PUT A BOW ON IT!
Here's the perfect way for the Astros to put their final stamp on the offseason
Dec 22, 2022, 3:49 pm
Framber Valdez would look good in an Astros uniform long-term. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
The Houston Astros have made multiple moves in free agency, headlined by the signing of José Abreu, but the 2022 World Series Champions should also take this offseason to sign two of their stars before their price gets even higher.
Pitcher Framber Valdez and right fielder Kyle Tucker each had a strong 2022 season for the Astros and played key roles in the team’s postseason run. One thing Houston has seen over the past few seasons is that it needs to lock down their key players early before they hit the open market.
After the Astros won their first World Series Championship in 2017, Houston turned around and reached an agreement with Jose Altuve just before the 2018 regular season began. The Astros were able to reach deals with third baseman Alex Bregman ahead of the 2019 season, which locked him down until 2024.
Houston sealed Lance McCullers Jr. prior to start of the 2021 season. The biggest extension recently was that of Yordan Alvarez, who signed a six-year extension that will keep him in Houston through 2028.
The common theme among all the extensions? The Astros never allowed those players to reach the open market. Of course there are examples of those that did reach free agency and neither returned to Houston—George Springer and Carlos Correa. Gerrit Cole can be thrown in there as well, though his circumstances were a bit different.
Valdez started 31 regular season games for Houston in 2022. The 29-year-old put together his best performance throughout his entire career, averaging just a 2.82 ERA and notching 17 wins to only six losses in his 31 starts.
In the postseason, the native of the Dominican Republic only increased his phenomenal play. Valdez’ ERA dropped to 1.44 in four starts against Major League Baseball’s best. He struck out 33 batters, and the Astros went 3-0 in the four games he started.
Tucker was able to continue his strong play from 2021 and keep it at the same level in 2022, showing a level of consistency that is always crucial for players seeking extensions.
The 25-year-old, who will be 26 by the time the 2023 season starts, posted .257/.330/.478 in the regular season, delivered 30 homers, and he drove in 107 runs, a career-high for Tucker.
During the Astros’ 2022 postseason run, Tucker’s numbers fell to .204/.298/.408, but that is common for all players in the playoffs. The right fielder out of Tampa, Florida, still managed to hit three homers and drive in six RBI for Houston.
In the open market, both players will be sure to garner heavy interest from teams across MLB, particularly from those willing to spend. The San Francisco Giants seemed willing to commit over $300 million and 12 years just on Carlos Correa. The New York Mets did.
The Mets have committed over $380 million in payroll just for 2023 alone, and of course the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will always be vying to spend cash to acquire top talent.
The bottom line is the Astros should give both Valdez and Tucker extensions this offseason, or at least some point before they become free agents. While Houston has shown it is willing to let key faces walk, losing both Valdez and Tucker could prove to be one too many losses to overcome.
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There was a conversation Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell had during training camp, the topic being all the teams that were generating the most preseason buzz in the Eastern Conference. Boston was coming off an NBA championship. New York got Karl-Anthony Towns. Philadelphia added Paul George.
The Cavs? Not a big topic in early October. And Mitchell fully understood why.
“What have we done?” Mitchell asked. “They don't talk about us. That's fine. We'll just hold ourselves to our standard.”
That approach seems to be working.
For the first time in 36 seasons — yes, even before the LeBron James eras in Cleveland — the Cavaliers are atop the NBA at the 25-game mark. They're 21-4, having come back to earth a bit following a 15-0 start but still better than anyone in the league at this point.
“We've kept our standards pretty high,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “And we keep it going.”
The Cavs are just one of the surprise stories that have emerged as the season nears the one-third-done mark. Orlando — the only team still unbeaten at home — is off to its best start in 16 years at 17-9 and having done most of that without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero. And Houston is 16-8, behind only the Cavs, Boston, Oklahoma City and Memphis so far in the race for the league's best record.
Cleveland was a playoff team a year ago, as was Orlando. And the Rockets planted seeds for improvement last year as well; an 11-game winning streak late in the season fueled a push where they finished 41-41 in a major step forward after a few years of rebuilding.
“We kind of set that foundation last year to compete with everybody,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, we had some ups and downs with winning and losing streaks at times, but to finish the season the way we did, getting to .500, 11-game winning streak and some close losses against high-level playoff teams, I think we kind of proved that to ourselves last year that that's who we're going to be.”
A sign of the respect the Rockets are getting: Oddsmakers at BetMGM Scorebook have made them a favorite in 17 of 24 games so far this season, after favoring them only 30 times in 82 games last season.
“Based on coaches, players, GMs, people that we all know what they're saying, it seems like everybody else is taking notice as well,” Udoka said.
They're taking notice of Orlando as well. The Magic lost their best player and haven't skipped a beat.
Banchero's injury after five games figured to doom Orlando for a while, and the Magic went 0-4 immediately after he tore his oblique. Entering Tuesday, they're 14-3 since — and now have to regroup yet again. Franz Wagner stepped into the best-player-on-team role when Banchero got hurt, and now Wagner is going to miss several weeks with the exact same injury.
Ask Magic coach Jamahl Mosley how the team has persevered, and he'll quickly credit everyone but himself. Around the league, it's Mosley getting a ton of the credit — and rightly so — for what Orlando is doing.
“I think that has to do a lot with Mose. ... I have known him a long time,” Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. “A huge fan of his and what he is doing. It is a testament to him and the way they’ve built this team.”
The Magic know better than most how good Cleveland is, and vice versa. The teams went seven games in an Eastern Conference first-round series last spring, the Cavs winning the finale at home to advance to Round 2.
Atkinson was brought in by Cleveland to try and turn good into great. The job isn't anywhere near finished — nobody is raising any banners for “best record after 25 games” — but Atkinson realized fairly early that this Cavs team has serious potential.
“We’re so caught up in like the process of improve, improve, improve each game, improve each practice," Atkinson said. “That’s kind of my philosophy. But then you hit 10-0, and obviously the media starts talking and all that, and you’re like, ‘Man, this could be something special brewing here.’”