Busy day for Astros - Trade for McCann, Sign Josh Reddick

[Villain]

Reddick gets 4 years, 52 million.

McCann comes along with 5.5 million for the next two years from the Yankees, who will get Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.

 

[tducey]

2 good pickups there for Houston for sure. Both are good additions to an already great team.

 

[navamind]

McCann has a 99 OPS+ over the last three years. Is he even an everyday catcher anymore? I'm not sure he represents a very big upgrade over Castro, especially if you're a believer in pitch framing metrics.

 

[navamind]

Then again, there isn't exactly a plethora of catching options.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

McCann has a 99 OPS+ over the last three years. Is he even an everyday catcher anymore? I'm not sure he represents a very big upgrade over Castro, especially if you're a believer in pitch framing metrics.

Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here, but is Reddick really worth that much money? He didn't really impress me during his short stint with the Dodgers but he's a very gritty and competitive veteran. The kind of guy who'll be good on a club with playoff expectations.

 

[navamind]

Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here, but is Reddick really worth that much money? He didn't really impress me during his short stint with the Dodgers but he's a very gritty and competitive veteran. The kind of guy who'll be good on a club with playoff expectations.

Going by dollars per WAR, yes. Per Fangraphs, his performance was worth over $19M in each of his 2012-15 seasons. His 2016 season was worth around $9.5M.

Josh Reddick » Statistics » Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

He struggled in LA, but you're talking about only 167 PA. And even that number's bogged down by a really bad August (.161/.223/.172 in 94 PA). He batted .382/.417/.544 over his final 73 PA. Not that he's going to hit that well either, but it's a hell of a lot closer to what he's done over the last 5 years than his August was.

 

[navamind]

Astros also had pretty lackluster OF production in 2016. Their 3.7 fWAR was 25th among MLB teams, and that's with Springer having a very good year (4.7 WAR). Rasmus was the only other OF that wasn't a complete black hole (1.4 WAR, but he had a 75 wRC+). They got over 1000 plate appearances of below replacement level production from Marisnick/Teoscar Hernandez/Carlos Gomez/Tony Kemp/Tucker.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Astros trying to move the needle though I am unsure of what they're seeing with McCann for reasons Nava has already mentioned. Kind of hard to see how this moves the needle for them. Maybe it adds a win? Maybe two if things go well. Weirdly, Rasmus' babip dropped 50 points and his ISO around 80 points from what their norms have been generally the past 3 years.

3 year rollers 2014-2016

Games Played/fWAR

Rasmus (30 YO)

104/0.9
137/2.9
107/1.4

Steamer: 0.9

Reddick (29 YO)

109/2.6
149/3.0
112/1.2

Steamer: 2.7

Nothing too different in terms of games played. You're not getting an ironman and Reddick can't hit lefties, a bench player is still in play even in a shorthand platoon, but Reddick (138 wRC+ vs RHP) is easy to argue as a more consistent and reliable player than Rasmus. Worth noting Reddick has no QO attached. Rasmus on a 1-2 year deal would be an interesting move for some team out there however.

McCann (32 YO)

140/2.4
135/3.0
130/1.3

Steamer: 1.8

Castro (29 YO)

126/1.6
104/1.5
113/1.1

Steamer: 1.1

Net fWAR (feeling lazy) based on Steamer: 2.5

 

[Bmurph]

The entire AL West appears to lack dominant rotations and this offseason w the lack of pitching in FA, isn't going to help one club much IMO. The gap likely will be decided by who is willing to trade for better rotation options. I don't see what Houston has done, moves the needle much for their team with the offensive moves, considering their pitching staff.

 

[The Q]

Houston still hasn't solved their biggest positional need: CF.

I like Springer in RF and Reddick in LF.

Play Gourriel at 1B.

Bregman at SS, Correa at 3B.

That's a pretty darn good infield with some solid corners (need a guy to platoon with Reddick of course).

But yes, they still need pitching, giving up VV in the Giles deal was dumb at the time, now....damn.

 

[navamind]

I would expect Keuchel to bounce back if he's healthy, though I don't think he'll have another 2015-caliber season. McCullers has some real upside, but he needs to prove he can stay healthy. McHugh and Fiers are fine 3/4 starters. That Morton signing is just weird though. He has shown improvement on his velocity over the last couple of years, but his injury history is pretty lengthy.

 

[The Q]

I would expect Keuchel to bounce back if he's healthy, though I don't think he'll have another 2015-caliber season. McCullers has some real upside, but he needs to prove he can stay healthy. McHugh and Fiers are fine 3/4 starters. That Morton signing is just weird though. He has shown improvement on his velocity over the last couple of years, but his injury history is pretty lengthy.

He was pretty intriguing before the injuries, but surprised he got 2 years.

I always had MCullers pegged as a RP.

fun fact: I was 1 game away from facing Morton my junior year of HS (his team lost though)....would've been DAMN fun to get to face that kid.

 

[Villain]

Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here, but is Reddick really worth that much money? He didn't really impress me during his short stint with the Dodgers but he's a very gritty and competitive veteran. The kind of guy who'll be good on a club with playoff expectations.

Yeah he is, and keep in mind that each of those years is less than a qualifying offer. It's the price of competency.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Yeah he is, and keep in mind that each of those years is less than a qualifying offer. It's the price of competency.

That's a good way to put it.

 

[Montalban]

Reddick gets 4 years, 52 million.

McCann comes along with 5.5 million for the next two years from the Yankees, who will get Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.

Too bad. I thought Reddick would fit well in San Francisco. At least the Dodgers no longer have him.

 

[Villain]

Too bad. I thought Reddick would fit well in San Francisco. At least the Dodgers no longer have him.

Yeah he's a scary good fit for SFG so I guess that means Houston deserves a bro fist from the Dodgers faithful.

 

[Bolts]

Astros add to the busy offseason with Edwin Encarnacion, 5 years and $115 million.

 

[navamind]

Bit surprising, especially since they still had Gattis. Gattis doesn't provide any OBP, but he's a pretty decent hitter (.334 wOBA, 113 wRC+). Atros could score a lot of runs next year.

 

[Bolts]

Or maybe not

 

[navamind]

welp