Houston Daily

[Gregory (Houston)]

Welcome to the Houston Daily, your one-stop site for all the news concerning, pertaining to, and having relevance with all of Houston sports.  Within, you'll be kept up-to-date with the hottest signings, trades, rumors, and more, all from your favorite news source, the Houston Daily!

[Gregory (Houston)]

Salvador Perez Signs!

Breaking News:  Salvador Perez has signed with the Houston Astros for 5 years, and a salary speculated to hover at 6 million a year, sources report.


He could earn up to $31M if all incentives are met and all options picked up, which the Astros are expected to do.  Last year, he hit 17 round-trippers, while maintaining an OPS of .691.   It was a breakout year for him, especially defensively, where he picked off 25 runners.

Update:

PASADENA, TX:  Perez just came back from his opening press conference, citing his signing due to the great, analytic environment fostered by Houston FO, specifically GM J. Luhnow and Pres. G. Vaughan as the driving forces behind his new contract.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Morneau in, Fan Favorite Duda Out of H-Town?

PASADENA, TX:  Rumor has it that with incoming 1B Justin Morneau, the Houston Astros have begun fielding offers for Lucas Duda.  The talented 4-year youngster had a stellar season last year, batting .230 with 30 HRs from cleanup.  However, insiders report signs of discontent and frustration as the Astros slid further down the standings.  Duda is owed an affordable 7.2M over the next 4 years, pending expected incentives. 

Duda had confessed in previous interviews that he had been extremely nervous throughout the year, leading to "an increased heart rate, especially with runners on base or in scoring position."  One top executive mentioned at the winter meetings, "(Duda) is burning a hole in our wallet."

The man who will replace Duda's spot in the lineup, Justin Morneau, hit a career best .319 last year, and has been a steady option for several teams over the last 10 years.


            
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[Gregory (Houston)]

Altuve headed to the Astros?

PASADENA, TX: Anonymous sources claim that top execs at the winter meetings are willing to do whatever it takes to get Jose Altuve. Altuve, coming off his age 24 season, had the second most steals in all of baseball and the most in the AL.  "We have a limit, of course, but we're willing to spend a lot to get our man. And we think Jose is good enough to get us up to a championship caliber roster."
Seattle and Oakland are considered the next best completion for Altuve's services this season

Stay tuned to this continually updated story, folks! 


Update:
Team officials report that they are closing in on a max deal worth roughly 80 million over 5 years, citing a pending physical as the only significant remaining obstacle.


Update:
GM J. Lunhow reported in a press conference last night that the Astros have indeed signed Jose Altuve for a 5 year contract.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Swing and a Miss?

PASADENA, TX:  This last week, many of the stud third basemen were swiped off the market by GM's all around the league, yet the Astro's failed to get even one.  As of the time of printing, it appears that they will be targeting affordable options and platooning players through the position, trying to see what sticks best.  In the press conference today, GM J. Lunhow claimed "We are currently right on track with our projected trajectory, having filled 30% of our roster at 26% of the salary cap. We intend to target standouts at alternative positions, as well as specific targets in the upcoming amateur draft."  


The Astro's have the 15th pick in the draft, where they could be looking at players such as Dylan Bundy (SP), Corey Seager (SS), and Joc Pederson (OF).  In the second round with the 26th pick, they could nab well known hurlers such as Tyler Kolek, Daniel Norris, or Alex Meyer.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Bundy to 'Stros!

PASADENA, TX:  Late last night, your Houston Astro's came on the clock in the Minor League Draft to a pleasant surprise. Most pundits had projected the Astros to take Joc Pederson or Julio Urias, the stud 18 year old pitcher out of Mexico.  However, the Astros found that Pederson had been taken far sooner than most had projected, and Urias was snatched just one pick earlier by the upstart Texas Rangers.  As a result, the Astros took Dylan Bundy of Owasso High. As a senior, he maintained an ERA of 0.25 and more than 2 strikeouts per inning.  In his debut league, he held a perfect ERA, 40 strikeouts, and a .053 batting average against.  He had a successful Tommy John surgery on June 27, 2013. However, this surgery kept him from breaking his rookie eligibility, making him eligible for the Minor League Draft.


