Astros C Jason Castro

[GGajewski18]

Rosenthal and Cotillo reporting that Jason Castro could be a trade candidate. Hope this is true, and Hahn is in on him.

[ILMOU]

Rosenthal and Cotillo reporting that Jason Castro could be a trade candidate. Hope this is true, and Hahn is in on him.

 

Now, you're talkin' to me baby... If this real, we have to be the suitor. He kills righties, he's perfect.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Stan Bahnsen

[ILMOU]

And a bunch of Cubans playing with a guy named Castro - the tasteless gags are endless.

 

[ILMOU]

Several reporters have said that's the case throughout the offseason. I really don't feel we have the horses to get it done.

 

Well, are they shopping him, or are they merely fishing for a wonder-haul?

[ILMOU]

They have a top prospect in Max Stassi who is supposedly the best defensive catcher in the minors. Then they have Castro who is coming off a great year. The idea would be to trade high on Castro to maximize his value and have Stassi take over when he is ready. Stassi should start the year in AAA but he already earnedd a September call up last year. If all goes well in AAA he'll be MLB ready by midseason.

 

Anyways, there a lot of naysayers towards Castro but he is a great piece for a team like the Sox if he were to perform annually how he did last year. Whether he can do that is both possible and doubtful depending on who you talk to.

 

If they prefer Stassi, he should be attainable. Make it so.

 

Looking at when his clock would have started, 67 games in 2010, he has just 2 years before FA, not 3, unless I'm mistaken. That's not ideal, so I'd hope he's amenable to a "security" contract. Would likely perform even better in a more platooned role. Let's do this.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Stan Bahnsen

[BlackSox13]

If they prefer Stassi, he should be attainable. Make it so.

 

Looking at when his clock would have started, 67 games in 2010, he has just 2 years before FA, not 3, unless I'm mistaken. That's not ideal, so I'd hope he's amenable to a "security" contract. Would likely perform even better in a more platooned role. Let's do this.

Were in luck...

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...ml?mobile=false

 

Looks like he will be under team control through 17.

[ILMOU]

Were in luck...

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...ml?mobile=false

 

Looks like he will be under team control through 17.

I shoulda checked 1st, but nice, thx. More expensive, but that's an acceptable window.

[BlackSox13]

I shoulda checked 1st, but nice, thx. More expensive, but that's an acceptable window.

No problem, i was curious myself. The info didnt come up on the BR mobile site ( im on a tab) so i had to check the full site to find out. The Sox would have plenty of time to evaluate Castro then decide on trying to extend him. I'm just curious what it would take to get him. I know I asked a few weeks back and I think witesox figured It would take Q to get a deal done which makes sense. Not sure I would do that deal, kinda riding the fence.

[Balta1701]

No problem, i was curious myself. The info didnt come up on the BR mobile site ( im on a tab) so i had to check the full site to find out. The Sox would have plenty of time to evaluate Castro then decide on trying to extend him. I'm just curious what it would take to get him. I know I asked a few weeks back and I think witesox figured It would take Q to get a deal done which makes sense. Not sure I would do that deal, kinda riding the fence.

I'm not trading Quintana now that Santiago has been moved unless the return is ridiculous and I can't imagine what it would take to get me interested.

[BlackSox13]

I'm not trading Quintana now that Santiago has been moved unless the return is ridiculous and I can't imagine what it would take to get me interested.

I'm pretty high on Quintana myself and would prefer if he was traded it would be for a higher impact player than Castro. Nothing wrong with Castro, would love to have him but outside of Q I don't see what else the Astros would be interested in that we are wiling to offer in a trade. Ideas anyone?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Baseball Report ‏@NickHamelinMLB 3m

Reports say #Astros Star C Jason Castro could possibly be on the trading block.

 

 

 

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I'm pretty high on Quintana myself and would prefer if he was traded it would be for a higher impact player than Castro. Nothing wrong with Castro, would love to have him but outside of Q I don't see what else the Astros would be interested in that we are wiling to offer in a trade. Ideas anyone?

 

I mean, Castro and Altuve would be natural fits on this team.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...5&start=525

 

[Quin]

A trade for Castro would have to start with Jones, Semien, and Beck.

 

If they signed Tanaka, you could switch EJ for Jones, but I wouldn't like to.

[TomPickle]

Altuve isn't much of an upgrade over Beckham, if he's one at all.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Altuve isn't much of an upgrade over Beckham, if he's one at all.

 

Ehh, I think he is. He is only 23 years old, career .285 hitter, should hit close to 10 HR, steal 30+ bases, doesn't strike out much. He would be an ideal #2 hitter behind Eaton. He just needs to learn to take more walks. Steamer has him at 2.7 WAR next year, which isn't bad in his year 24-year-old season.

 

Plus, Altuve has 4 more years of team control.

[The Ultimate Champion]

I think there are 3 ways of potentially obtaining Castro

 

1) Quintana. Straight up that's a fair deal but a tough pill to swallow. It's one step forward one step back, however, it would have to be very seriously considered given that pitching is our strength and we do have a couple guys that look promising on the farm along with Johnson ready to step in this year

 

2) Quantity over quality/a depth move. Sox trade a s***load of quality organizational pitching depth rather than the uber prospect type. Would anyone here be comfortable giving up something like Johnson, 1 of Danish/Beck, Snodgress and another piece for Castro? That's a ton of potential value and would also be a tough pill to swallow. I'm not sure we have anything positionally that we could give up that they'd really want either.

 

3) Something involving Viciedo and/or another team, where we send Viciedo plus prospects or we get another team to take on Viciedo and send a prospect to HOU with whatever we're sending. That's also tough.

