EVERY-THING SPORTS
The Houston Astros have some new toys to play with
Aug 3, 2022, 3:31 pm
The Astros have some new faces in the dugout. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Every year the MLB trade deadline comes up, and every year there are buyers and sellers making deals. Some of these deals are minor moves to shore up some deficiencies, some are blockbuster trades that can shift the hierarchy. There are always deals where you scratch your head and wonder what the heck were they thinking. Then there are the ones that make immediate sense for the most obvious reasons.
The Astros had a need to add some hitting, as well as some bullpen help. Enter Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez, and Will Smith (not THAT Will Smith). Mancini (30) comes from the Orioles franchise. He can DH, play first base, and has some experience playing the outfield. Vazquez (31) came from the Red Sox and is a catcher by trade. Smith (33) was sent here from the Braves and is a left-handed relief pitcher. At 30, 31, and 33, the Astros definitely didn't get any younger. However, they made those few moves to improve their team's chances at winning another title...without crippling their farm system.
Their farm system has taken some hits over the years due to trades made to keep the team competitive while on this current run, as well as the penalties from the sign stealing scandal. While it's been able to produce some top-notch talent keeping the big league team afloat, the Astros' minor leagues isn't highly ranked amongst the league's best. MLB.com ranked them 29th out of all 30 teams coming into this season. Keeping prospects gives them a better chance for future success. Here's what I think of the guys they traded for:
Mancini: He's a career .270 hitter with decent pop (about a 20 HR per year guy) and ability to play a couple different positions. He's a free agent at the end of this season, so he could be a rental. I see Mancini as insurance in case Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley, or Yuli Gurriel go down or need a breather since he can DH, play first, or play some outfield. Heard a person on radio say he's a very streaky hitter who's either red-hot or ice-cold. I'm interested in seeing if his streakiness is tied to being on one of the worst teams in baseball and if that trend ends
Vazquez: As a career .262 hitter, his average is 50 plus points higher than Martin Maldonado. Vazquez was brought in to be a backup catcher and late game replacement for Maldonado. The amount of times Machete has come through in the clutch as a defensive catcher is great, but his place in the lineup is as automatic of an out as the Astros have in their lineup. Vazquez is here to provide Machete insurance when the 8 or 9 hole is up in the order and they need to advance the runner.
Smith: Ryan Pressly has been the team's best reliever. Outside of him, the rest of the bullpen has been hit or miss. Another thing about the bullpen, and staff as a whole, is that Framber Valdez is the only lefty on the roster! Smith now brings a lefty to the pen which is something I feel all teams need. He hasn't been very good this season, but the Astros have been known to fix broken pitchers. Sure, Brent Strom ain't walkin through that door, but the guys he left behind are doing a great job. This season's 4.38 ERA is almost a full run higher than his 3.61 career average.
Overall, they didn't give up anything too significant. To those whining about losing Jose Siri, shut up! He's a J.A.G. if I've ever seen one. Outfielders with personality who hit around/below the Mendoza Line are a dime a dozen. Jake Odorizzi can be just as up and down as Smith. A move to the bullpen would've benefitted the team, but not Odorizzi. He didn't have a place in the starting rotation because of the depth there, and it was time to move on. The team helped shore up a couple small holes they had without mortgaging their future. Other teams are out here paying a ransom for guys who are and aren't worth it to their title hopes. The Astros helped their chances increase a bit. Keeping that window open a little further this season means the club is still all-in, and that's all fans want and care about.
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Cross your fingers that Isaac Paredes’s hamstring tweak Thursday night is only a tweak. The Astros’ mediocre lineup would absorb a hard blow if Paredes winds up heading to the Injured List. But don’t worry, is there any doubt the Astros’ medical staff has it handled? Paredes has been excellent, a better player than was 2024 Alex Bregman. If he is to miss some time with the sore hammy, that will hurt Paredes’s “on pace for” numbers, but his 15th home run of the season Thursday has him on pace for 35, his 42nd run batted in has him on pace for 98. Reminder that Paredes is making $6,625,000 this season versus Bregman’s 40 million. The Astros sure hope that Paredes doesn’t wind up joining Bregman on the IL.
Follow the money
Never blame a player for grabbing every last dollar he can. However, when taking more money to join a clearly lesser organization, one loses the ability to honestly say, “winning is the most important thing to me.” It’s no sin if winning isn’t absolute priority one. It’s a life choice and business decision. Hello Carlos Correa.
The Astros host the Minnesota Twins at Daikin Park this weekend. Correa is now in his fourth season with the Twins. If his level of play doesn’t pick up, it will be the worst season of his career. Correa is in the third year of the six-year 200 million dollar contract he signed with Minnesota after exercising his opt out clause following the first year of the three-year deal he initially inked with the Twins. In total he has seven years with and 235 million dollars coming from the Twins. When Correa first hit free agency the Astros final offer to keep him was a very reasonable five years and 160 million dollars. If Correa had re-upped with the Astros, he’d have become a free agent after next season. No way would he then have gotten 75 million over two years to match the total haul of 235 over seven he bagged.
Financially, Correa played it correctly. But is he having the same fun playing home games in Minneapolis where the Twins are averaging barely over 20,000 per game in announced attendance, versus the Astros who are announcing about 32,000 per? Correa has played in the postseason once in the three years, and the Astros eliminated him, while the Astros have been in every year. The Twins start the series here this weekend with a record only a game and a half behind the Astros, but while the Astros lead the weak American League West by four and a half games, the Twins about need a telescope to see the Detroit Tigers eight games in front of them in the AL Central. The AL West is the only of the six divisions in Major League Baseball that has just one team with a winning record.
Correa turns 31 years old September 22, the same day Jeremy Pena turns 28. Correa is making over 37 million dollars this season. The Astros are paying Pena four-point-four mil. Over 2026 and 2027 Correa will pull down nearly 65 mil. Over those same two seasons, the Astros will likely pay Pena a total of between 20 and 25 million. Last season Correa was a significantly better player than Pena, except that Carlos played only 86 games. This year Pena has made a quantum leap and is playing like a superstar, while Correa’s game has eroded. Fun factoids: Pena stole his 14th base of the season Wednesday. Correa’s last stolen base came in 2019. To be fair, speed was never a signature of Correa's game.
Double trouble
In 1948 the Boston Braves had a tandem of starting pitching aces in future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. The rest of the rotation was a bit shaky. Boston sportswriter Gerald Hearn wrote “First we’ll use Spahn, then we’ll use Sain, then an off day followed by rain. Back will come Spahn, followed by Sain, and followed we hope by two days rain.” Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez are the Spahn and Sain of the 2025 Astros. Brown has been marvelous all season, Valdez has a 2.02 earned run average over his last seven starts. I leave Brown/Valdez poetry to you.
Spahn is among the handful of greatest left-handed pitchers in history. He debuted in 1942 and pitched in four games, before serving in World War II that took him out of the 1943, ‘44, and ‘45 seasons. Spahn logged his first big league win in 1946 when he was 25 years old. He’d win 362 more and will never be caught for the honor of most wins by a lefty in big league history. As a 42-year-old Spahn went 23-7 and threw 22 complete games. When men were men! It was the 13th time in Spahn’s career that he was a 20-game winner.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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