Astros Hot Stove Noise 11/26/08 - Pettitte and Johnson, A Tale of Two Old Men

by Stephen Higdon on Nov 26, 2008 11:36 AM CST in Hot Stove

ESPN's Jerry Cranick listed Randy Johnson as his number one bargain basement guy. I was unaware of this, but apparently, to stay in Arizonia, Johnson agreed to take a 50% pay cut off his $10 million salary from last year and is only looking for a one year deal. Crasnick reports that multiple (near double digits) teams have expressed interest. I hope the Astros are thinking about a $6-7 million offer. Johnson was quietly good last year.

Andy Pettitte is not interested in LA, despite Ken Rosenthal's report to the contrary yesterday.

Oh, and the Rangers probably don't have any interest in Valverde; so we can't get a catcher that way I guess.

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valverde

i for one would be pissed if all we got was a catcher for Valverde

by Aron on Nov 26, 2008 2:33 PM CST reply actions

What if we got a good catcher?

I’d say relievers are a lot easier to replace than a good (offensively & defensively) catcher.

by Only_A_Lad on Nov 26, 2008 2:41 PM CST up reply actions

from the rangers?

i’d take towles at his salary over any rangers catcher especially if it involves giving up our biggest trade chip….valverde. I’m all for upgrading at the position, but our need for another frontline type starter far outweighs any benefit we’d get from a platoon catcher.

by Aron on Nov 26, 2008 9:33 PM CST up reply actions

The Astros do not need a catcher...

The Astros need PITCHERS, and PROSPECTS – and they have a couple capable catching prospects in the minors already.

by byronlhsdrmr on Nov 28, 2008 4:26 PM CST reply actions

Yes, the Astros have several catching prospects

Clemens, Sapp, Castro, and Towles, but only Castro and Towles are real prospects. Sapp is only 20, so he might improve.

But let’s say the Astros trade Valverde for a MLB-ready catcher. Saltalamacchia’s name has been thrown around, so we’ll use him as the example. Salty would drastically improve the Astros’ production at catcher (compared to Ausmus/Q). And the Astros can still evaluate Towles throughout the season, whether in AAA or in the major league club.

Now, if Towles shapes up to be as good as everyone thought he was back in March, then Wade can deal with that situation as he wants. If JR is producing better than Salty, then trade Salty, etc. There is never anything wrong with having multiple good prospects at the same position – it just means that you have a surplus of a commodity that everyone else in the league needs.

With that said, if the Astros could get a legit. starting pitching prospect for Valverde, I’d go for it. But I doubt many clubs would be willing to part with a starter.

by Only_A_Lad on Nov 28, 2008 7:48 PM CST up reply actions

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