 

No matter what the cost though, Castro could be a multi-year solution. He looks extendable. You can trade for him thinking about buying out his arb years. He shouldn't be the type who would have to force a team to play the arb game every year looking for that big FA payday. The gigantic catching headache goes away. You also add a lefty bat to your new righty-dominated middle of the order. You're starting to look like you may already have your new core of position players. Tempting.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I think there are 3 ways of potentially obtaining Castro

 

1) Quintana. Straight up that's a fair deal but a tough pill to swallow. It's one step forward one step back, however, it would have to be very seriously considered given that pitching is our strength and we do have a couple guys that look promising on the farm along with Johnson ready to step in this year

 

2) Quantity over quality/a depth move. Sox trade a s***load of quality organizational pitching depth rather than the uber prospect type. Would anyone here be comfortable giving up something like Johnson, 1 of Danish/Beck, Snodgress and another piece for Castro? That's a ton of potential value and would also be a tough pill to swallow. I'm not sure we have anything positionally that we could give up that they'd really want either.

 

3) Something involving Viciedo and/or another team, where we send Viciedo plus prospects or we get another team to take on Viciedo and send a prospect to HOU with whatever we're sending. That's also tough.

 

No matter what the cost though, Castro could be a multi-year solution. He looks extendable. You can trade for him thinking about buying out his arb years. He shouldn't be the type who would have to force a team to play the arb game every year looking for that big FA payday. The gigantic catching headache goes away. You also add a lefty bat to your new righty-dominated middle of the order. You're starting to look like you may already have your new core of position players. Tempting.

 

I don't think Quintana straight up is a fair deal, which is why I mentioned Altuve. I think Quintana for Castro and Altuve is fair. Or if you want to give them a couple extra players in return, since we have so many, expand the deal to Quintana + De Aza + Beckham for Castro + Altuve + RHP Vincent Velasquez + LHP Reymin Guduan.

[BlackSox13]

I mean, Castro and Altuve would be natural fits on this team.

Absolutely and a damn good suggestion. Love the Altuve idea.

 

Altuve isn't much of an upgrade over Beckham, if he's one at all.

 

 

Altuve is not much better than what we have. I'd prefer Beckham/Semien plus we'd have to give up something for Altuve

I don't know guys, I gotta disagree. Altuve is young, under contact through 18, hits above .280 , plays solid D, and steals plenty of bases. Altuve combined with Eaton at the top of the order would be badass table setting for Garcia, Dunn and Abreu.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

In two full seasons his career high is 7 HR. He plays the one position we have several cheap options at both this year and in the upcoming seasons. Why trade talent for such a marginal upgrade? Because Steamer expects him to surpass his career high WAR by a whole WAR?

 

I think it's fair to say that US Cellular Field is an easier part to hit HRs in than Houston. I would not be shocked to see Altuve hit 10 HR here in Chicago. But even if he only hits 7 or 8, that's not his strength anyway. His strength is contact and speed. He doesn't need to be trying to hit HR from the #2 spot, where he would fit in nicely on this team.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Altuve has a career wOBA of .307 and that's including his 2012 season that figures to be an outlier of a year for him. If you trade for him because of his table setting ability you have to realize an injured Beckham had a better OBP.

 

Why is 2012 an outlier for him? Because he peaked when he was 22?

[BlackSox13]

I think it's fair to say that US Cellular Field is an easier part to hit HRs in than Houston. I would not be shocked to see Altuve hit 10 HR here in Chicago. But even if he only hits 7 or 8, that's not his strength anyway. His strength is contact and speed. He doesn't need to be trying to hit HR from the #2 spot, where he would fit in nicely on this team.

Exactly! Can you imagine how Altuve and Eaton raising hell on the bases would f*** with a pitchers head as he's about to face Garcia, Dunn and Abreu? As a pitcher I would be s***ting myself! Almost like having two Scotty Pods at the top of the order.

[Paulstar]

Anyone who doesn't think Altuve wouldn't be an upgrade over Beckham is nuts. He's only 23 and having a 1-2 of Eaton and Altuve would be nice.

 

I'd definitely be a lot more willing to part with Quintana + some if it meant getting Castro and Altuve back. I don't know why they'd trade Altuve though, he's been their most consistent bat and has become a fan favorite.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

You are the one that brought up and overstated his HR hitting ability as something that made him lucrative. For what it would take to get him and the players we already have in AA/AAA/MLB there is absolutely no reason to trade for Altuve. I have no idea why Steamer is so bullish on him I would bet that he falls below their projected WAR number.

 

I was merely stating a baseline of stats I think he can achieve playing in Chicago. It's not like I ever called him a power hitter, you simply challenged my thinking that he would hit 3 more HR in a more HR friendly park, as if that would somehow make or break his value.

 

Even if Altuve only produces a 2.0 WAR next year, well short of the Steamer projections, that is a lot better than what Beckahm has managed to accomplish is every season outside of his tremendous rookie year.

 

And I didn't propose an idea FOR Altuve, I said what I would like in addition to Castro if Quintana is to be involved in a deal. Castro is obviously the centerpiece of the deal. Altuve would help balance the trade out, so it wouldn't be costing us players, it would be evening the trade. De Aza + Beckham for those 2 minor league pitchers would just be icing on the cake, but that's the only instance of needing extra players from the Sox in that deal.

[Paulstar]

I think it's fair to say that US Cellular Field is an easier part to hit HRs in than Houston. I would not be shocked to see Altuve hit 10 HR here in Chicago. But even if he only hits 7 or 8, that's not his strength anyway. His strength is contact and speed. He doesn't need to be trying to hit HR from the #2 spot, where he would fit in nicely on this team.

I actually think Houston and the short porch in LF probably helped him sneak out a homer or two. With Altuve, you get your power from doubles and triples.