"Dylan is going to be a fantastic addition to our pitching staff as a proven star with unbelievable potential",  GM J. Lunhow told shareholders last night at the Astro's draft party.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Houston Comes Away with Bradley, Bundy

PASADENA, TX:  After the first day of the MiLB draft, the Houston Astros nabbed two of the top pitchers available in Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley, of the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Cardinals respectively.  J. Lunhow had this to say about the newest Astros: "Our biggest priority going into the first two rounds was to get some outstanding young pitchers, which I think we succeeded in beyond our wildest dreams.  The Bundy-Bradley tandem has the potential to be the best in the league in 3 years."

Bundy (right) was a participant in the MLB Futures Game in 2012, and Bradley (left) was a member of the US squad in 2013.

                                

[Gregory (Houston)]

Giancarlo "Bigfoot" Stanton to Houston!

PASADENA, TX: Precocious slugger Giancarlo Stanton is headed to Houston after a blockbuster 4 year deal was announced late Saturday night. Reportedly, the Astro's signed Stanton to the largest contract ever given out.  


"We are, of course, immensely pleased with our newest addition, Giancarlo Cruz Stanton.  We hope that Stanton will be a superstar in our quest for a pennant and World Series title.  We hope to continue signing increasingly larger fish to improve the lineup around Stanton as the offseason progresses." said GM J. Lunhow in a quickly assembled presser last night.


We are left with only speculation as to what these comments mean, but one thing is for sure: Houston is unwavering in its commitment to a championship this year. 

[Gregory (Houston)]

Houston signs 2 top OF in Slam-Dunk Offseason

PASADENA, TX:  The Astros have just reported their second consecutive major signing today.  Pending a physical, Mike Trout will be headed to Texas this season.  Trout had his statistically worst year last year, yet still managed to take home the AL MVP honors, which should tell you about his sheer talent.  In his 3 years in the major leagues, he has been a revelation surpassing all others, posting lifetime triple slash lines of .305/.395/.549, 93 HR in three seasons, 102 SB, and 572 hits.  In short, he is now THE man in Houston, with a partner in Jose Altuve (2nd in steals league-wide) and Giancarlo Stanton (37 HR) to chase down that ever-elusive championship.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Manager does little to temper expectations, hope.

PASADENA, TX:  As the Astros offseason comes to a close, other teams are just beginning to heat up.  Nonetheless, it was a historic month and a half for the Stros, bringing in top-shelf talent across the board. There are holes few and far between when one looks at the projected lineup card for Opening Day.


The new manager had a great deal of confidence in his team so far, going so far as to promise a World Series in 2 years and the first for the city of Houston since the Cubs swept the Astros and broke their infamous curse in 2005.


LINEUP:
1: Jose Altuve, 2B
2: Mike Trout, CF
3: Justin Monreau, 1B
4: Giancarlo Stanton, RF
5: Denard Span, LF
6: Salvador Perez, C
7: Lucas Duda, DH
8: Jhonny Peralta, SS
9: Ryan Flaherty, 3B

Rotation:
1: Danny Salazar
2: Bartolo Colon
3: Alfredo Simon
4. Jeremy Guthrie
5. Charlie Morton
6. JA Happ


Bullpen:
CL: Nick Burdi
RP: Rob Kaminsky
RP: Michael Feliz

[Gregory (Houston)]

Lineup finished, Opening Day Rotation Projections

PASADENA, TX:  Now that free agency has finished its initial flurry, the Houston Astros are looking forward to all players reporting to Spring Training in Florida. Amazingly, GM Lunhow managed to sign a complete roster despite having given out the two largest contracts in baseball to Mike Trout and Giancarlo Stanton.  As a result of the Astros tight cap space, they procured immense value early on in the winter, nabbing Alfredo Simon and Bartolo Colon for a combined 1.7M.  In addition, the Astros got under-valued relievers in AJ Ramos and Grant Balfour to hold down the fort until a massive wave of pitching prospects make their way to the Major League scene.


Speaking of prospects, there have been rumors flying about Houston, claiming that Lunhow has been actively trying to get younger at every position, as well as acquire elite starter prospects.  There have been reports of negotiations with Arizona for Lucas Giolito, Denver for Noah Syndergaard, Dallas for Julio Urias, and Cleveland for Carlos Rodon.  However many of these go through in the end, Lunhow reaffirmed his desire to keep Trout and Stanton on the same team, and surround them with high-quality, young talent.


