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3 scenarios Astros must avoid at all costs with trade deadline looming
Jul 20, 2023, 11:56 am
Framber Valdez is one of three untouchable players. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Why avoiding arbitration with Framber Valdez is a sign of good things to come for Astros
MLB changed the trade deadline rules. Gone are the days of the regular deadline and the waiver wire deadline a month later. The Astros benefitted best from the waiver wire deadline, the most of any team I can think of in 2017. With what was reported as literal minutes or seconds to spare, they completed the deal for Justin Verlander. They went on to win a World Series that year and last year. Verlander threw in two Cy Young Awards amongst other awards and career milestones during his time in Houston.
Now that there's only one trade deadline, teams have to be more diligent. Whether selling or buying, teams have to do their homework and be ready to make a deal by 6PM EST on August 1 this year. Every year around this time, there are tons of rumors. Most of the scuttlebutt is about what players teams are potentially trading for. Another good portion is about players who are supposedly on the trading block.
The Astros are no different. This year, the rumors are exclusively about whom they may trade for. They're still trailing the Arlington Junk Grabbers by a few games in the division. Houston is currently in position to win a wildcard spot. A lock to make the playoffs wouldn't be a stretch, but it isn't guaranteed. Whether they trade for an arm, a bat, or both, they need to make a move/some moves. Whatever they decide to do, these are the guys I will not consider trading under any circumstances:
José Altuve: This man is a future Hall of Famer. He's Mr. Astro. You can argue Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, or whoever me all you want! THIS is the man people think of now when you think Astros baseball! He's a former MVP, batting champ, and was a key figure in two World Series wins. Some athletes earn the right to go out the way they see fit. Altuve has earned the right to do so here in Houston. I would give the death stare and silent treatment to anyone who calls about him as part of any trade.
Yordan Alvarez: The same way I revere Altuve for what he's done so far for this organization, that's the same way I feel about Yordan's future. He's taken over as the team's best hitter. Altuve owned that title, but his slide in recent years (coupled with Yordan's rise) has led many a fan to this conclusion. When he signed an extension through the 2028 season at a team friendly rate, he cemented himself as a long-term Astro. His ascension as a hitter, and his improved defense, has made him an untouchable in my eyes. Teams dream of All Star-caliber players locked up long-term on team friendly deals. When you have one, you do not trade them.
Framber Valdez: He's arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. Debate that with your mom because I said what I said. He's the ace of this staff now that Verlander is wallowing in his own misery in New York. This season he's fifth in ERA, ninth in WHIP, averages 9.9 Ks per nine innings, and is 10th in innings pitched. His 7-6 record speaks more to his run support than his 2.76 ERA. Every great team has a staff with an ace of spades and the Great Frambino is that ace. He's arbitration eligible for two more years after this year, which means he's going to be relatively cheap for another two years. That makes him even more untouchable.
These three guys I'd put up against any other three in the league for what they mean to this team, this season. If you found a way to clone Willie Mays and turned the time machine back on Nolan Ryan, I might think about it. Outside of that, I'm willing to go into a fight with these three. Are there better individual players out there? Yes. Can a team put together three other guys I'd take over these guys? No. I want to see a move/some moves made before the deadline. Those moves need not involve any of these guys. I'd prefer to see each one retire in blue and orange.
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If you are a believer in the third time is a charm, go ahead and book the Texans for their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game! Saturday is the Texans’ third crack at the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Of course, the Texans had a third time is the charm opportunity at advancing beyond the division round back in 2016 and came nowhere close. Charm will have nothing to do with the outcome at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs have administered the Texans’ two most humiliating postseason defeats in franchise history. They came as the bookend postseason appearances of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach. In 2015, the Texans won the worst division in the AFC (that sounds familiar) but as a division champ got to play host to the Wild Card 11-5 Chiefs. The visitors were three-point favorites. They won by 30. 30-0 to be more precise. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown. It would have been in the Texans’ best interest to have forfeited right then and there. In what was not exactly a shocking development, Texans’ quarterback Brian Hoyer wasn’t up to the task, throwing for just 112 yards and four interceptions. On the Chiefs’ side third-year tight end Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards. Taylor Swift was not in attendance.
The second Texans-Chiefs playoff get together is the most incredible game in Texans’ history. The Texans showed up in Missouri fresh off the greatest comeback win in their history, having come from down 16-0 in the third quarter to best the Buffalo Bills in overtime. In what could safely be characterized as stunning, the Texans put up three first quarter touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. *Massive bonus points if you can name the three Texans who scored those TDs, answer below. A field goal made it 24-0 Texans with 10:54 left in the second quarter. In a collapse tough to pull off, the Texans would trail before halftime. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns in nine minutes and eleven seconds of game time, with that Kelce fellow scoring the last three of them. Some will recall O’Brien calling a fake punt from his own 31-yard line with the Texans up 24-7. Too soon? Justin Reid (now pursuing his third Super Bowl ring in three seasons as a Chief) was stopped short. An even more damning O’Brien moment came later in that game when he actually had to use a timeout to change his mind and go for it with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Texans down 48-31, and facing fourth and four at the K.C. 42. That was a fire-able on the spot offense! Instead it took an 0-4 start to the 2020 season for O’Brien to be ousted. 51-31 Chiefs was the final score, and they went on to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles in the ongoing Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era.
Back to the present
Those routs were then, this is now. For a 15-2 team the Chiefs seem vulnerable. Maximum credit to them for having won an NFL record 16 consecutive games decided by eight or fewer points, 11 of them this season including their 27-19 victory over the Texans December 21. Perhaps the two-time defending champions were often bored with the regular season and often did just enough to win. The Texans would have been tied with them late in the third quarter had Ka’imi Fairbairn not botched an extra point. On the other hand, it was the play that got them within 17-16 which resulted in Tank Dell’s catastrophic season-ending knee injury. Who besides Nico Collins will do something in the passing game Saturday? Last Saturday the Texans’ pass rush harassed and flustered Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Mahomes is a different breed. Four weeks ago the Texans sacked Mahomes just once and did not intercept him. That seemingly must change for the Texans to pull off what be a shocker for most people. Saturday’s high temperature forecast for Kansas City is 25 degrees. Not ideal for the Texans but better than if the game had been scheduled for Sunday when the high is supposed to be 16.
Still standing
Four Texans who dressed for the debacle five years ago will suit up against the Chiefs Saturday: Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard who were in their first season with the team, Fairbairn, and long snapper Jon Weeks. Granted he’s just a long snapper (important role but not physically taxing), but Weeks is in his 15th season with the Texans and has yet to miss a game-244 regular season games (with Saturday his 14th playoff game, also without a miss). Presuming he is back next season, Weeks (who turns 39 next month) can crack the top five list of most consecutive games played in NFL history by answering the bell in the first 12 regular season games.
*The Texans’ three early TDS in the 51-31 loss at KC: 1. Kenny Stills with a 54-yard reception 2. Lonnie Johnson with a 10-yard return of a blocked punt 3. Darren Fells with a four-yard grab
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!