Cowherd divulges private interaction with Texans that should have fans excited
INSIDE INFORMATION
16 April
INSIDE INFORMATION
The Houston Texans have all the media outlets talking about them this offseason, after making some bold moves that ownership hopes will bring the city its first Super Bowl.
Cal and Hannah McNair have made it clear that they “want to win now” and their moves in free agency certainly back that up. Full transparency, Cowherd has some concerns about the Texans ability to repeat last year's success with a first-place schedule in 2024 that should challenge CJ Stroud and the Texans.
But he's starting to rethink his predictions for Houston (missing the playoffs), because of the team's aggressive approach this offseason.
“The Houston Texans now have a very sharp GM, a great coach, a great coordinator, and a star quarterback,” said Cowherd.
Later, he makes the point that the Patriots didn't draft well when Texans GM Nick Caserio worked under Bill Belichick in New England. Yet, in Houston, Caserio has done a good job in the draft. Which leads Colin to believe Belichick is the reason the Patriots had so many draft misses over the last several years.
This isn't about luck
Cowherd knows the Texans didn't rebuild this quickly because of luck, despite some comments from his co-host to the contrary.
“Houston has turned around a shipwreck in a year and a half based on smart people making really smart moves,” Cowherd stated.
And then Colin said something very fascinating. A couple of years ago, Cowherd interviewed Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, a player many had being mocked to the Texans before the draft.
After the interview, the Texans reached out to Cowherd just to get his thoughts on Hamilton. Trying to get any information on what he was like as a person, how he behaved when the cameras were off, that type of thing.
The Texans reached out wanting to know his “interpretation” of the player after spending thirty-five minutes with him. And Colin gladly answered their questions.
After some lean years for Texans fans, it's great to see the front office is going the extra mile to acquire any information they can about the players on their draft board. This is what smart organizations do.
In the end, Houston traded back and did not draft Hamilton. Hamilton has since been drafted by the Ravens and made All-Pro in 2024. But the point remains, the Texans are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to making informed decisions in the draft.
You can watch the video above for the full conversation. The Hamilton topic starts at the 3:10 mark in the video.
The Houston Astros enter this offseason with more holes to fill than in recent memory. Getting swept in the Wild Card round should definitely have the front office looking for creative ways to improve the team without blowing past the second tax threshold.
As we project next year's roster, one thing appears to be certain, the offense needs more attention than the pitching. The starting pitching should be in good shape with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Spencer Arreghetti returning. Plus, Luis Garcia is expected to return after recovering from Tommy John surgery. We'll see about Lance McCullers…
The offense, however, is another story. Even with Alex Bregman in the lineup, Houston was only able to score one run in the first 15 innings of the Wild Card Series against Detroit.
There's no way around it, the Astros must add another bat even if Bregman returns. If the Astros are looking to upgrade at first base, there are several names to consider. Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana, and Pete Alonzo just to name a few.
However, many of these players do have some red flags. Age being the biggest one. Considering how the Jose Abreu signing turned out, the Astros might be best served avoiding players in their mid-thirties.
Of course, adding a younger player like Pete Alonzo (age 29) will cost significantly more money.
Should the Astros decide to stand pat at first base, they could continue using a platoon of Jon Singleton, Yainer Diaz, and Victor Caratini.
Since the Astros' payroll is bloated from the Jose Abreu, Lance McCullers Jr, and Rafael Montero contracts, shedding some cash through trades might be a good idea.
When looking at the projected arbitration numbers for the 2025 season, here's what really stands out. Jeremy Pena and Mauricio Dubon are both expected to make over $4 million next season. Jake Meyers is projected to make over $2 million, and Chas McCormick will likely command over $3 million.
Trading Dubon and Meyers could free up over $6 million that could be used to address other needs on the team.
Some other options to consider
The Astros might have a problem that goes much deeper than personnel. As a team, these hitters don't see enough pitches. They swing early and often and don't walk enough. Even Bregman has seen a steep decline in walks. Bregman walked 44 times this year, way down from the 92 free passes he recorded in 2023.
When players like Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker swing at the first pitch, it eliminates the possibility of picking up a walk when a pitcher misses in a deep count. Taking all the pressure off the pitcher. It also means less opportunities for a pitch to be hung in the strike zone and punished.
Plus, this approach leads to 5 pitch innings like we saw in the Tigers series, which allows quality pitchers to go deep in games with a low pitch count.
Altuve's stance on Bregman
This is the first time we've heard Altuve speak about a player's contract in this manner. Altuve essentially said the team has to do whatever it takes to retain Breggy.
But we have to keep in mind, Altuve's already signed his long-term deal, and they both share the same agent in Scott Boras.
Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.