Rotation Projections: (Opening Day)

#1: Danny Salazar
#2:  Bartolo Colon
#3: Alfredo Simon
#4: JA Happ
#5: Jeremy Guthrie/Charlie Morton

Rotation Projections: (September)

#1: Danny Salazar
#2: Dylan Bundy
#3: Archie Bradley
#4: Kyle Zimmer
#5: Braden Shipley
#6: Alfredo Simon

[Gregory (Houston)]

Blockbuster 3 Team Deal

PASADENA, TEX:  Just a few hours ago, the finishing touches were put on a blockbuster deal between Houston, Seattle, and Arizona, the first trade since the new season began.  The major components in the deal appear to be Mike Zunino, Patrick Corbin, and super-prospect Lucas Giolito heading to the Astros. In exchange, the Astros did a fair job blowing up their roster, sending out Justin Morneau and Jose Altuve along with filler.

Mike Zunino, 23, hit .199 over 131 games, and more importantly, 22 HR's with a .404 SLG.
Patrick Corbin, 25, threw 208.1 innings with a 3.41 ERA and won 14 games while only giving up 19 HR's in 2013. He missed all of 2014.
Lucas Giolito, the consensus top pitcher in the minors at age 19 last year, threw 98 innings in Single A ball with an ERA of 2.20 and WHIP of 1.00, as well as racking up 110 K's. The Astros are expected to move Giolito along slowly, and plan on him reaching the Majors by mid 2016. 

[Gregory (Houston)]

Astros Overhaul Team in Flurry of Moves

PASADENA, TEX:  Now that the intense days of trading seem to have calmed down, it's a good idea to look back on the Astros trades.  We took the liberty of grading each trade and declaring a winner.


Trade 1- Houston-Seattle-Arizona

Major pieces moving: Mike Zunino to Stros, Justin Morneau to Mariners, Jose Altuve to D'Backs, Corbin & Giolito to Stros.

Intial Winner:

Houston.  The day started off on a high note, as the Stros grabbed a seemingly back up catcher to incumbent Salvador Perez.  Furthermore, at the cost of prized 2B Altuve, they nabbed Patrick Corbin, who would later be moved.  Seattle could end up on top in terms of relative value, as they got former MVP Justin Morneau. If the Coors Effect holds, he could well have a better year than all of the players in this trade, especially at his contract.

Grade for Seattle: A-.
Grade for Houston: A.
Grade for Arizona: C+.


Trade 2- Houston-Denver

Major pieces moving: Lucas Duda & Salvador Perez to Rockies, Noah Syndergaard & Ben Zobrist to Astros.

Initial Winner:

Denver.   They made out like bandits *if* Duda sustains his career year from last year.  Syndergaard will probably break ST in AA, but don't be surprised if he gets the call early on.  Zobrist seemed relatively over-priced, but the Astros were able to move him as well, later in the week.

Grade for Denver, if Duda pans out: A+.
Grade for Denver, if Duda busts: C+.
Grade for Houston: B+.


Trade 3- Houston-Arizona

Major pieces moving: Jurickson Profar to Astros.

Initial Winner:

Houston, if only because the side of any trade involving Happ and Iannetta can never be called a winner.  Profar was a top prospect, and will have to futlfill his potential without continuing to be injured, if there will be any value for either side. Otherwise, this was a fairly low-key trade, taking place after Profar's second injury. Arizona did a good job getting him off of their payroll, even if it was for peanuts.

Grade for Arizona: B.
Grade for Houston: B+.


Trade 4- Houston-Chicago

Major pieces moving: Kyle Zimmer & Nick Kingham to Cubs, Alex Meyer to Astros.

Initial Winner:

Cubs.  They clearly won this trade on talent alone.  Kingham could easily replace Worley in the Pirates rotation, and Zimmer is another blue chip prospect.  The only redeeming aspect about this trade for the Astros was that they got the clearly better prospect. Meyer also projects to debut early this year with the Twins.

