Coming off an American League Divisional Series appearance, its year 3 of Matt Quatraro tenure. Can they take the next step to a division title? Can Bobby Witt, Jr. take his superstar status to another level? Can Cole Ragans develop more? Will the other starting pitching duplicate last season? The offense can it deliver more? Who will be in the outfield? How about the new stadium development?
Free Agents/Trades Acquisitions
Jonathan India, 2B
Joey Wiemer, OF [Reply]
The Astros are expected to resign Alex Bregman now that this move is done.
Astros reliever Ryan Pressly will waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Chicago Cubs, source tells @TheAthletic. Pressly, a titan of the Astros' golden era, had a 2.78 ERA in 45.1 postseason innings and got the final out of the 2022 World Series.
This is the beginning of what will be a major baseball topic until off-season of 2026. Most clubs are preparing for the new CBA contract in 2027,to take 12 to 18 months.Players are preparing in their own way.
Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief:
Sneaky solid move considering they're probably going to move Bubic to the rotation.
I'm curious to see what Quatraro says but my guess is that Estevez will close since that's his traditional role and Lucas Erceg will serve as their stopper that can be deployed anywhere between the 6th and 9th innings, depending on the scenario.
Bubic was dynamite in the second half with a 32% K rate, 4% BB rate and 28% K-BB. He also had a 53% groundball rate. [Reply]