim calls that success…..

    There is no way he is looking for a rebuild. In 2011 he could trade whomever everywhere. I think one of those years they had gotten the payroll down to something obscene like 35M. He can’t do that now. Too many pieces that can’t be moved. I’m sure if Hader saw everything evaporating he would agree to it. I’m sure Yordan’s limited NTC doesn’t include the contenders calling. But no one is taking Altuve (nor could you trade him without the torches and pitchforks coming), Correa, can’t be traded, Walker, maybe but you are eating 15-17M, Imai, no way, Javier, again eating most of it, he has to try and compete at least this year to keep attendance and SCHN money flowing. He isn’t like most of the owners that are worth tens of billions, yea he is a billionaire, but not on a grand scale. He probably can’t have his MLB team lose it’s shirt.

    Oh, yea, definitely. Altuve is untouchable. After that – probably both Alvarez’s, our Yordan and the minors Kevin. I would put Neyens and Fermin on that list. But I don’t really know Cranes list.

    The three I would choose is – Isaac, Hunter and Jeremy. But he isn’t giving any of them the contracts they would require, so all three are likely going to get traded.

    Oh, the list is so long. Initially, I’ll say Walker.

    Rotation should be the focus. But I don’t see much happening. There isn’t much on the market that we are going to pay for, rotation or outfield.

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    • Yeah, 2017 also makes good sense. Would have been a fun series to watch with our great young Astro team, untarnished for life by the Time Machine. Instead, the organization got tarnished for life.

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