Grade for Houston: B-.
Grade for Chicago: A.


Trade 5- Houston-Philadelphia

Major pieces moving: Craig Kimbrel to Astros, Danny Salazar to Phillies.

Initial Winner:

Houston.  Kimbrel is a top 100 talent.  Additionally, the 2nd round pick changing hands projects to be someone like Chris Betts at catcher or Kyle Tucker in the outfield.  Kaminsky is the top talent in Saint Louis, and the success for Philadelphia hinges on his development.  Additionally, Salazar will have to continue significant improvement next year. Given that he only started 20 games, this has the potential to be a major win for Houston.

Grade for Houston: A.
Grade for Philadelphia: B.


Trade 6- Houston-Toronto

Major pieces moving: Mike Napoli to Blue Jays.

Initial Winner:

Toronto. Even if Napoli's reconstructed hips continue their significant degradation, you still can't see this trade as anything but a massive win for Toronto. Houston should have asked for a 5th rounder, at least. This was by far their worst trade. Fortunately, it was extremely minor in terms of overall talent changing hands.

Grade for Houston: D+.
Grade for Toronto: A+.



Trade 7- Houston-Dallas

Major pieces moving:  Giancarlo Stanton & Matthew Olson to Rangers, Felix Hernandez & Yusmeiro Petit & Nick Gordon to Astros.

Initial Winner:

To close to call.  Two ways this could go down: Stanton becomes the league's top HR hitter and Hernandez becomes hittable, or Stanton regresses from that horrific injury and Hernandez continues his run of dominance. Obviously, these are the primary factors. However, much depends on whether Petit is a primary starter or reliever this year and whether Olson graduates. Houston gets the higher grade simply due to getting the better prospect in the trade.

Grade for Houston: B+.
Grade for Dallas: B.


Trade 8- Houston-Dallas Pt. 2

Major pieces moving: Josh Donaldson to Astros, Patrick Corbin & Archie Bradley & Braden Shipley to Rangers.

Initial Winner:

Dallas.  The winner will, however, change based on how well Bradley and Corbin develop. The trade swings based on Bradley's recovery.  If he busts out, then this becomes an overwhelming win for Houston. Even if this turns into 3 top 50 pitchers for a top 3 3B, reliable consistency wins out over untested prospects every day. Did you know the bust rate on the top 20 prospects is over 50%?  Final word on this trade: Who the heck trades for three potential starters on the same team, especially in the ballpark that gave up the second most HR's last year?

Grade for Houston: B.
Grade for Dallas: B+.

Trade 9- Houston-Dallas

Major pieces moving: Tim Beckham to Rangers.

Initial Winner:

Houston, by a bit.  Sipp posted great ratios in 50.7 IP last year.  Beckham is an ultimate boom-bust prospect on the wrong side of the dichotomy.  Nothing huge to get excited about, though.

Grade for Houston: B-.
Grade for Dallas: C+.

Trade 10- Houston-Kansas City

Major pieces moving: Nick Markakis to Astros, Ben Zobrist to Royals.

Initial Winner:

Houston.  Zobrist is overpriced and overvalued, I don't know why he ended up getting a contract this big.  Markakis posted identical numbers, he is younger by 3 years, and the Astros picked up a pick roughly 30 selections improved on their 5th.  Straight up win for Houston, don't know what Kansas City was thinking exactly on this.

Grade for Houston: A.
Grade for Kansas City: C+.


Trade 11- Houston-San Francisco

Major pieces moving: Clayton Kershaw to Astros, Lucas Giolito & Dylan Bundy to Giants.

Initial Winner:

Houston. Wow. Well, this made next season a living hell, but the Astros have got to be the odds-on favorite to win the World Series this year. This is a ballsy move on the Giants' part, mostly because of the heavy bets on Gio and Bundy to pan out next year.

Grade for Houston: A+.
Grade for San Francisco: A+/C-. (Depending on prospects development)

[Gregory (Houston)]

Houston has been linked to several different teams in the 11th hour before the NFL draft kicks off. Apparently, they are talking about both moving up and down in the draft, as they have been connected to teams such as Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, and Buffalo. Reportedly at least 3 deals are said to be done, with the potential for more on the way. Here's to hoping, Texans fans!