Houston Astros Young Corner Infielders

[bensheeps]

In searching for a young, cheap alternative at 3rd base, I mentioned Abraham Toro of the Astros in another tread as a possibility. Switch hitter, blocked by Bregman, good AAA numbers that haven't translated as of yet in limited time in the majors.

 

In checking out the article, Cionel Pérez, Taylor Jones and others the Astros could move in a roster crunch in the Atlantic, not only do they mention Toro but also Triple A first baseman Taylor Jones. The story includes this passage...

 

"Jones will be 27 in December. He is a strong defender and his bat has outgrown Triple A. If the Astros don’t think they’ll have much playing time for him in 2021, there’s a case they should trade him for a lower-level prospect who doesn’t yet need to be on the 40-man roster."

 

 

If we are going to be "cost conscious"/cheap at the corner infield spots, why not go young and hope to find someone that can be a long-term answer rather than signing a retread?

 

 

Know the Astros need outfield help (don't know if there would be any interest in Garcia with his salary), catcher, and bullpen. What would it take to get one or both of Toro & Jones?

[wntrtxn21]

In searching for a young, cheap alternative at 3rd base, I mentioned Abraham Toro of the Astros in another tread as a possibility. Switch hitter, blocked by Bregman, good AAA numbers that haven't translated as of yet in limited time in the majors.

 

In checking out the article, Cionel Pérez, Taylor Jones and others the Astros could move in a roster crunch in the Atlantic, not only do they mention Toro but also Triple A first baseman Taylor Jones. The story includes this passage...

 

"Jones will be 27 in December. He is a strong defender and his bat has outgrown Triple A. If the Astros don’t think they’ll have much playing time for him in 2021, there’s a case they should trade him for a lower-level prospect who doesn’t yet need to be on the 40-man roster."

 

 

If we are going to be "cost conscious"/cheap at the corner infield spots, why not go young and hope to find someone that can be a long-term answer rather than signing a retread?

 

 

Know the Astros need outfield help (don't know if there would be any interest in Garcia with his salary), catcher, and bullpen. What would it take to get one or both of Toro & Jones?

 

Nice catch here! Either Jones or Toro would be worth a prospect to bring in and at least give a try. Maybe go after both since Toro looks like he can play 3B with Jones at 1B. Sign a guy like A. Cabrera who is versatile and could play 1B/3B if either failed miserably. Vogelbach could take some ABs at 1B too. I'd rather see D. Smith or Davis or Rios, but even if we get one of them, Jones and/or Toro wouldn't cost too much in prospects to bring in.

[MNBrew]

In searching for a young, cheap alternative at 3rd base, I mentioned Abraham Toro of the Astros in another tread as a possibility. Switch hitter, blocked by Bregman, good AAA numbers that haven't translated as of yet in limited time in the majors.

 

In checking out the article, Cionel Pérez, Taylor Jones and others the Astros could move in a roster crunch in the Atlantic, not only do they mention Toro but also Triple A first baseman Taylor Jones. The story includes this passage...

 

"Jones will be 27 in December. He is a strong defender and his bat has outgrown Triple A. If the Astros don’t think they’ll have much playing time for him in 2021, there’s a case they should trade him for a lower-level prospect who doesn’t yet need to be on the 40-man roster."

 

 

If we are going to be "cost conscious"/cheap at the corner infield spots, why not go young and hope to find someone that can be a long-term answer rather than signing a retread?

 

 

Know the Astros need outfield help (don't know if there would be any interest in Garcia with his salary), catcher, and bullpen. What would it take to get one or both of Toro & Jones?

 

Nice catch here! Either Jones or Toro would be worth a prospect to bring in and at least give a try. Maybe go after both since Toro looks like he can play 3B with Jones at 1B. Sign a guy like A. Cabrera who is versatile and could play 1B/3B if either failed miserably. Vogelbach could take some ABs at 1B too. I'd rather see D. Smith or Davis or Rios, but even if we get one of them, Jones and/or Toro wouldn't cost too much in prospects to bring in.

