*Wow the rumor mill really picked up today!
*Oh here's something:
Hearing that the Astros and Mets have recently been engaged in trade talks. Houston has shown interest in Seth Lugo and New York has been doing some background work on Astros minor leaguers. Unclear if talk has gained traction.— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 29, 2018
Seth Lugo is 29, won't be a free agent until 2023, and is a Very Good Reliever. Seth Lugo has a Very High Spin Rate on his curveball - the highest spin rate on a curve ever tracked. The Astros sorta like all those kinds of things.
But the Mets are a franchise without a direction so it's literally impossible to figure out what they may want. I'm sure the Astros could give up a really good pair of prospects that would transform the Mets and not really dent the Astros' pipeline, because the Wilpons would like to pay $2.13/hour + tips.
*Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo says the Astros and Phillies are "very interested" in Arizona pitcher Robbie Ray. From 2016-2018, Ray has thrown 460IP, 398H/201ER, 601K:212BB, a 3.93 ERA / 1.33 WHIP backed up by a 3.89 FIP and an incredible 11.8 K/9. Walks are something, tho, having just posted a 5.1 BB/9 (70BB in 123.2IP) line in 2018.
*The Astros are apparently still interested in J.T. Realmuto, but the Marlins are still insisting on Forrest Whitley or Kyle Tucker. So the Marlins should be contracted and their former ownership and front office should be thrown in jail for corruption. F Jeter.
*Brian McTaggart went on MLB Network and said the Astros' chances of reacquiring Dallas Keuchel are "slim."
*Jon Morosi went on MLB.com and said that the Astros *could* be involved in a trade for
*SI.com's Emma Baccellieri says that, should Michael Brantley stay healthy, he'll be a good addition. Wow a high-contact, low-K LHB with a bit of power could help a potent, RHB-heavy offense, but only if he's actually on the field? Color me shocked.
*FiveThirtyEight has an interesting chart in which they rank the best (and worst) Sports Teams of 2018. The Astros ranked 2nd. The Red Sox ranked 1st. Recently I said that the Astros "ran into a buzzsaw" in the form of the Red Sox, and that wasn't really true. Alex Bregman damn near won two ALCS games by himself. Joe West and MLB Replays helped make sure the Red Sox won Game 4. I've said it - probably many times before - that the 2018 Red Sox caught every break that the 2017 Astros caught, and maybe more. It's whatever.
*Surprise! The Luxury Tax penalty might be bullcrap and is overexaggerated by owners who want to increase their profit margin.
*A Musical Selection:
