Saturday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. It is 32 days until Pitchers & Catchers report. Or, in the Astros' situation, "Pitchers and Catcher(s)" report.

*Big News of the Day was that Alex Bregman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow to remove "loose bodies." Buncha sluts up in Bregs' elbow. In an exclusive interview with Tags, Bregman - and the Astros - are targeting the March 1 Grapefruit League game against St. Louis for his return. Bregman:
It's something you can play through a little bit, but when (the elbow) locks out, you're looking at a DL stint, and I wasn't willing to risk going on the DL this year for something I know I could fix before the season started. So we went ahead and knocked it out.

If, on March 1, Luhnow says Bregman is dealing with some "discomfort" in his elbow, we will know that Bregs is dead. Long live Bregs.

*Yesterday was the deadline to agree to a deal for arbitration-eligible players, of which the Astros had ten. Seven Astros agreed to a deal: Jake Marisnick, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, Will Harris, and Brad Peacock.

Here are the numbers we know, compared to MLBTR's arbitration projections (in parentheses)
Will Harris: $4.225m ($3.6m)
McCullers: $4.1m ($4.6m)
Brad Peacock: $3.11m ($2.9m)
Ryan Pressly: $2.9m ($3.1m)

In what world does Harris make more than McCullers (though I guess the Astros will get IPs out of Harris, unlike McCullers, in 2019, so maybe...)? That's an arbitration total of $14.335m compared to a projection of $14.2m.

Assistant GM Brandon Taubman:
I think arbitration always brings mixed emotions for us. I am proud of the people who've been involved in the process on our end, I'm proud that we have a responsible process that represents the Astros' organization's interests and the merits of fair salary within the industry. But what we care about is winning baseball games and promoting the development of our players. And this is a detour from that.

This means that Carlos Correa (projected at $5.1m), Gerrit Cole ($13.1m), and Chris Devenski ($1.4m) did not agree to a deal and will go to a hearing. It's a fun time in which the Astros try to explain before a panel why these three players aren't worth as much as they think they're worth. Who wouldn't want to go through that?

Jon Heyman reports that Cole asked for $13.5m - exactly double his $6.75m salary in 2018, while the Astros submitted an $11,425,000 offer.

*Craig Calcaterra: It's SUPER-WEIRD that all 30 teams are willing to go to a hearing rather than settle with their arbitration guys.

*The Astros announced part of the Astros Caravan schedule. Here's what has been released:

Tuesday, January 22:
11:30am-1:30pm: Kyle Tucker, Josh James, Chris Devenski, Todd Kalas. Dell Diamond, Round Rock.
3:30-4:30pm. Tyler White, Brady Rodgers, Steve Sparks. Katy Chick-Fil-A (South Mason Road).
5:00-6:00pm. Same players. Katy Academy (23155 Katy Freeway). They'll only sign commemorative autograph cards provided by Academy.
5:30-6:30pm. Tucker/James/Devenski/Kalas. Cedar Park Academy (C-bar Ranch Trail). Commemorative card rules apply.
5:00-7:00pm. Caravan Jam at La Centerra (23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd, Katy). No idea who will be there.

Wednesday, January 23:
2:30-3:30pm. Myles Straw, Max Stassi, Corbin Martin, Robert Ford. A Corpus Whataburger location TBD.
5:00-7:00pm. Caravan Jam at Whataburger Field.

Thursday, January 24:
1:00-2:00pm. Jake Marisnick, Tyler White, Geoff Blum. Champion Forest Drive HEB.
2:30-3:30pm. Tony Kemp, Robinson Chrinos, A.J. Hinch, Steve Sparks. South Rice Avenue Chick-Fil-A.
5:00-7:00pm. Marisnick/White/Blummer. Caravan Jam at the Fountains at Waterway Square.
5:30-6:30pm. Kemp/Chirinos/Hinch/Sparks. Southwest Freeway Academy. Commemorative card autograph rules apply.

*Toronto traded catcher Russell Martin to the Dodgers, reducing the competition for J.T. Realmuto by one team. Here are my trading partners for the Marlins on Realmuto, updated:
1. Houston
2. Atlanta

The price is going to be high, but gotdang Yasmani Grandal will make $18.25m in 2019 after agreeing to a deal with Milwaukee. Grandal, 30, posted a .241/.349/.466 line, with 24 of his 106 hits in 2018 going over the fence, good enough for a 125 wRC+.

J.T. Realmuto, who will be 28 in March, hit .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs for Miami, for a 126 wRC+. I have questions about FanGraphs' defensive ratings, but Realmuto got a 7.9 while Grandal got a 9.0. Now I'm not sure what point I was trying to make. Still, the Marlins are basically a criminal enterprise. Don't negotiate with terrorists. Realmuto will make $5.9m in 2019. Trade four guys I don't like for J.T. Realmuto, Luhnow.

*Brian Kenny: Roy Oswalt deserves more of a Cooperstown look:

He’s getting no #HOF support in his ballot debut, but come on, Roy Oswalt deserves some #CooperstownJustice:#MLBNow pic.twitter.com/nmybmUIKq0

— Brian Kenny (@MrBrianKenny) January 12, 2019

*Tyler Bauer is a Tough Guy on Twitter dot com but he left a media scrum awful quick when he got called on harassing a Texas State student.

*Justin Turner reflects on back-to-back World Series losses.

*Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame:

Barry Bonds is the reincarnation of Ted Williams, with more power. -Felipe Alou pic.twitter.com/NT0tc0JP6B

— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) January 11, 2019

*A stalker, a socialite, and Kevin Sumlin.

*Todd Marinovich is facing what has haunted him.

*My other favorite team - Leeds United - beat Derby County 2-0 yesterday, but not before there was uncomfortable news that Leeds were spying on Derby's training sessions.

*A musical selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Brian McTaggart writes that the bullpen is trying to cut down on its inconsistency.

*Lest you get excited by Texas Governor Greg Abbott's prediction that the Astros will win another World Series as another prognostication of baseball dominance, he had this to say about the Astros' in-state rivals:
Nothing better than a World Series between the Astros and Rangers.

Indeed. That would be...something.

*The Venetian in Las Vegas has the following odds for the 2018 World Series:
Dodgers: 9/2
Yankees: 5/1
Astros: 6/1
Indians: 6/1
Nationals: 8/1
Cubs: 9/1
Red Sox: 10/1
Rangers: 100/1
Marlins: 300/1

*Tony DeFrancesco was hired by the Mets to be the Las Vegas 51s new manager. Joel Chimelis is the 51s new hitting coach, having been with the Astros in a minor-league coaching capacity since 2006.

*The Rangers don't think they can grow grass in their new $1.1b stadium scheduled to open in two years.

*Houston, how about some Caravan details with Brady Rodgers, Forrest Whitley, and Steve Sparks?
3:30-4:30pm: Chick-Fil-A on Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena. Wear Astros gear in this hour and get a free sandwich. No autographs.
5-6pm: Academy at 2804 Business Center Drive in Pearland. Autograph session with the commemorative World Series Champion autograph card.
5-7pm: Caravan Jam at Pearland Town Center, 30 minute appearance from players.

*Beaumont, how about Tony Kemp, Tyler White, and Geoff Blum?
4-5pm: Academy at 7130 Eastex Freeway, autographs with the commemorative card.
5-7pm: Caravan Jam at 1455 Dowlen Road, Beaumont.

*Austin, you're still up to get pictures with the trophy today. Here's the schedule:
3:30pm: Pluckers at 3909 South Lamar (no autographs, but there will be "mingling.")
5-6pm: Academy at 5400 Brodie Lane in Sunset Valley. Autographs with J.D. Davis, Brad Peacock and James Hoyt, and a picture with the trophy.
5-7pm: Caravan Jam at the Long Center (701 W. Riverside Drive). Q&A from 6:15-6:45 with Peacock and Hoyt

Astrodome at night pic.twitter.com/ZLPGrPpYKf

— John Bateman (@JohnnyBateman7) January 9, 2018

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday was PR Day for the Astros, apparently, as they made a couple of announcements regarding team meetings.

*Astros Caravan begins on Wednesday and will hit numerous spots in Houston (The Chronicle has details) as well as Corpus on January 11, Austin, San Antonio. FanFest, which is now sold out, is next Saturday, January 13.

*Mattress Firm is sponsoring a 100-stop Trophy Tour where fans can take pictures with the Commissioner's Trophy. Reid Ryan:
Bringing the first World Series championship to Houston has been an incredible source of pride for the entire Astros organization. We look forward to making the Commissioner's Trophy available to Astros fans and reliving that historic experience.

The first public stop is Monday at the Mattress Firm location at 8705 S. West Loop in Houston from 6-7pm. Other dates:
Wednesday, 5-6pm: Academy - Sunset Valley location
Thursday, 5:30-6:30pm: Academy - 7523 N.W. Loop 410 in San Antonio
Jan 27, 6:30-8:30pm: Sam Houston Race Park
March 16-18: Houston Museum of Natural Science
August 4-5: National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum

*Forrest Whitley got some votes as baseball's best pitching prospect:
He has a power arsenal of pitches with multiple swing-and-miss offerings, along with an efficient delivery and a stress-free arm action for the durability to log innings.

*Jon Heyman says the Astros could be in the mix for Greg Holland and/or Addison Reed.

*Joe Musgrove gave $5,000 to the Kingwood High School baseball program.

*The George Springer Baseball ProCamp is on June 4 in Friendswood. Registration details are here.

Friday Morning Link Dump

It's 108 days until Opening Day

*Jed Lowrie feels as though Minute Maid Park is "tailor-made" for him, what with that seven-foot tall right field wall. 

*Jeff Luhnow, on 3B:

Matt Dominguez has a chance to be a very good player. Two years ago he proved that. Last year, he slid back a little bit. We're going to give him every opportunity to win that job, but we also have to protect ourselves as an organization. Marwin is still with us, and Marwin could end up being our third baseman.

*Jose Altuve is one of the Washington Post's Breakout Stars of 2014.

*The Astros Caravan will be from January 20-23 with stops in Houston, Brownsville, Austin, and Corpus, and FanFest is on January 24. 

*Rough day to be a former Astros pitcher in the A's organization: Fernando Rodriguez was DFA'd and Jorge De Leon was released.

*They started cleaning The Astrodome.

Interview with Jeff Luhnow

Note: Our buddy and sometime-contributor @KevinBassStache had a chance to talk to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow last week. Here's the transcript. 

It was a blustery and cold Thursday when the Houston Astros Caravan blew in to Austin as part of their annual winter caravan.  The first stop was at Auditorium Shores, near downtown, for the ceremonial raising of an Astros flag to declare the city as “Astros Country.”  Current (Jason Castro), former (Jeff Kent), and future players (George Springer) were on hand plus Astros broadcaster Alan Ashby and team president Reid Ryan.  But the star of the show, at least for me, was Astros GM Jeff Luhnow.  No other person, besides Astros owner Jim Crane, is more influential in this organization and few are as bright and interesting.  I’ve thought awhile about what I’d like to ask Jeff Luhnow if I was given the chance and, as luck would have it, was fortunate enough to be able to ask him a handful of questions.  Below is that exchange:

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KBS:  Mr. Luhnow, first off, thank you very much for your time.  I want to start by asking about George Springer.  If he has a big Spring Training this year, what are his chances of making the team?

Luhnow:  Well, we want to field the best team possible.  We have 64 players coming to camp and we expect to take the best 25 to Houston with us for opening day.  We’ve got a lot of different permutations of that, but that’s why we go there--to sort it all out.  But I would say, given the success he experienced last year, George Springer is going to spend a significant portion of this year—if not all of it—in Houston and he’s going to help us accomplish our goal to win a lot more games.

KBS:  I was looking at the 40 man roster recently and, with the depth that’s already there, it’s going to be difficult to find space for 25 guys.  Do you feel the team is done adding players, either on major or minor league deals, at this point in the winter?

Luhnow:  We’re still talking to a few free agents still out there and, whether or not something happens, to be determined.  The work really never stops, even as we go in to camp in just a few weeks time.  Injuries tend to play a factor, not just for us but with all other teams, and players come available.  Also, players who haven’t signed yet become a bit more willing to sign at your terms, so we’re going to continue to be opportunistic.  We do feel like we’re good with what we have right now, but there’s always an opportunity to improve and we’re going to be looking for it at every turn.

KBS:  This is your second year now as Astros GM and I’m wondering what some of the things are that, maybe, have been expected or unexpected about the job?

Luhnow:  The challenge with a job like this is that you can’t control the outcome.  All you can do is bring in the players, the staff, and front office to put everything in to position so you can make the best choices you can possibly make to increase your chances of winning as many games as possible.  Going through a period at the end of last year, when we lost 15 straight games, if you play those games over and over again, very rarely would you lose all 15.  There might be cases where you split, or win more, but that’s something you can’t really control and it’s a little bit frustrating.  All you can do is dust yourself off, find your weaknesses, and go in to the off-season by adding to the bullpen, or another bat, or another member of the starting rotation.  You cross your fingers and hope it works out. 

KBS:  As a follow up to that, I feel like the Astros front office really valued the construction of the 2013 team (prior to the 2013 season), but it never quite came together.  Are there things you see now, or multiple things, that caused the team not to achieve its goals?

Luhnow:  Well, there was some variability in terms of performance.  We were counting on Lucas Harrell to have a year similar to what he did in 2012 and he wasn’t able to repeat that and Altuve wasn’t exactly the same sort of player he was the year before.  But we had some up-ticks in performance as well and 2013, at the end of the day, was an opportunity for many of our young players to get significant exposure in critical situations.  You know, Josh Fields had a good year as our closer.  Josh Zeid and Kevin Chapman were put in situations where the game was on the line—that’s a lot of pressure to put on young kids.  Robbie Grossman was out there playing everyday for awhile, Jake Elmore was playing everyday.  We gave our young roster an opportunity to prove to us whether they belong and I think the answer, by the end of the year, was that some of these guys do belong.  Matt Dominguez deserves to be the everyday third baseman, Jon Villar looks like he has the capability to be an everyday shortstop, so we discovered a lot more about guys we wanted to find out about.  But at the same time, we didn’t have the veteran presence last year.  We tried it with Pena, Ankiel, Bedard, Veras and a couple of others, but we feel like the veterans we have for 2014 are a little bit better established and we are planning for them to stick around a little while.  It sets a little better tone for them to be in that leadership role because they know they’re going to be there for a few years.

KBS:  Something I’ve been thinking about awhile:  Why aren’t there any sign-and-trade deals in the MLB?  You look at a player like Kendrys Morales (a current free agent), who turned down a $14.1 million one-year arbitration offer even though he won’t receive the same sort of annual average value in a long term deal.  For the team losing the player, they could have the opportunity to maybe obtain a higher-level minor-league player from the signing team who’s already passed through a few levels.     

Luhnow:  It’s a good question and you sometimes see it with free agents that are signed and then traded mid-season.  Typically, if a team is interested in a player, they’d be active in signing him right upfront.  But as the season develops, and teams sort themselves out in to those that are and aren’t contending, that’s when the transactions tend to happen.  You’ll occasionally see a free agent signed and in spring training where he doesn’t win the job and gets traded, but it doesn’t happen as much as you think it might. 

KBS:  Do you think that’s something that’ll change?

Luhnow:  It could.  I think teams are getting a lot more creative in different ways of maximizing their return.  Teams in the past few years, because of the collective bargaining agreement, have been creative about finding ways of bringing talent in because they’re restricted in terms of the amateur and international world.  To a certain extent, that’s what we did the past couple of years.  We were able to take major league players and convert them in to prospects.  Even with the limitations of the international draft, we were able to go from a bottom five to a top five farm system utilizing all those avenues at our disposal. 

Get your wallets out, Corpus

Hey Corpus, head to the Omni Bayfront Hotel at 11:30am on February 3 for the Astros CAREavan Luncheon.

Tickets are $25, and you'll get to see Shane Reynolds (!), Milo Hamilton (please get him to say something about Berkman, or Beltran), Chris Johnson, J.B. Shuck, and Brian Bogusevic.

The rest of your caravan

Thanks to the Caravan site, you can now know when and where Astros will be near you. Unless you live near me. As always, the offer stands: Print a Proof of Citizenship (found on the right sidebar), get a picture with an Astro holding it, and get a prize. A good one.

3:00-4:30, Thursday: Academy Katy (9734 Katy Freeway)- Mills, Berkman, Moehler, Bill Brown
5:00-6:00, Friday: Academy Sugar Land (16610 Hwy 59 South) - Mills, Fulchino, Dierker, Brett Dolan
4:00-5:00, Monday, Jan 25: Academy Waco (210 N. New Road) - Lindstrom, Norris, Bagwell, Deshaies
4:30-5:30, Tuesday: Academy Round Rock (1104 C-Bar Ranch Trail, Cedar Park) - Lindstrom, Norris, Bagwell, Deshaies
12:00-1:00, Wednesday: H.E.B. San Antonio (20935 Hwy 281 N) - Lindstrom, Norris, Bagwell, Deshaies
4:30-5:30, Wednesday: Academy San Antonio (714 West Loop 1604 North. I hope that means something to you) - Lindstrom, Norris, Bagwell, Deshaies
4:45-5:45, Thursday: Academy Victoria (903 N. Navarro) - Pence, Dierker, Milo Hamilton

Winter Caravan all set

Bernardo Fallas has information on the Astros Caravan, kicking off Monday:

Monday
10-11 a.m.: MLK Day Grande Parade, Allen Parway and Taft
11 a.m.-noon: Houston City Hall rotunda, 901 Bagby
4:30-6 p.m.: Academy Sports and Outdoors, 2404 Southwest Freeway

Tuesday
4-5:30 p.m.: Academy, 19720 Northwest Freeway

Wednesday
4:30-6 p.m.: Academy, 21351 Gulf Freeway, Webster

Thursday
3-4:30 p.m.: Academy, 9734 Katy Freeway

Friday
5-6:30 p.m.: Academy, 16610 U.S. 59 South, Sugar Land

Same as last year, get a picture with an Astro holding a Proof of Citizenship, and get a prize.

Mills to speak at SHSU baseball banquet

Brad Mills will be the featured speaker at the Meet the Players banquet in Huntsville on January 29.

The event will be held at the Lowman Student Center Ballroom on the SHSU campus with prime rib provided by Nolan Ryan Guaranteed Tender Meats.

Tickets can be purchased as a table of nine for $400, a couple for $100 or $75 per person. Contact Rhonda Curry by e-mail at rcurry@shsu.edu, call at 936-294-4205 or stop by the Mafrige Fieldhouse in Room 301 for tickets.

Astros Caravan to Corpus Christi

The Hooks are announcing the Corpus stop on the Astros caravan at the Solomon P. Ortiz Center on January 28, featuring Hunter Pence, Jason Castro, Larry Dierker, and Milo Hamilton. Tickets are $25 and doors open at 11:30am.

In addition to this, Easy Eddie will be the keynote speaker at the 6th South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet on February 4 at the Corpus Omni Bayfront Hotel, at 6:30pm. Tickets are $75, and proceeds from this and the Caravan benefit the Hooks Field of Dreams Program.