... or Gyorko. Overall I think these guys are the sorts of players we should be after along with a veteran utility/fallback guy.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm not sure these two are significantly better than Zach Green who the Brewers got on a minor league deal. Toro's already had a 165 AB major league trial with no evidence he's an everyday major league player. He will be just 24 when the season starts, but he's not a guy who can be trusted as an everyday player. Jones is already 27 and yeah he's put up some nice minor league numbers at hitter friendly stops, but what makes him any better than Green?

 

Maybe you get one of those two to pair with Green on the corners at Nashville and add depth to the higher levels, but you don't give up anything of significant value. Brewers still need a significant upgrade at the corners. Cron is sitting out there and is an obvious target for first base. Third base is trickier but they have options there too.

[Lathund]

I don't know anything about these specific guys, but I agree that trading for blocked players like that can be a very good way to acquire players for many years. Trading for prospects who are several years away from needing to be put on the 40-man roster also means the cost in a trade wouldn't be all that high.

[Oxy]

Things like this is what needs to happen, unless Stearns thinks he can find a veteran who will significantly outplay their history. Accumulate as much young cost controlled talent as possible, even guys who have sputtered or slumped a little at the AAA or MLB levels but haven't been given a full tryout and aren't quite fully developed. That is basically the only way to get high upside for cheap. And it sure seems like we are going to go cheap for another year or two.

[trwi7]

Things like this is what needs to happen, unless Stearns thinks he can find a veteran who will significantly outplay their history. Accumulate as much young cost controlled talent as possible, even guys who have sputtered or slumped a little at the AAA or MLB levels but haven't been given a full tryout and aren't quite fully developed. That is basically the only way to get high upside for cheap. And it sure seems like we are going to go cheap for another year or two.

 

But we're not getting high upside. We're getting hey maybe this guy can be average for a few years before he starts to get more expensive and isn't really worth the arbitration numbers or he turns into Travis Shaw or he's just never good to begin with. High upside requires us trading something of actual substance and we lack that now too.

[Oxy]

Things like this is what needs to happen, unless Stearns thinks he can find a veteran who will significantly outplay their history. Accumulate as much young cost controlled talent as possible, even guys who have sputtered or slumped a little at the AAA or MLB levels but haven't been given a full tryout and aren't quite fully developed. That is basically the only way to get high upside for cheap. And it sure seems like we are going to go cheap for another year or two.

 

But we're not getting high upside. We're getting hey maybe this guy can be average for a few years before he starts to get more expensive and isn't really worth the arbitration numbers or he turns into Travis Shaw or he's just never good to begin with. High upside requires us trading something of actual substance and we lack that now too.

 

There are still plenty of guys who turn into All-Star players whose pedigree hasn't been set in stone at age 25. You have to accumulate them--guys like Travis Shaw and Jesus Aguilar and hope you hit on some. Those guys were cheap at age 25 and had/have high upside.

[trwi7]

Things like this is what needs to happen, unless Stearns thinks he can find a veteran who will significantly outplay their history. Accumulate as much young cost controlled talent as possible, even guys who have sputtered or slumped a little at the AAA or MLB levels but haven't been given a full tryout and aren't quite fully developed. That is basically the only way to get high upside for cheap. And it sure seems like we are going to go cheap for another year or two.

 

But we're not getting high upside. We're getting hey maybe this guy can be average for a few years before he starts to get more expensive and isn't really worth the arbitration numbers or he turns into Travis Shaw or he's just never good to begin with. High upside requires us trading something of actual substance and we lack that now too.

 

There are still plenty of guys who turn into All-Star players whose pedigree hasn't been set in stone at age 25. You have to accumulate them--guys like Travis Shaw and Jesus Aguilar and hope you hit on some. Those guys were cheap at age 25 and had/have high upside.

 

They didn't though. They had a couple good years, turned into pumpkins, were traded for nothing or non-tendered in their first arby years. Shaw was expendable for the Red Sox because they actually had a talented guy with upside nearly ready to take his spot.

 

What we got out of Shaw and Aguilar is basically the best you could reasonably expect trading for guys that aren't highly regarded.